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.