The Money Shelf

United Kingdom

The official calculators and guides the book points to for readers in United Kingdom, one for each claim.

  1. 1
    Compound interest: start early Holds

    GOV.UK, Individual Savings Accounts (gov.uk/individual-savings-accounts), to check the types of ISA and this year's allowance.

  2. 2
    Small spending: cut the daily coffee Weak diagnosis

    MoneyHelper budget planner (moneyhelper.org.uk/en/everyday-money/budgeting/budget-planner), to record your income and spending by category.

  3. 3
    Pay yourself first: save before you spend Holds with conditions

    GOV.UK, Workplace pensions (gov.uk/workplace-pensions) and its contributions table (gov.uk/workplace-pensions/what-you-your-employer-and-the-government-pay), to check what you and your employer pay.

  4. 4
    Index funds: own the index Holds

    MoneyHelper, A beginner's guide to investing (moneyhelper.org.uk/en/savings/investing/investing-beginners-guide), to read about charges such as the Ongoing Charges Figure (OCF).

  5. 5
    Debt snowball: pay off the smallest debt first Holds with conditions

    MoneyHelper, Pay off debt, save or invest first? (moneyhelper.org.uk/en/blog/debt-help/pay-off-debt-save-or-invest-first), to check which of your debts to pay first and why.

  6. 6
    Emergency fund: keep three to six months of expenses in cash Holds with conditions

    MoneyHelper, Emergency savings: how much is enough? (moneyhelper.org.uk/en/savings/types-of-savings/emergency-savings-how-much-is-enough), to set three to six months against your essential outgoings.

  7. 7
    Assets or salary: wealth comes from owning assets Weak diagnosis

    ONS, Household total wealth in Great Britain (ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/incomeandwealth/bulletins/totalwealthingreatbritain/april2020tomarch2022), to compare your household's wealth with the medians by age and tenure.

  8. 8
    Side hustle: start a side business Not established

    GOV.UK, trading allowance (gov.uk/guidance/tax-free-allowances-on-property-and-trading-income) and GOV.UK, register for Self Assessment (gov.uk/register-for-self-assessment), to check the £1,000 allowance and the current registration deadline.

  9. 9
    Frugality: spending less beats earning more Weak diagnosis

    MoneyHelper, Budget Planner (moneyhelper.org.uk/en/everyday-money/budgeting/budget-planner), to list your income and spending side by side.

  10. 10
    Mindset: belief creates wealth Not established

    MoneyHelper, Savings calculator (moneyhelper.org.uk/en/savings/how-to-save/savings-calculator), to turn a savings target and a date into a monthly figure.

  11. 11
    Housing costs: fixed costs decide what a household can save Holds with conditions

    GOV.UK, Benefits calculators (gov.uk/benefits-calculators), to check Universal Credit (the UK benefit for people on low incomes or out of work) and Council Tax Reduction (a cut in the Council Tax bill for people on low incomes) on an independent calculator.

  12. 12
    Stock picking: you can pick winning stocks Not established

    MoneyHelper, Thinking about investing? Make sure you understand the risks (moneyhelper.org.uk/en/savings/investing/thinking-about-investing-make-sure-you-understand-the-risks), to weigh single shares against spreading money across many.

  13. 13
    Market timing: time the market and cut losses early Not established

    MoneyHelper, Thinking about investing? Make sure you understand the risks (moneyhelper.org.uk/en/savings/investing/thinking-about-investing-make-sure-you-understand-the-risks), to check whether money can stay invested for five years or more.

  14. 14
    Bitcoin: a hedge against inflation Not established

    ONS, Latest consumer price inflation bulletin (ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/consumerpriceinflation/latest) and Bank of England, Inflation calculator (bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator), to compare a holding's change with UK prices.

  15. 15
    Gold: protection in a crash Not established

    FCA's Financial Services Register (fca.org.uk/firms/financial-services-register), to check any firm selling a gold-linked investment.

  16. 16
    Rent or buy: buying a home builds more wealth than renting Not established

    GOV.UK, Stamp Duty Land Tax calculator (tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro), to work out the tax due on a purchase price.

  17. 17
    Die with zero: spend it down on purpose Holds with conditions

    GOV.UK, Check your State Pension forecast (gov.uk/check-state-pension), to see the State Pension you are on course to receive.

  18. 18
    Day trading: you can make a living from it Does not hold

    FCA's 1 December 2022 statement on CFD firms (fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/fca-highlights-continuing-concerns-about-problem-firms-cfd-sector) and the FCA Financial Services Register (fca.org.uk/firms/financial-services-register), to read the statement and check any firm before trading.

  19. 19
    Retirement savings: work out your number and time your state pension Holds with conditions

    MoneyHelper pension calculator (moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/pensions-basics/pension-calculator) and Check your State Pension forecast (gov.uk/check-state-pension), to see your forecast amount and the date you can claim.

  20. 20
    The 4 per cent rule: withdraw about 4 per cent a year in retirement Holds with conditions

    GOV.UK, How you can take your pension (gov.uk/personal-pensions-your-rights/how-you-can-take-pension) and MoneyHelper, Flexi-access drawdown (moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/taking-your-pension/what-is-flexible-retirement-income-pension-drawdown), to compare the ways a pension pot can be drawn.

  21. 21
    401(k), ISA and super: use the tax-advantaged accounts first Holds with conditions

    What you, your employer and the government pay (gov.uk/workplace-pensions/what-you-your-employer-and-the-government-pay) and the MoneyHelper pension calculator (moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/pensions-basics/pension-calculator), to see what your contribution adds.

  22. 22
    Inflation and cash: currencies are losing value, so cash savings are being destroyed Weak diagnosis

    Bank of England inflation calculator (bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator), to compare what a past balance bought then and buys now.

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