It’s no secret that, as a student, you’ll have to cope with a lot of financial pressure. When you’re moving to London to study, or even if you already live here and are moving into a new place, you’ll need to learn how to manage your money. In a big city like this, it’s all too easy to find there’s still a lot of the month to go at the end of your money. 

One way to get your hands on a quick and decent sum of cash is to sell some of your belongings. That could include any books of value and in which collectors might be interested, such as children’s books, which you’ve held onto since childhood and stored away in a loft somewhere. Parting with these items isn't always easy, however, especially if they have sentimental value attached to them. Below, we’ve picked out five of the best personal finance books to help you manage your money more comfortably whether before, during and after your time at university, and avoid reaching a point at which you might have to sell possessions you’d rather keep.

 

The Total Money Makeover, by Dave Ramsey

The chances are, you’re going to have to take out a loan before or during your studies. Personal finance expert Dave Ramsey, however, builds his teachings on the principle that debt is bad. In ‘The Total Money Makeover’, he teaches you to pay off student loans and other debts so that you can live debt-free and build wealth.

Reading this powerful book before you even set foot on campus will change how you think about your money now and in the future. It even advises you on saving for higher education. After reading it, instead of attending parties, you may put the money you’d have spent towards your emergency fund or invest it.

 

I Will Teach You to Be Rich, by Ramit Sethi

‘I Will Teach You to Be Rich’, by Ramit Sethi, is another personal finance modern classic. Importantly, the writer isn’t a believer in the ‘buy fewer coffees’ approach many personal finance books teach. Instead, he explains you can spend your money on the things you enjoy if you spend less of it on things you dislike spending it on, such as rent and utility bills, and if you start allocating and investing your money early.

Ramit teaches you about budgeting, negotiating with banks, building savings, tackling student loans, pushing for a pay rise at work, setting up pensions and more, and urges you to change your mindset to live a healthier financial life. The language is light-hearted, clear and engaging, but it’s all solid advice.

 

Your Money Or Your Life, by Vicki Robins

This book is excellent for anyone who is into frugality and who wants to achieve financial independence. The book sets out a nine-step plan and instructs you in ways to live a fruitful life for less, teaching you how to think about your priorities and to solve conflicts between your lifestyle and your value. Ultimately, it teaches more mindful spending and about managing your emotions around money, as well as addressing subjects including how to get out of debt and how to invest.

 

Broke Millennial, by Erin Lowry

That title might not inspire you, but this book will help you turn your financial life around. It’s a book for millennials, of course, and, amongst them, beginners who know nothing or very little about personal finance.

Issues covered include looking at your relationship with money, managing student loans, discussing finances with your partner and more. In essence, ‘Broke Millennial’ looks at the biggest financial challenges millennials face today and tells them how to navigate them and, generally, to take control of their personal finances.

 

The No Spend Year, by Michelle McGagh

In ‘The No Spend Year’ personal finance journalist Michelle McGagh tells the story of how she took on the challenge of not spending any money for a year, other than on essentials (and even then, saving on them where possible). Along the way, she provides bucket-loads of money-saving tips on food shopping, transport, socialising, activities and more.

It’s inspiring and engaging, with lots of lessons for the reader to learn from her experiences. The author creates no illusions that the challenge was easy in any way. Some of the ideas or courses of action she took may seem extreme, but she did save thousands of pounds during that year. It’s all a question of how badly you want to save money.

These five books are all superb reads and can help you to improve your personal finances before, during and after your studies. At times, following the advice in them may entail sacrifice, but if this helps you to worry less about your finances at any stage of your student journey, investing time and money in them is a good choice.