Recommended Resources

There’s always more to learn, and we have picked some of the best websites, books, podcasts and videos below.

Investing ๐Ÿ“ˆ

๐Ÿ“‘ This very Wiki! Start with Investing 101 and index funds.

๐Ÿ“‘ Monevator: UK-focused investment and personal finances blog, with a wealth of knowledge going back many years – always worth searching for any topic. See especially their series Investing Lessons for Beginners which works through important investing concepts, and their sample Slow And Steady portfolio.

๐Ÿ“‘ BogleHeads UK Investing Wiki: UK section of the generally US-focused Bogleheads wiki. Many index funds listed.

๐Ÿ“š Investing Demystified – Lars Kroijer: Simple, stress-free investing advice. See also his youtube channel of the same name.

๐Ÿ“š Smarter Investing – Tim Hale: The ultimate counterpoint to attempting to “beat the markets” – after spending 15 years working in active fund management, Tim Hale concluded that the best outcomes for most investors in most situations would be a simple portfolio of “passive” investments. Expect a dry, thorough read, not an exciting page-turner!

๐Ÿ“š The Financial Times guide to investing – Glen Arnold: A great starter guide, going from the very basics (why businesses need shareholders) to more in-depth explanations of different types of investment, and step-by-step guides on how to execute trades.

๐Ÿ“š Intelligent Investor – Benjamin Graham: This book was written by the father of “value investing”, and the mentor of Warren Buffett, who is widely accepted to be the world’s most successful investor. It was originally published in 1948, but Ben Graham updated it periodically over the years, and it stands as true today as it ever has.

๐Ÿ“š Beating the Street – Peter Lynch: Published in 1994, this is arguably showing its age more than Intelligent Investor. Either way, valuable reading from one of the best managers of money in the past few decades.

โš ๏ธ YouTube warning: like most social media sites, when it comes to financial content YouTube is plagued with scams, bogus get-rich-quick schemes, and misinformation. However there is also some great quality content available, we have some recommendations below.

๐Ÿ“บ Investing Demystified: Former hedge fund manager Lars Kroijer (author of the book Investing Demystified) has a channel with some videos intended for a general audience. See specially his five-part Investing Demystified series and great series on building your own financial planning spreadsheet.

๐Ÿ“บ PensionCraft: In depth videos about investment, retirement, and property.

๐Ÿ“บ Damian Talks Money: friendly and engaging, perfect for folks just starting out. See especially Vanguard step-by-step and Is now a good time to invest?

๐Ÿ“บ Meaningful Money: A podcast by a UK based financial planner.

๐Ÿ“บ James Shack: UK based financial planner, mostly covering investing with a few videos covering mortgages and other subjects.

๐Ÿ“บ The Plain Bagel: Canadian financial youtuber

๐Ÿ“บ Ben Felix – Canadian focused financial advisor, but a lot is very relevant to UK investors too

๐Ÿ“บ How to Win the Loser’s Game – by sensibleinvesting.tv a 1hr documentary

The proof that active managers can’t beat the market

Personal finances ๐Ÿ’ธ

๐Ÿ“‘ This very Wiki! We have a growing collection of resources right here. Start with The Flowchart.

๐Ÿ“‘ MoneySavingExpert: When it comes to keeping track of the best savings accounts or credit cards, no one can beat MSE. They also produced a financial education textbook for young people, intended for use in schools but freely available online, which covers basic concepts like savings, debt, interest, etc in an accessible way.

๐ŸŽง BBC Radio 5 Live – Ask Martin Lewis:

๐ŸŽง Meaningful Money:

๐Ÿ“š Money: A User’s Guide – Laura Whateley: This is a well written introduction to personal finances with a focus on saving for your first home. If you’re already a personal finances geek and/or own your own home, skip this one.

๐Ÿ“š The Richest Man in Babylon – George S. Clason: First written in 1926 (original version linked as PDF), with various re-issues and updates available in print form. Very sound basic financial advice written as compelling parables from the age of Babylon. Accessible and a must-read as a starting point, particular for people with less financial experience.

๐Ÿ“š The Meaningful Money Handbook – Pete Matthew: Straightforward approach to budgeting, planning, saving and investing from the host of the Meaningful Money podcast.

๐Ÿ“š Money Diet – Martin Lewis: Consumer champion Martin Lewis’s first book, although a lot of the information is also on the moneysavingexpert.com website.

๐Ÿ“š Financial Wellbeing Book – Chris Budd: A book focused more on the why than the how (although it does deal with the how as well). A very much worthwhile read about longer-term planning and deciding what is important to you.

๐Ÿ“š Psychology of Money – Morgan Housel A collection of short stories about how different people think about money. There are some shortcomings but the message is well delivered and gets you to think about money, wealth and happiness in everyday life.

Tax information on GOV.UK

The official GOV.UK pages are clearly written and very helpful if you want to check your tax allowances.

Income tax

National Insurance

Pension tax relief

Capital Gains Tax

Tax free interest on savings

The Rent A Room scheme (rent a room in your home)

Tax-free allowances on property and trading income

Tax on dividends

General interest ๐Ÿ™‹

๐ŸŽง BBC Moneybox:

๐ŸŽง FT Money Show:

๐Ÿ“‘ Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder letters – Warren Buffett: A series of essays over the years from the world’s most successful investor. Makes interesting reading!