[Review] Go Fund Yourself by Alice Tapper

Go Fund Yourself by Alice Tapper - Book Review Summary

Thinking about reading Go Fund Yourself by Alice Tapper? Want to know a bit more about the book before you buy a copy for yourself.

In this review of Go Fund Yourself I’ll let you know what you can expect to find inside the book, as well as sharing my own thoughts to help you decide whether it is the right book for you to read.

Go Fund Yourself - Alice Tapper - Book Review Summary

This page includes affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I may earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. Thank you to Head of Zeus for sending me a free copy of the book.

Introduction
What is this book?
Who is this book for?
Time isn’t money
A disclaimer
The GFY Money Plan

PART I – LEARN IT
Money is…
The banks and you
Interest rates
How to lose money by doing nothing

PART II – EARN IT
A brief history of ‘earning it’
Digital natives
Generation squeeze
PART 1: MAKING CHOICES
Overload
Expectations and access
How to make decisions
PART 2: MAKING CHANGES
Get the basics right
Big changes

PART III – START IT
A brief history of ‘starting it’
Having ideas
Problems: Where good ideas exist
How to validate your ideas
Go fund your business
Five steps to launch
Managing money in a business
Make money, make a difference
On the side
A(nother) word on failure

PART IV – SPEND IT
PART 1: HOW WE SPEND IT TODAY
The case of Anna Delvey
Open up
What does money look like
Spending isn’t buying
More is better
The (un)true value of money
PART 2: THE ‘SPENDING’ IT ESSENTIALS
Budget better, spend better
Debt
Money and love
Money and the mind

PART V – INVEST IT

PART 1: SAVE AND INVEST
Investing principle 1: Compounding
What is investing?
Tackling generational beliefs
Investing principle 2: Time
Are you ready
What am I actually investing in?
Investing principle 3: Diversification
Funds
Investing principle 4: risk and return
Where should I invest?
Investing principle 5: Mind the fees
Investing principle 6: Think tax
Ethical investing
What next?

PART 2: GETTING ON THE PROPERTY LADDER
Can I buy?
Why are you doing this?
The GFY guide to getting on the property ladder
Live and give

INSIDE ‘GO FUND YOURSELF’

LEARNT IT

This is a very short section of the book. It sets the foundations for the rest of the book by explaining and exploring some basic financial concepts and terms.

EARN IT

What we earn plays a major role in our financial situation and planning, however, in the book Alice doesn’t just talk about earning from a purely financial position. In fact, in this section of the book, she sets you questions to ensure that not only are you earning what you would like, but that you are also earning it in a way that makes you happy.

START IT

In this section of the book, Alice writes about starting a business. Very much like in ‘Earn It’ there are a few mentions of the financial side of the business but the book goes further than just the financial side. It walks you through validating a business idea, to choosing the right business structure and then dealing with the financial side of running a business.

SPEND IT

When it comes to finances there are two major factors: what you earn and what you spend. In this section of the book, Alice discusses the changes in consumer spending and how as a result of people spending more than they earn debt is becoming more common. The second half of ‘Spend It’ focuses on budget. You are introduced to the 50:30:20 budgeting method and also given a guide on how to clear debt if you have it.

INVEST IT

The first part of ‘Invest it’ is on investing. Alice goes into detail to explain what investing is, what different types of investments you can make and why investing is important. By the end you’ll be in a place where you can put together your own investing strategy if you wish to do so. The second part of this section focuses on buying a home and explaining how that works financially.

FINAL THOUGHTS FROM CHARELLE

Overall, I thought Go Fund Yourself was a good book, although it wasn’t extremely useful for myself. I liked how Alice didn’t talk about finances in isolation, especially in Earn It and Start It. She did a great job at not expecting people to already have a financial knowledge and explaining the concepts, but for someone who has read a number of personal finance books it meant I wasn’t introduced to many new thoughts or concepts. However, Alice does set some interesting tasks and questions and so by taking the time to do those I at least had the opportunity to check in with myself and identify areas of my financial life that I should be focusing on more.

WHO WOULD I RECOMMEND READS GO FUND YOURSELF BY ALICE TAPPER

As Alice mentioned at the beginning of the book she thinks it is ideally suited to 20- or 30- something and I would agree with that. I think it would be a good option for someone living in the UK (there are a few mentions of UK based financial products such as an ISA) who is fairly new to personal finances. However, I think it works for people at multiple stages in their financial journey. You could be in debt, trying to save, thinking of buying your first home or just starting to explore the idea of investing.