I’m 19, starting pharmacy school in Sept, and I’ve never owned a phone or been inside a clothing shop. My parents’ strict control left me clueless about the world, and I feel so pathetic and poor. How do I unlearn this financial trauma?

If you think about it you're in a better position than people that went through the same thing as you a couple of generations ago. There were no cell phones and no apps and for some no computers and at a various ages had to learn all these things. Some of them will have been much older than you are and with less plasticity in their brains than you have at your age. Similarly, there were no cheap clothes or gadgets or tools and they had to learn to budget and save to buy things deliberatively, not on a whim, as people do today. Hardly anyone had credit cards or mortgages and had no clue about compound interest and had to learn as older people. Their parents didn't know either (unless they were already well off) and so couldn't teach them. So, on a positive note, you are not as badly off in terms of preparedness as you might imagine and I think you are very wise to be concerned about bringing yourself up to speed as quickly as you can! A couple of things occur to me that might help. Have you heard of Martin Lewis? He's very interested in getting people up to speed with financial literacy and has broadcasts, articles, and a (now sold on) website on Money Saving: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Lewis_(financial_journalist) Also, you might want to stay up-to-date with scams involving phones, ipads, and computers. There is a audio series on the BBC that brings the latest scams to public attention and explains what to look our for and how to _try_ to defend yourself with examples from real life: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002h2gt/episodes/guide Bring yourself up-to-speed with cyber security. GCHQ is anticipating that very soon, with the advance of AI and the future potential for quantum computing passwords are no longer enough. At a minimum have multi-factor security where you need a code as well as a password and use a password manager that allows you to use complex passwords without having to remember them. Importantly, though, they say we need to move to passkeys. > Passwords are no longer resilient enough for the contemporary world, cyber experts say in new report published on Day Two of CYBERUK conference in Glasgow https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/news/ncsc-leave-passwords-in-the-past-passkeys-are-the-future Best of luck in your ventures and adventures; have fun but stay safe!