Who this guide is for
This guide is for people starting out with money: a first job, a first budget, student loans or credit cards to deal with, or a salary that never seems to last the month. It covers how to think about money, budgeting and debt, starting to invest, and a few long-standing classics. These are general books, not personal financial advice.
How to choose
- If you have never made a budget: Manage Your Money Like a F*cking Grown-Up or What They Don't Teach You About Money.
- If you earn enough but the money still disappears: The Psychology of Money looks at behaviour, and Your Money or Your Life is a nine-step programme for changing your relationship with money.
- If you want a step-by-step plan: I Will Teach You To Be Rich is set out as a six-week programme.
- If you're ready to start investing: The Little Book of Common Sense Investing makes the case for low-cost index funds, and Girls Just Wanna Have Funds is a five-step feminist guide to investing.
- Check where the author is writing from: some of these books were written with the US in mind, so their account types, tax rules and examples, such as the S&P 500 index, may not apply in the UK.
Our picks
For anyone who knows roughly what they should do with money but doesn't always do it. Former Wall Street Journal columnist Morgan Housel uses 19 short stories to show how personal history, ego and incentives shape money decisions that are rarely made on a spreadsheet.
For readers who want one practical book on the basics. Claer Barrett, consumer editor at the Financial Times, sets out seven habits and hundreds of tips on budgeting, debt, student finance, digital banking, tax, pensions, investing and buying property, without jargon.
For people in their twenties who never got an instruction manual for how money works. It covers making a budget, saving more without giving up fun, credit, negotiating a raise, why buying a house probably won't make you rich, and one simple investment, with exercises and illustrations.
For readers who want a structured plan. This revised second edition is a six-week programme covering bank accounts, credit cards, student loans and other debt, saving, simple investment strategies and negotiating a pay rise.
For people who want to change how they spend, not only track it. This revised edition of the nine-step programme covers getting out of debt, saving through habits rather than strict budgeting, index funds and side income, and is aimed at readers just beginning their financial life as well as those nearing retirement.
Girls Just Wanna Have Funds by Camilla Falkenberg, Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen and Emma Due Bitz
For women who assume investing needs expertise or a lot of money. The three founders of Female Invest set out a five-step guide to setting goals, understanding financial jargon and markets, and building a fund that gives you independence, starting from small savings.
For readers ready to invest for the long term who want a simple approach. Mutual fund pioneer John C. Bogle makes the case for buying and holding a low-cost index fund that tracks a broad stock market index, such as the US S&P 500; this tenth-anniversary edition adds chapters on asset allocation and retirement investing.
For readers who would rather learn from stories than spreadsheets. Clason's Babylonian parables cover thrift, financial planning and keeping more of what you earn; this edition has a new introduction by Suze Orman.
Questions people ask
Which book covers student finance, tax and pensions?
What They Don't Teach You About Money by Claer Barrett covers student finance, tax, pensions and investing, as well as what to know before buying property.
Which books help with a first budget?
Manage Your Money Like a F*cking Grown-Up explains how to make a budget and save more without giving up fun. What They Don't Teach You About Money covers budgeting alongside debt and digital banking.
Which books explain investing for beginners?
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing explains investing through low-cost index funds. Girls Just Wanna Have Funds is a five-step guide that says you don't need to be an expert to start, and Your Money or Your Life and I Will Teach You To Be Rich both include investing alongside saving and debt.
Are these books written for UK readers?
Not all of them. The Little Book of Common Sense Investing uses a fund tracking the US S&P 500 as an example, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing covers US accounts such as Roth IRAs and 401(k) plans, and The Millionaire Next Door is about wealthy Americans. Check account and tax details against UK rules.
Selected by Fox & Fable from books in stock. Last updated 30 September 2026.
