What they don't teach you about money

Our first personal finance book review + giveaway 🇬🇧📖✨

Mar 08, 2024

A good journalist is a trusted voice for many people, and Claer Barrett is absolutely that.

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Hi friend,

As you know, 2024 is the year I’m coming back to personal finance and giving myself a new financial education. Personally, as a newcomer, I want to learn more about how money works in the UK this year. But I’m also curious how money is being talked about/what’s being written in other countries right now, too. So, I’ve decided to read 1 book/month and share a review of it here with you.

You might remember that I started with one book, but quickly realized it just… wasn’t good (and quit at page 70). I don’t want to hate-read books, knowing I’m only going to say negative things about them (that’s not how I want to spend my time, nor what I want to share here). I want to finish books I feel excited to tell you about! And I’m very excited to tell you about the one I picked up after…

First, I will say that before reading this book, I was already a huge fan of the author’s work. Claer Barrett is the consumer editor at the Financial Times and hosts their podcast Money Clinic. When I decided I wanted to learn more about how money works in the UK, I started with her podcast—and I’ve listened to every single episode published since January 1, 2023.

Last March, she released her first book, WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH YOU ABOUT MONEY: Seven Habits to Unlock Financial Independence. It became an instant Sunday Times top ten bestseller here in the UK, so I imagined it would be good—and knew it had to be on the list of what I read in 2024. I picked it up last month and quickly discovered it was even better.

It wasn’t a perfect book (below, I nit-pick at some things like an editor would/should). But it’s engaging. It’s clear and concise and incredibly informative. And best of all: it’s friendly. I read it and felt as though I was genuinely learning from a friend. Let me tell you what else I thought about it… and if you’re a UK resident and want to read it yourself, you can scroll down and enter to win a copy too!

What I liked about WTDTYAM

From page one, the thing I valued and appreciated most about this book was Claer’s approach. You can tell she is someone who has a high level of emotional intelligence, and understands how important it is to create a shame-free environment in which to discuss these topics1. I’ve felt this as a listener of her podcast, but it really stood out when I could see her words on the page. A few examples to show you what I mean:

“We don’t admit perfectionists.” (p. 1)
“…we’re complex beings—and our money personalities are multi-faceted.” (p. 22)
“Take time to notice what you’re doing, without judgment.” (p. 78)
“…before we go any further, let’s place any feelings of shame aside. I will not judge you if you have multiple credit cards, find it hard to resist hitting the buy-now-pay-later button or regularly dip into your overdraft.” (p. 80)
“…comparing yourself to others can make you feel despondent.” (p. 100)

I liked that she wasn’t completely anti-debt, and discussed some of the ways you could utilize it.

I liked that her answer to the question of the “best way” to budget was “the way that best suits you!” (p. 58)

I also liked that she was neutral on buying a home (owning one herself but acknowledging “there’s more to life than buying a bloody property!”) (p. 111)

She also showed a lot of humility through her own personal stories, not just sharing some of the less-savvy financial decisions she’s made over the years, but also using some self-deprecating humour (a good old British and Canadian go-to) at times—including to joke about the fact that math (they call it “maths” here in the UK) was her worst subject in school (mine too).

Overall, I liked that nothing seemed to be off the table. While reading, I actually felt like I could’ve been talking to my dad—someone who, as you know, has always spoken openly about money with us. There was even one morning where I felt so engaged with Claer’s words, I read a full 140 pages of the book!

And she didn’t always hit the mark, but she tried to be inclusive in her language and with the stories she included about other people.

What I didn’t like (largely editor’s notes)

You can’t write a well-rounded review without also mentioning what you didn’t like about a book—and there were a few things I didn’t like about WTDTYAM. I also know that when we read negative book reviews, it’s important to remember that those opinions are often extremely personal and might only apply to the person writing the review. It doesn’t mean the book is bad or the author is bad. It just means that there are some things the reviewer doesn’t like, based on all of their experiences, biases, and beliefs. A few of my mine are:

I’m Canadian
I’m from North America and have had a lifelong connection to the US and the influence of its media
I’m new to the UK and want to build a network here (and don’t want to make any enemies but will also commit to writing the truth)
I’ve been a writer/editor in the personal finance space for 14 years (my editor hat was definitely on, as I was reading. I think that will become apparent when you read my notes…)
I’m also an author who has received 50,000+ ratings/reviews for one of her books on Goodreads. I know people will always have bad things to say about a book. (I also know that most authors know what’s bad about their book 😂)

Now that you know my background, here are some things I didn’t like…

I didn’t like how intense some of the language felt. Statements like “sorting your financial sh*t out” and “win back control of our finances.” (p. 49) This kind of language was commonly used in old school financial advice, but it doesn’t feel current with the way more people are trying to talk about money today—including Claer herself. I actually noticed myself feeling curious about how this mix of more old aggressive advice + new shame-free language can co-exist in one person’s vernacular. Is that what happens after you’ve been a financial journalist for decades, like she has? Maybe! And, I have an aversion to some of the older language. It makes me feel like I’m going into battle… against my money.

The first money habit she discusses in the book is “be rational, not emotional.” But then all throughout the book, Claer shows such a high emotional intelligence and understanding of the fact that: money is extremely emotional! We can aspire to be totally rational about it, but it’s probably not likely that many of us can transform ourselves to see/use it that way (especially if it’s true that our money habits are largely set by the age of seven—more on this soon2). The editor in me read this and wanted to say: change the title of this habit to something that helps people accept and want to understand their emotions, rather than try to bypass them (which “be rational” would imply they need to do).

There are so many personal finance experts whose work/ideas she could’ve referenced in the book. I didn’t like that she chose to mention Dave Ramsey (not a fan). Though I did like that she at least called him “curmudgeonly.” (p. 137)

She used the word “tribe” once (referring to “your financial tribe”) which is a hard no from me. And, it’s something I actually see/hear a lot of people in the UK still refer to. “Finding your tribe,” and so on… hmm.

If I had to pick just one thing to mention in this section, I’d say the main thing I didn’t like about WTDTYAM was the “financial personalities” she laid out in the first chapter. (You could be a Spendy Wendy, a Spreadsheet Slave, and so on. All of them felt negative, btw.) In general, I’m not a fan of these types of things—labels or stereotypes we can identify with, to apparently understand ourselves better. They feel gimmicky to me, and often more removed than relatable. To her credit, she does say her “depictions of them are deliberately tongue in cheek.” (p. 23) I just wished they hadn’t been included at all! This could’ve been Claer’s choice or it could’ve been something her publisher asked her to do (publishers love this type of stuff). It reminds me of personality quizzes, which have been regularly appearing in women’s magazines since the 1950s. In 2017, personality tests were reported to be a $500 million industry3. So yes, if a publisher can get you to throw something like this into a book, they probably think it will help sales! I disagree. Thankfully, after pages 24-31, you don’t hear too much about them again. The odd mention here and there, easy to skip over if that’s not your thing either.

What I learned

The length of the section on what I didn’t like about WTDTYAM might make you think I didn’t like the book at all… but I hope you can see they were largely editor’s notes (things I would’ve asked her to look at, if I were her editor) and not criticisms of the book or of Claer herself. Because the reality is: I genuinely LOVED this book. And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it taught me ALMOST EVERYTHING I’ve been wanting to learn about how money works in the UK. Seriously, this book covers banking, budgeting, debt management, saving, investing, buying a car, buying a home, maximizing your income, planning for retirement, and simply talking to people about money—and it all WORKED together. That’s a HUGE feat for a little 266-page book!

I won’t write out a detailed report of everything I learned, but a few things that stuck out for me:

If you want to buy a home in the UK, I learned that lenders will typically only let you borrow up to 4.5x your annual salary (so if you’re earning £50,000, you could borrow up to £225,000). That feels like a much simpler calculation, compared to all the numbers you have to enter into mortgage affordability calculators in North America!
I’ve heard from enough friends how complicated buying a home in England/Wales (not Scotland) can be—and won’t share all of the reasons why here. But I learned that ONE THIRD of agreed deals fall through. WHOA.
I learned all about the tax bands/rates—which again, feels a lot simpler than what we deal with in North America (where tax rates can change dramatically from province-to-province in Canada, and state-to-state in the US).
I learned SO MUCH about pensions/ways to save for retirement, which is a topic I’ve had the most questions about personally. I’ll write more about what I’ve decided to do and why soon.
I learned that if you get a call “from your bank” that feels like a scam, you can hang up and dial 159 to be connected with your (/most) bank’s fraud department! That’s a fun fact that could be passed along to seniors too!
And I knew a bit about how student loans worked over here (repayments are calculated as a percentage of your earnings and are taken off your paycheques automatically) but I finally learned the numbers behind those calculations (starting with the fact that you don’t have to pay anything until you’re earning more than £27,295/year ($47,000 CAD/$35,000 USD). I also learned that if you haven’t repaid what you owe within 30 years of graduation, your student loan debt is wiped clean. I’m guessing this information will make some American readers want to scream…

What I thought was missing

Just a few notes/thoughts that came to mind, as I was reading WTDTYAM:

I don’t think the word “insurance” is mentioned once in the book!? That can be a big topic, but it feels like an important one.
There were a few places where I noted that simple table charts could’ve been added to help explain some of the concepts and numbers that were outlined in paragraph format.
And in the first chapter (“Money: it’s emotional”), there was no mention of trauma, which is something many people experience that would have a huge impact on our relationships with money. It felt like a missed opportunity.

I started this yearlong experiment with the hopes of learning more about how money works in the UK. I’m only 1 book in, and it feels like I got almost everything I needed. (Am I done!? 😂)

Interestingly, I’m not actually sure if I remember what her seven habits were!? Maybe that’s because of how much information was packed into the book (which I appreciated way more than a list of habits). She was incredibly generous with all she shared—and, the way she shared it.

The way Claer talked about money felt very not-British, as she herself reminded readers that “British people are famously awkward about it.” (p. 243) In saying that, I did also appreciate all the little British phrases used throughout. (I also had fun searching for definitions of some of the slang!)

I think WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH YOU ABOUT MONEY is the most informative UK personal finance book I could’ve read on this journey. And it’s the kind of book that can probably only be written by a journalist. A good journalist is a trusted voice for many people, and Claer Barrett is absolutely that.

I would recommend this book to anyone in the UK who wants to learn more about money. And, I’m happy to say I’m giving away 1 copy!

What they don't teach you about money

Our first personal finance book review + giveaway 🇬🇧📖✨

What I liked about WTDTYAM

What I didn’t like (largely editor’s notes)

What I learned

What I thought was missing

If you want a chance to win a copy of Claer’s book, simply leave a comment answering this question:

What do you want to learn about money this year?

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