Five books to help sort out your personal finances
April is a good time to review your financial health
As the new financial year begins (on 6 April), it's a good time to review your personal finances.
The 2024-25 tax year brings some changes, including cuts to tax-free allowances for capital gains and dividends, so check that your savings, investments and financial planning are in the best shape possible.
What They Don't Teach You about Money: Seven Habits to Unlock Financial Independence by Claer Barrett
In this book, the "most pressing topics are covered" said Reader's Digest, and the author, a Financial Times columnist, "dives into a range of money issues, discussing the psychology and reasoning behind them". It tackles "some of the daunting aspects" of money management, including debt, credit cards, saving and investing, and makes them "simple and manageable". Detailed are "seven habits to help you unlock financial independence", said MoneyMagpie, which are both "realistic and achievable".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Ebury Publishing, £12.99
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
After 25 years this is still a "top personal finance book", said Investopedia, with its central premise of "it's not how much money you make, but how much you keep". It "cites the lessons" from both a "'rich dad', a friend's father who rises from humble beginnings to create a lucrative business" and a "'poor dad'", the author's father, "a highly educated government employee". Each chapter ends with a study section. Kiyosaki has written 12 books, "all banging the drum about financial education, financial freedom, having a better relationship with money and making your cash work for you", said The Times Money Mentor.
Plata Publishing, £13.99
Money: A User's Guide by Laura Whateley
"An indispensable instruction manual for all ages", this covers "all things personal finance", said The Times Money Mentor, from student loans and savings to pensions. It also broadens the scope by looking at "other areas such as money and mental health, and how we manage money in relationships". Whateley "cuts through all the panic of personal finances", said Metro. Her book is a "perfect resource for anyone who feels overwhelmed by the thought of learning about investing, as it starts with the basics".
HarperCollins, £9.99
I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
The bestselling author and presenter "wants to get to the root of our worries and show us why we need to think differently about money", said The Observer. And by "showing people how to save and invest even small sums regularly", Sethi helps them spend more on "what he calls their 'guilt-free' pleasures", which could be "more time with your kids, flying business class, or unlimited cappuccinos". A lot of the book's tips seem "perfect for a beginner who is learning the basics of key financial fundamentals", like "understanding your credit score", said Business Insider.
Hodder & Stoughton, £16.99
Money Box by Paul Lewis
The presenter of the BBC Radio 4 show of the same name has written "an unexpectedly funny womb-to-tomb guide to looking after your money in Britain today", said The Telegraph. Everyone who reads it will find fresh information on "the laws, the loopholes, the pitfalls, and who to call if it all goes wrong". If you're reluctant to take a closer look at your financial situation, "Lewis drags your ostrich head out of the sand; then, as you survey the bewildering landscape, he holds your quivering ostrich claw".
Ebury Publishing, £16.99
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Adrienne Wyper has been a freelance sub-editor and writer for The Week's website and magazine since 2015. As a travel and lifestyle journalist, she has also written and edited for other titles including BBC Countryfile, British Travel Journal, Coast, Country Living, Country Walking, Good Housekeeping, The Independent, The Lady and Woman’s Own.
-
'Presidential debates are more performance art than actual ways to inform'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Musk clears Tesla self-driving hurdle in China
Speed Read The Tesla CEO won China's approval to introduce Full Self-Driving (FSD) cars
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 29, 2024
Cartoons Monday's cartoons - Tik Tok tactic, Cricket sounds, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Knife: Salman Rushdie's 'mesmeric memoir' of brutal attack
The Week Recommends The author's account of ordeal which cost him his eye is both 'scary and heartwarming'
By The Week Staff Published
-
5 stellar TV series based on award-winning novels
The Week Recommends Max's 'The Sympathizer' is not the only successful adaptation of prestige fiction
By David Faris Published
-
You Are Here: the new David Nicholls 'past-their-prime' romance
The Week Recommends 'Midlife disenchantment' gives way to romance for two walkers on a cross-country hike
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
The true story of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans
In depth The writer's fall from grace with his high-flying socialite friends in 1960s Manhattan is captured in a new Disney+ series
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
6 queer poets to read whenever but especially now
The Week Recommends April is National Poetry Month
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
Christina Sharpe, the influential author and intellectual who sees America as it is
The Explainer Sharpe reshapes words and concepts to better know Blackness and the United States
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
5 illuminating books to read in April
the week recommends A poetry collection curated by the U.S. Poet Laureate, another adult novel from Julia Alvarez and more
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
How 'Star Wars' ripped off 'Dune'
Under the Radar Quite a few people believe that George Lucas ripped off Frank Herbert's sci-fi universe. So does Herbert himself.
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published