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Manage Your Money Like a F*cking Grownup: The Best Money Advice You Never Got
We never get an instruction manual about how money works. We never have to pass a test to get our Money License before we can take a new credit card for a drive. Most of what we learn about money comes from advertising or from other people who know as little as we do. No wonder we make such basic mistakes. No wonder we feel disempowered and scared. No wonder so many of us just decide to stick our heads in the damn sand and just never deal with it. I wrote this book, because so many of the people I spoke to told me that they wished someone would.
In this clear and engaging basic guide to managing your finances, Sam Beckbessinger covers topics from compound interest and inflation to “Your brain on money”, negotiating a raise, and particularly local South African phenomena like “black tax”. The book includes exercises and “how-to’s”, doesn’t shy away from the psychology of money, and is empowering, humorous and helpful. The book you wish you’d had at 25, but is never too late to read.
In this clear and engaging basic guide to managing your finances, Sam Beckbessinger covers topics from compound interest and inflation to “Your brain on money”, negotiating a raise, and particularly local South African phenomena like “black tax”. The book includes exercises and “how-to’s”, doesn’t shy away from the psychology of money, and is empowering, humorous and helpful. The book you wish you’d had at 25, but is never too late to read.
248 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2020
413 people are currently reading
1466 people want to read
About the author
Sam Beckbessinger
16 books98 followersSam Beckbessinger is the author of the bestselling Manage Your Money Like a Fucking Grownup and the novel Girls of Little Hope (co-authored with Dale Halvorsen). Her interactive story about climate change, Survive the Century, was featured in New Scientist and Gizmodo. She teaches creative writing at Bath Spa University, writes kids' TV and picture books, once wrote for Marvel, and is weirdly obsessed with spreadsheets. Her perimenopausal werewolf novel Femme Feral is coming in summer 2026. She grew up on a farm near Durban with a pet donkey named Mr Magoo, but now lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 162 reviews
February 7, 2025
I work as a finance analyst, and I was raised by two accountants (that is my mother and my grandmother, my dad didn’t do that much raising – and when finances are concerned that was probably for the best), so this book wasn’t for me. In fact, while reading it I thought to myself “this is so duh, surely everyone knows it”. But then I thought back to so many people I knew who actually don’t know it. People who were raised by financially irresponsible parents, people who think credit cards give you free money, people who think some expenditure ‘counts’ and some ‘doesn’t’. And people who simply get so stressed out by money they refuse to look at their bank account and just hope for the best every month.
I arrived in this country with £350 to my name in October 2008, right in the beginning of the financial crisis. For the first few months I was on minimum wage and emergency tax rate and still I made sure I was saving some money every month. Now after 16 years of lifestyle creep I have no idea how I did it, but I remember doing things like buy yellow sticker bag of carrots and making heaps of carrot soup for dinner with it. I remember I also still had a full gym membership with a swimming pool access because it was important to me, and money is there for spending, and if it truly enriches your life then spend it.
We read it together with my husband, who was quite obviously not raised by two accountants so that we can get serious about our finances. I’m not sure how much it really helped him, but this combined with my nagging is getting us to the point where we can be serious and realistic about our finances and not involve any magic thinking in the budgeting process.
On my side, it pushed me to be slightly less risk averse and start investing money. And I really appreciate it was fairly realistic for your average Gen Z or Millenial and not some Rich Dad, Poor Dad bullshit or some other book by some internet guru on how to become a millionaire. I think this misconception so many have about being very close to becoming multimillionaires (somehow?) is making them be very unrealistic with their money now. No need to save £200 a month if you're going to be a proper millionaire soon, right?
I realise I could probably write this book myself with a slight modification for ADHD folks, called the gamification of savings. See, contrary to the advice given in this book, I don’t set aside my savings after the payday and delegate the rest money towards bills, groceries and fun money. No, I keep in mind what an ambitious figure I want to save that month, and I make a game of it. I need to keep a mental track of my spend and see if I can arrive at that saved money number by the end of the month. So when I’m presented with a decision – should I buy this takeaway coffee or not, both options give me a dopamine boost sort of. I can get the coffee, but I might then lose my savings game. Or I skip the coffee but win the game. Anyway, I’m probably crazy but this has worked for me so far.
I arrived in this country with £350 to my name in October 2008, right in the beginning of the financial crisis. For the first few months I was on minimum wage and emergency tax rate and still I made sure I was saving some money every month. Now after 16 years of lifestyle creep I have no idea how I did it, but I remember doing things like buy yellow sticker bag of carrots and making heaps of carrot soup for dinner with it. I remember I also still had a full gym membership with a swimming pool access because it was important to me, and money is there for spending, and if it truly enriches your life then spend it.
We read it together with my husband, who was quite obviously not raised by two accountants so that we can get serious about our finances. I’m not sure how much it really helped him, but this combined with my nagging is getting us to the point where we can be serious and realistic about our finances and not involve any magic thinking in the budgeting process.
On my side, it pushed me to be slightly less risk averse and start investing money. And I really appreciate it was fairly realistic for your average Gen Z or Millenial and not some Rich Dad, Poor Dad bullshit or some other book by some internet guru on how to become a millionaire. I think this misconception so many have about being very close to becoming multimillionaires (somehow?) is making them be very unrealistic with their money now. No need to save £200 a month if you're going to be a proper millionaire soon, right?
I realise I could probably write this book myself with a slight modification for ADHD folks, called the gamification of savings. See, contrary to the advice given in this book, I don’t set aside my savings after the payday and delegate the rest money towards bills, groceries and fun money. No, I keep in mind what an ambitious figure I want to save that month, and I make a game of it. I need to keep a mental track of my spend and see if I can arrive at that saved money number by the end of the month. So when I’m presented with a decision – should I buy this takeaway coffee or not, both options give me a dopamine boost sort of. I can get the coffee, but I might then lose my savings game. Or I skip the coffee but win the game. Anyway, I’m probably crazy but this has worked for me so far.
December 29, 2018
If Sam wrote the instructions on the back of shampoo bottles, I'd read them, twice. Man alive she can write well.
More than that though this is an important book, and making it accessible was genius. I want to offer my kids R10k to read it and present it back to me. After they have they can choose where to invest the R10k and we'll do that. For me personally, reading this may well have been the best investment in time I spent this year.
If there was one teeny wee thing I'd have changed it would, ironically, have been the amount of swearing. When I reread my first book I cringed and took three-quarters of the "fucks" out. I'd suggest authors start a book with a "fuck" fund, and every time they use one, they cross it off. Less is more on this shit.
More than that though this is an important book, and making it accessible was genius. I want to offer my kids R10k to read it and present it back to me. After they have they can choose where to invest the R10k and we'll do that. For me personally, reading this may well have been the best investment in time I spent this year.
If there was one teeny wee thing I'd have changed it would, ironically, have been the amount of swearing. When I reread my first book I cringed and took three-quarters of the "fucks" out. I'd suggest authors start a book with a "fuck" fund, and every time they use one, they cross it off. Less is more on this shit.
July 14, 2019
I strongly recommend this book to anyone (especially young South Africans) who want to understand and manage their finances better!
It's quite difficult to emphasize how enjoyable and useful this book is. Every single sentence is either incredibly informative, incredibly entertaining, or both. I didn't want to put this book down, which is seldom something you hear people say about personal finance books.
What I like about this book is that it's very easy to read, and thus great for beginners. It's also very funny, and the graphs/flowcharts/cartoon cat balloons make it easier to understand plus pretty fun. Another thing I like about this book is that it encourages you to manage your finances but doesn't shit mercilessly on poor people, which many personal finance books do. The fact that the author is realistic about inequality and the nature of poverty made me trust her more.
I've been going on about this book to anyone who'll listen ever since I've started reading it, but really - it's a fantastic book. I've already put a lot of her advice into action and I feel way more in control of my money already.
Thank you, Sam! This book has undoubtedly improved many lives, and I hope it will continue to do so!
It's quite difficult to emphasize how enjoyable and useful this book is. Every single sentence is either incredibly informative, incredibly entertaining, or both. I didn't want to put this book down, which is seldom something you hear people say about personal finance books.
What I like about this book is that it's very easy to read, and thus great for beginners. It's also very funny, and the graphs/flowcharts/cartoon cat balloons make it easier to understand plus pretty fun. Another thing I like about this book is that it encourages you to manage your finances but doesn't shit mercilessly on poor people, which many personal finance books do. The fact that the author is realistic about inequality and the nature of poverty made me trust her more.
I've been going on about this book to anyone who'll listen ever since I've started reading it, but really - it's a fantastic book. I've already put a lot of her advice into action and I feel way more in control of my money already.
Thank you, Sam! This book has undoubtedly improved many lives, and I hope it will continue to do so!
February 18, 2019
Absolutely loved this book. I have decided to embark on my own journey to financial freedom and part of that means educating myself on the subject in order to learn money behaviors that support my goals and unlearn those that go against them. My one goal with money is not that i have too much than i can handle, it’s that it needs to buy me freedom. This book is definitely a great tool that I will be returning to every now and then. It also helps that Sam has an amazing sense of humour and doesn’t use a lot of financial jargon that leave your confused. A worthy buy.
January 5, 2025
Had to re-read this book as we starting the year and I’m getting my finances in order and damn this is still a gem and everytime I read the book I find something valuable. Sam’s approach to money is very practical and like most books that talks about money most of the things I have heard them before but it’s always a good reminder.
July 21, 2021
This is a great book. It's straightforward, humorous and the author has a fantastic style of writing. The best thing about it is that she even got me fired up about managing my money, expenses, insurance, etc. - something which is normally viewed as insultingly boring.
I found the information on cash flow management and insurance especially useful. 'Pay yourself first' and 'only insure what can bankrupt you' are two great rules to follow.
My favourite concepts from the book are to establish a 'f*ckaround account' and a 'table flip fund'. The former allows you the freedom to spend guilt free and the latter grants you the ability to press pause at any point in your life, as you have three to six months worth of expenses or salary saved up.
I did not agree with all the investment advice. Specifically, that looking for the cheapest platform and fund is the main criteria. It is an important factor, but should be considered alongside some other things. But this is only a small objection from me; the rest was spot on - such as the recommendation for diversification, high equity exposure and cost averaging.
I can see myself using this as a handbook in the coming years and retuning to it whenever I need some money advice.
P.S. It was refreshing to read a book aimed specifically at a South African audience.
I found the information on cash flow management and insurance especially useful. 'Pay yourself first' and 'only insure what can bankrupt you' are two great rules to follow.
My favourite concepts from the book are to establish a 'f*ckaround account' and a 'table flip fund'. The former allows you the freedom to spend guilt free and the latter grants you the ability to press pause at any point in your life, as you have three to six months worth of expenses or salary saved up.
I did not agree with all the investment advice. Specifically, that looking for the cheapest platform and fund is the main criteria. It is an important factor, but should be considered alongside some other things. But this is only a small objection from me; the rest was spot on - such as the recommendation for diversification, high equity exposure and cost averaging.
I can see myself using this as a handbook in the coming years and retuning to it whenever I need some money advice.
P.S. It was refreshing to read a book aimed specifically at a South African audience.
March 15, 2021
As someone who never read books about finance, and this being the first and probably last book I'll read on the topic, I thought it was excellent and very informative. It’s clear, engaging and super practical!
February 4, 2024
2.5 من 5
و الاقرب 2 من 5
الكتاب فى معرض القاهرة 2024
نازل مترجم عربي ب اسم
المليونير الصغير (Paperback)
,و ها انا ذا قد قرأته من نسخته الانجليزية الـ pdf
كتاب خفيف بسيط غير متعمق
كاتبته تقول بنفسها
انها معلومات و ثقافة مالية يفترض ان تكون لديك ما بين سن ال 15 و ال 25
و لكن الحاصل لدى اغلب البشر انها تكون لديهم متأخرة - بعد فوات الاوان - عند ال 35
لو هاقترح كتب مالية بناءا على سن القاريء
من 10 ل 15 سنة كتاب
ابن عضلاتك المالية : تسعة تمارين سهلة لتحسين علاقتك بالمال
إجعل طفلك عبقريًا ماليًّا حتى لو لم تكن كذلك
من 15 ل 25 سنة كتاب
I Will Teach You to Be Rich: No Guilt. No Excuses. No BS. Just a 6-Week Program That Works
و هذا الكتاب
من 25 ل 35 سنة كتاب
The Millionaire Choice: Millionaire or Not. You Can Choose.
Your Money or Your Life
The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness
الكتاب القادم: ميت مطلوب للشهادة
و الاقرب 2 من 5
الكتاب فى معرض القاهرة 2024
نازل مترجم عربي ب اسم
المليونير الصغير (Paperback)
,و ها انا ذا قد قرأته من نسخته الانجليزية الـ pdf
كتاب خفيف بسيط غير متعمق
كاتبته تقول بنفسها
انها معلومات و ثقافة مالية يفترض ان تكون لديك ما بين سن ال 15 و ال 25
و لكن الحاصل لدى اغلب البشر انها تكون لديهم متأخرة - بعد فوات الاوان - عند ال 35
لو هاقترح كتب مالية بناءا على سن القاريء
من 10 ل 15 سنة كتاب
ابن عضلاتك المالية : تسعة تمارين سهلة لتحسين علاقتك بالمال
إجعل طفلك عبقريًا ماليًّا حتى لو لم تكن كذلك
من 15 ل 25 سنة كتاب
I Will Teach You to Be Rich: No Guilt. No Excuses. No BS. Just a 6-Week Program That Works
و هذا الكتاب
من 25 ل 35 سنة كتاب
The Millionaire Choice: Millionaire or Not. You Can Choose.
Your Money or Your Life
The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness
الكتاب القادم: ميت مطلوب للشهادة
February 12, 2022
So good! Would highly recommend this to any you my adult that has no idea how to work with money (aka. Me). I truly feel inspired, educated and motivated to invest, save and spend responsibly. This women is sooo cool and I want to be her friend. She explains everything very detailed and easy enough for anybody to understand, while be hilarious. Thanks Sam, you are a champion!!! 💪🏼
June 29, 2018
For those who aren't financially literate, this book can serve as an excellent springboard for the road to financial freedom.
When she talks about the economy as a whole, which is an admittedly small section called "The economy is broken", there are many faults. It is subjective, and explained with an obvious ideological lens.
On personal finance - I cannot fault the author. She knows budgeting, and she understands how humans work with money. The plans she sets out are clear and concise, and the writing style is refreshingly personal and witty.
When she talks about the economy as a whole, which is an admittedly small section called "The economy is broken", there are many faults. It is subjective, and explained with an obvious ideological lens.
On personal finance - I cannot fault the author. She knows budgeting, and she understands how humans work with money. The plans she sets out are clear and concise, and the writing style is refreshingly personal and witty.
November 13, 2024
Do your future self a favour and read this book
December 2, 2025
Every South African should at least know this book, and have engaged with it.
July 17, 2022
Excellent. Devoured this. Humour was great. Appreciated the South African perspective and guidance, which has been missing from all US authors I’ve read.
January 13, 2021
Just finished 'Manage your Money like a F*cking Grown Up' and it was fantastic! Not only does the author give some excellent personal finance insights (which I really needed!) but she's also an amazing writer. After only a few chapters, I grabbed her next book - 'Manage Your Money Like a Grownup' - just so that I could read more of her glorious words. Highly recommended read!
October 26, 2020
Practical and simple enough to apply. Highly recommended wrt how to practically manage your money better. I won't recommend the book's view of why one should manage your money better (for that I'd recommend Money, Possessions and Eternity by Randy Alcorn).
October 25, 2020
I am super excited to begin handling my money like a grown-up NOW. Highly recommend!
July 13, 2019
If you're from earth, you need to read this book.
Two overarching principles that you need to know, and will learn from this easy-to-finish book:
1) learn how to spend your money on shit that matters, and stop spending on shit that doesn't. This includes insuring the right aspects of your life as well as not buying stuff that doesn't add any value to your life.
2) Understand why everybody needs to invest and the importance of time in the investment process. It's not difficult and it doesn't need to be intimidating.
If you read this book, and you're still not convinced, your next goal is The Intelligent Investor. You won't regret it.
Two overarching principles that you need to know, and will learn from this easy-to-finish book:
1) learn how to spend your money on shit that matters, and stop spending on shit that doesn't. This includes insuring the right aspects of your life as well as not buying stuff that doesn't add any value to your life.
2) Understand why everybody needs to invest and the importance of time in the investment process. It's not difficult and it doesn't need to be intimidating.
If you read this book, and you're still not convinced, your next goal is The Intelligent Investor. You won't regret it.
January 4, 2020
This book is a must-read for anyone. There are some bits you can skip over if they don't apply to your situation but overall it gives a nice simple to read explanation about the world of finance. Would recommend for everyone!
April 1, 2024
I opened this book just to page through and ended up reading it all in one sitting.
Fantastic and now I’m off to create a few additional accounts :)
It is also so nice to have a finance book written by a South African; usually I have to page over many chapters in US books on investments and RAs.
Fantastic and now I’m off to create a few additional accounts :)
It is also so nice to have a finance book written by a South African; usually I have to page over many chapters in US books on investments and RAs.
June 3, 2022
Great down-to-earth tips!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 30, 2021
Great book, wish I had read it sooner!
March 3, 2021
This book helped me understand a little bit more of the most mysterious territory for me at the moment which is financial education. It gave some good processes and general idea of individual money goals, management, planning as well as growth which has helped me identify certain keywords to dive further into.
April 19, 2019
This book is actually understandable. No weird longwinded explanations about interest and stock exchange etc etc. Just easy to understand. Even included is an app and excell sheet for your practical part of the book. It is exactly what people like me (who dont know how to work with money) needs. It tells you exactly what to do and in what order. Fantastic book.
January 5, 2026
This book is for anyone who has never read a book on finances. I have read a couple of them and I felt that this one had no new information for me. But…let me give you more:
1. The writing is relatable, you’d feel like the author is your friends. She does swear a lot so if that will offend you, rather go for What’s Your Move by Nicolette Mashile or You’re not broke, you’re pre rich by Mapalo Makhu if want relatable writing.
2. Financial Jargon is broken down in smaller pieces to help you understand the concepts.
3. It’s very funny. I laughed for the most part that I read!
4. It read fast so you can finish it in a day for sure!
5. In the book, Sam encourages you to read only the chapters that you need, not everything.
If you want to take small steps to get your finances right, I would recommend this book for you!
1. The writing is relatable, you’d feel like the author is your friends. She does swear a lot so if that will offend you, rather go for What’s Your Move by Nicolette Mashile or You’re not broke, you’re pre rich by Mapalo Makhu if want relatable writing.
2. Financial Jargon is broken down in smaller pieces to help you understand the concepts.
3. It’s very funny. I laughed for the most part that I read!
4. It read fast so you can finish it in a day for sure!
5. In the book, Sam encourages you to read only the chapters that you need, not everything.
If you want to take small steps to get your finances right, I would recommend this book for you!
March 14, 2021
I read this at an airport because I finished my holiday book and this is what my friend had and I have to say it feels good to finish a holiday and feel like you might be able to reset your life a little. Or at least organise it well so you don’t have that weird money related stress creeping into your thoughts every so often. It’s for people who are in their twenties or early thirties but honestly, I am not organised with money so I guess it was for me too. Easy to read, easy to understand, will aim to put it into practice.
June 6, 2020
A very pertinent book for millennials yearning to achieve a higher level of financial literacy. The wonderful thing about this book is how Beckbessinger maintains her quirky sense of humour while getting to the heart of why so many of us have been conditioned to think that money management is too far beyond our comprehension and one should shy away from discussing their personal finances.
May 20, 2018
While some of the stuff mentioned isn't new to the get better with your money stuff, there is enough that it's helped me. I especially loved the thing about budgets and why we don't always stick to them - hence the need for an f around fund.
January 22, 2019
An entertaining book on money management for young adults in their 20s and 30s. You get a sense that the author is genuinely interested in trying to get you into good money management habits early on in life.
February 23, 2023
Ein super Einsteiger Buch zum Thema Investieren und finanzielle Freiheit. Sehr amüsant und unterhaltsam geschrieben. Eine klare Empfehlung für alle, die sich bisher wenig mit ihren Finanzen beschäftigt haben und dies gerne ändern möchten.
May 22, 2019
Best personal finance book I've ever read! Especially relevant to millennials in South Africa
Displaying 1 - 30 of 162 reviews