How to Fund the Life You Want

What everyone needs to know about savings, pensions and investments (Second Edition)

Robin Powell, Jonathan Hollow

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Business
• Year: 2026
• Edition: 2
• eBook ISBN:
  9781399427913
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Personal Finance

*WINNER OF THE WORK & LIFE BUSINESS BOOK AWARD 2023*

'If you're serious about getting things right with your money – and avoiding costly mistakes – then set time aside to work through this excellent book. You will end up better off. No question.'
Paul Lewis, Freelance Presenter, Money Box BBC Radio 4

The second, updated edition of the award-winning and accessible guide to personal finance that busts myths, clarifies jargon and provides the best options for building your wealth.

Hybrid and home working have encouraged many people to prioritize a healthier work-life balance. Others have resolved to work only as long as they must – retiring early to focus on families and friends, hobbies or travel. Meanwhile, employers across the world are experimenting with a four-day working week.

Making the most of these choices requires having and growing enough money to enjoy your future life, without needing to worry about it running out. But when it comes to investing in a pension, there is a dizzying number of complex options available.

This book is designed to provide clear, objective guidance that cuts through the jargon, giving you control over your financial future. Robin Powell and Jonathan Hollow strip away the marketing-speak, and through simple graphs, charts and diagrams, provide an evidence-based money manual that you can use again and again. They also alert you to myths and get-rich-quick schemes everyone should avoid.

It's a highly practical and refreshingly honest book, written by two independent experts who have seen how the investment industry works from the inside, and how it profits from complexity, ignorance and fear. They show how UK savers and investors can beat this system and, crucially, make more money for themselves than they do for financial services firms.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Praise
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Contents
• About the Authors
• Foreword by Claer Barrett
• Introduction
• 1 Your Money or Your Life?
• 2 Invest in … Yourself
• 3 Manage Your Money
• 4 Capture Market Returns
• 5 Avoid Charlatans and Sharks
• 6 Take the Right Risks
• 7 Manage Your Mix
• 8 Face Your Feelings
• 9 Find a First-Rate Adviser
• Our Six Rules and the Downloadable Workbook
• Jargon-Buster
• Endnotes
• Acknowledgements
• Index