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The Modern Money Manifesto: The No-Nonsense Guide to Boosting Your Finances
Written for Millennials and Gen Z readers looking to change their attitude toward money management, The Modern Money Manifesto is a savvy and no-nonsense guide to navigating every step of financial life.
Charlotte Jessop combines practical experience as both a maths teacher and the creator of successful multimedia business, Looking After Your Pennies, to bring an exciting new voice in the personal finance industry.
From buying property to figuring out working from home, The Modern Money Manifesto is an empowering toolkit for discovering money management options and taking control of your finances in an ever changing economic environment.
Charlotte Jessop combines practical experience as both a maths teacher and the creator of successful multimedia business, Looking After Your Pennies, to bring an exciting new voice in the personal finance industry.
From buying property to figuring out working from home, The Modern Money Manifesto is an empowering toolkit for discovering money management options and taking control of your finances in an ever changing economic environment.
248 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 19, 2024
6 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 19, 2025
Format audiobook (Libby)
Lots of waffle in the earlier chapters and quite patronising. Written by a younger millennial than me, but felt as if she was trying to engage disinterested and naïve teens, using constant colloquialisms to connect. However, it's worth persevering to glean some financial nuggets and wasn't the fool's gold I thought it would be during the initial chapters.
You can't skim with an audiobook, but glad I persisted.
End of review.
Just rough notes follow:
Chapter 3: Getting Paid. Useful to have multiple income streams.
Chapter 4: What is all this Tax? Educate yourself on taxation rules, so you pay less legally. Check you're on the correct tax code, especially when you start a new job. Very basic introduction, anything important lost amongst the waffle. Not much substance.
Chapter 5: Sorting out your spending. Basically be intentional with your spending, think twice before you spend. Earn more. Save instead.
Chapter 6: To buy or not to buy. Advice is highly questionable. In the first part of the chapter she seems against purchasing despite having her own property, then in the second half extols the virtues of how to get on the housing ladder when you don't have much money using the problematic home ownership scheme. The one where muggins you only own a small fraction of a property, have to pay the mortgage on it, plus rent to the council for the remainder share that they own, AND you're lumbered with 100% of all maintenance and risk. Typically these sorts of properties are also part of a leasehold agreement and have increasing annual leasehold charges on top. NONE OF THAT IS MENTIONED. The only negative she quips in with is you must ask the council's permission if you want to rent it out without you being there (for when wanderlust calls) - and it's unlikely to be approved. Which isn't great. But not as bad as being taken for a mug.
Education, conversation and reflection. Don't passively drift into believing in home ownership.
Chapter 7 Saving. Emergency fund, can stagger across several accounts with varying access limitations, sinking funds for upcoming expenses you know about. Look at Monzo, chase for one bank account with spaces for separate things. Can have autmation to add to each pot monthly, also rounding feature. Startling.
Get your money to work as hard as it can with the highest interest rate that suits your needs in terms of access.
Chapter 8 dealing with debt. Good advice on different strategies on how to pay off debt. Also touches on the oxymoron of avoid debt but needing debt to get a good credit score - which we all inevitably need to get a mortgage or car financing. Advice on how to build a good credit score. Start when you're young. Get on the electoral roll, have a few bills that you pay off with monthly direct debit eg phone contract, subscription to something.
Chapter 9: Pensions. Look at your bank or long established investment platforms are: ; hargreaves lansdown; aj bell; Fidelity. Alternate newer more convenient mobile app platforms like: AJ Dodle; Freetrade etc. How do you decide what's best for your needs? Depends on what you want to invest, how and how much. Some platforms only offer their own funds, others will offer a selection from different providers. Some will cover crypto. Some will have robo advisers and others will let you choose. Some will he in sterling pounds or US dollars. Some will let you start with £1, others more substantial £1000 min investment.
Also check the FEES (1) platform fee (fixed monthly or %); (2) trading fee (fixed or % to buy or sell, some are free); (3) the fx rate if you're buying from another country eg the US, you'll need the fx rate for currency conversion, so there may be foreign exchange fees.
Then where are you going to put your money:
(1) stock picking - high risk strategy, needs research and knowledge
(2) funds - active fund (higher fee) with a human manager or cheaper passive tracker fund.
(3) target date funds - alters the risk level the closer you get to needing the money
Start investing with a small amount if you're nervous. Try it out with a small amount, watch the money go up and down, get used to the platform, try different investments.
Chapter 10: Future of money. Blockchain. Crypto currency. How would you invest? Either in a particular crypto currency or companies that are indirectly part of that industry eg Nvidia make graphic cards that enable cryptocurrency mining.
Or invest in the platforms like...
Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain platform that allows developers to build and run decentralized global applications.
Lots of waffle in the earlier chapters and quite patronising. Written by a younger millennial than me, but felt as if she was trying to engage disinterested and naïve teens, using constant colloquialisms to connect. However, it's worth persevering to glean some financial nuggets and wasn't the fool's gold I thought it would be during the initial chapters.
You can't skim with an audiobook, but glad I persisted.
End of review.
Just rough notes follow:
Chapter 3: Getting Paid. Useful to have multiple income streams.
Chapter 4: What is all this Tax? Educate yourself on taxation rules, so you pay less legally. Check you're on the correct tax code, especially when you start a new job. Very basic introduction, anything important lost amongst the waffle. Not much substance.
Chapter 5: Sorting out your spending. Basically be intentional with your spending, think twice before you spend. Earn more. Save instead.
Chapter 6: To buy or not to buy. Advice is highly questionable. In the first part of the chapter she seems against purchasing despite having her own property, then in the second half extols the virtues of how to get on the housing ladder when you don't have much money using the problematic home ownership scheme. The one where muggins you only own a small fraction of a property, have to pay the mortgage on it, plus rent to the council for the remainder share that they own, AND you're lumbered with 100% of all maintenance and risk. Typically these sorts of properties are also part of a leasehold agreement and have increasing annual leasehold charges on top. NONE OF THAT IS MENTIONED. The only negative she quips in with is you must ask the council's permission if you want to rent it out without you being there (for when wanderlust calls) - and it's unlikely to be approved. Which isn't great. But not as bad as being taken for a mug.
Education, conversation and reflection. Don't passively drift into believing in home ownership.
Chapter 7 Saving. Emergency fund, can stagger across several accounts with varying access limitations, sinking funds for upcoming expenses you know about. Look at Monzo, chase for one bank account with spaces for separate things. Can have autmation to add to each pot monthly, also rounding feature. Startling.
Get your money to work as hard as it can with the highest interest rate that suits your needs in terms of access.
Chapter 8 dealing with debt. Good advice on different strategies on how to pay off debt. Also touches on the oxymoron of avoid debt but needing debt to get a good credit score - which we all inevitably need to get a mortgage or car financing. Advice on how to build a good credit score. Start when you're young. Get on the electoral roll, have a few bills that you pay off with monthly direct debit eg phone contract, subscription to something.
Chapter 9: Pensions. Look at your bank or long established investment platforms are: ; hargreaves lansdown; aj bell; Fidelity. Alternate newer more convenient mobile app platforms like: AJ Dodle; Freetrade etc. How do you decide what's best for your needs? Depends on what you want to invest, how and how much. Some platforms only offer their own funds, others will offer a selection from different providers. Some will cover crypto. Some will have robo advisers and others will let you choose. Some will he in sterling pounds or US dollars. Some will let you start with £1, others more substantial £1000 min investment.
Also check the FEES (1) platform fee (fixed monthly or %); (2) trading fee (fixed or % to buy or sell, some are free); (3) the fx rate if you're buying from another country eg the US, you'll need the fx rate for currency conversion, so there may be foreign exchange fees.
Then where are you going to put your money:
(1) stock picking - high risk strategy, needs research and knowledge
(2) funds - active fund (higher fee) with a human manager or cheaper passive tracker fund.
(3) target date funds - alters the risk level the closer you get to needing the money
Start investing with a small amount if you're nervous. Try it out with a small amount, watch the money go up and down, get used to the platform, try different investments.
Chapter 10: Future of money. Blockchain. Crypto currency. How would you invest? Either in a particular crypto currency or companies that are indirectly part of that industry eg Nvidia make graphic cards that enable cryptocurrency mining.
Or invest in the platforms like...
Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain platform that allows developers to build and run decentralized global applications.
March 27, 2025
Tried very hard to like it and get through it but it read like verbal vomit and did not gain any new insights about investing wisely/ handling money better. Would not recommend
June 29, 2025
I follow Charlotte on Instagram, and I love some of the tips and things she posts.
I found I knew most of the information that was included in the book, but I did take away a couple of new things
I found I knew most of the information that was included in the book, but I did take away a couple of new things
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews