TL;DR 16.

How to Manage Your Personal Finances (162 words)

If Building Wealth (TL;DR 5) is the long game, personal finance is the day-to-day. Get this right, and the long game becomes easy.

Create a budget and stick to it. Be very honest and include the small stuff. Save first, then spend what is left.

I was lucky. In my first serious commercial job, a colleague showed me the power of a simple budgeting and planning spreadsheet; he gave me his template, and I have never dropped the habit of using it to save, build and measure.

Use pots. Many banks now let you split your account into separate pots for bills, food, fuel, holidays and presents. On payday, the money goes into each pot, and when a pot is empty, you stop spending from it.

Build an emergency fund equal to six months of essential spending; it turns a crisis into a breathing space.

Clear expensive debt first, starting with credit cards.

Twice a year, check your direct debits and subscriptions. Cancel what you no longer use.

First action: For one week, write down everything you spend, coffees included.

TL;DR 15.

How to Negotiate Your Salary (197 words)

There is always money for the right person, no matter what HR says or what hiring freeze exists. Your job is to show that you are that person and that you will deliver a return on the investment you are seeking.

Do your homework. Know the market rate for the role, from recruiters, job adverts and people doing similar work. You cannot argue for more if you do not know what more looks like.

Try not to name a number first. If pressed, give a range, with your real target at the bottom.

I soon learnt that the best time to negotiate is when you change positions. Once they have decided you are the one, they have far more flexibility than they admit. In my third position I asked for a salary above the top of the range offered in the advert. The director later admitted it was zero effort to find that money for the right person.

Talk about the specific value you can offer. Your mortgage isn’t their concern; what you will deliver is.

Look beyond the base salary: bonus, holiday, pension contributions, flexible working, a review after six months. Get the final offer in writing before you resign from anything.

First action: prepare your case.

Yesterday I made

Croque Monsieur aux Truffes. May I say it was delicious…