Money & Work An Essential Guide:

Spiramus Publishing (Published 2007)    

Written by Wyn Derbyshire, Stephen Hardy and David Wicks

United Kingdom

Review 2 Stars - Not Good

How the blurb describes the book:
Money & work: an essential guide

“A good and useful read” – John Cridland, Deputy Director General, CBI

“Don’t start your career without reading this first” – Steve Delo, President of the Pensions’ Management Institute

Combining practical information on personal finances with employment, pensions and tax law, this is an essential survival gudie for:

-          Anyone entering the workforce for the first time

-          Students leaving home and having to manage their own finances

-          Workers new to the UK

Levels of personal debt in the United Kingdom (estimated at 1.3 trillion pounds) have never been greater. House prices have soared over recent years, making it harder for first-time buyers to get on the housing ladder. We’re all living longer and the pension system gets steadily more difficult to understand. The working environment becomes ever more complex as new employment laws and practices emerge and the old certainties about the working world disappear, creating a confusing tapestry of rights and obligations. All in all, life (at least those aspects of life relating to work, savings, debt, pensions, mortgages and so on) is complicated today. The aim of this book is to demystify at least some of the confusion which can exist in relation to financial and employment matters.

About the authors

Wyn Derbyshire is a Partner at SJ Berwin LLP, Solicitors, where he is Head of the Pensions’ Group. He has written numerous articles, and commented in the media on various pensions’ issues.

Stephen Hardy is a Barrister, and former Professor of Law at the University of Manchester where he researched in EU and employment law. He is widely published on employment related matters.

David Wicks entered the financial services industry in 1971, and has held a variety of Marketing, Technical and Developmental roles with life assurance companies. He provides various consultancy services to Insurance Companies, IFAs and other institutions in the financial world.

Mr Home Budget’s Review: Think back to when you were are school. There was one really boring teacher/professor that made everybody cringe when they got in his class. You remember the one; they talked in a monotone voice and only gave out the facts.

Now imagine three of these types of teachers got together and wrote a book about money and work. Well I have found the book. And trust me it’s about as much fun as hearing fingernails scratching down a blackboard.

While it was published in the United Kingdom, most of the concepts are universal to any country. But do be aware, some content like laws and government rules would only be useful to English people.

The book just goes into so much detail, including would you believe, how to deposit money into a bank account!  Don’t we all know how to do that by now? It is written with no personal views, stories, case studies, humour, or opinions. It’s just the black and white basics. Sometimes you think it’s been written as if they are talking to aliens who have zero knowledge of the money system.

If you want to know the ins and outs of laws on various financial products, this book does tackle it. It would be handy if you wanted the correct term if for example to use in a court case or school project. You can find it here.

But if you then want advice on how to handle your budget, forget about it. While I never did, I found myself wanting to skim read the book. Just so I could get to the end quicker; it’s just that boring.

Like the title, the book is split into two sections (Money and Work). But both sections are as boring as each other. However, the work section could give you valuable advice which you would be charged for if you got it from a lawyer. For example, laws regarding unfair dismissal or gender discrimination.

While reading the book, you get the idea it’s written as a textbook. You feel like it should be sold in a college bookstore rather than a regular bookstore. Had this been a textbook, you might be a bit more tolerant of the book, as you could at least see why they had written it in such a way. But the authors are far too interested in the facts than to give you a reason to keep reading.

In summary, this is a book which is not really worth having on your bookshelf. It may provide some valuable information if you are studying finance or doing a law degree. But otherwise, stay clear.

Pros: Would be good for a lawyer or student who needs the correct terms and knowledge of laws.

Cons: The blurb on the back and the contents are really different.

It’s just so boring with no stories, opinions, or case studies.

Too long and far too in depth, my opinion is most people would not get through the entire book.

Wastes time and effort talking about subjects like how to deposit money into your bank account. Surely this does not have to be included.