What we are reading this month

Lucy Woolrich

HEAD OF TALENT

The Financial Wellbeing Book: Creating Financial Peace of Mind

A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future

by Chris Budd

The term ’wellbeing’ may seem like a current buzzword, but it is essential to our health and happiness as it encompasses our physical, mental, social and financial welfare. Stress poses a significant threat to wellbeing; and not feeling secure and in control of our money can result in even the most resilient of us feeling anxious.

This book separates financial wellbeing into five elements, with the underlying mantra of ‘know thyself’ embedded into each stage. With the help of practical steps and suggestions for notes along the way, Budd uses his expertise to walk you through a process that

I am an avid non-fiction reader and whilst I like to think this encompasses a wide variety of genres, I wouldn’t have naturally bought this book. Fortunately, my ten-year-old son gifted it to me and out of the 22 books I’ve read this year, I found this one to be the most impactful.

In the first half of the book, David chronicles how he has seen the planet change over the nine decades he has been on it, charting the unrelenting rise of humanity and our ever-growing impact on the natural world around us. It’s a heart-breaking, shocking and thought-provoking account. covers how to lessen the effects of shocks, like the current inflationary pressures and rising energy prices, as well as how to create your own unique motivations and goals.

A key takeaway for me is that financial wellbeing isn’t about being wealthy, it’s about aligning the life you want for yourself and your finances. It’s about feeling in control, enjoying options and choices, and providing much-needed clarity and security for those we leave behind. In essence, it aims to create peace of mind – surely, there’s no greater wealth in this world than that?

The second half happily proves uplifting and motivating. David moves on to how we can and must fix things, by looking at various strategies and technologies, which could transform the world we live in. The solutions required could well create some of the largest and most profitable companies of the future. So for me, there’s also an underlying investment theme developing.

If you only read one non-fiction book this year, I recommend this one. If, come the last page, you are disappointed, I will gladly refund you the cost.

Colin Lawson

FOUNDER

by David Attenborough