The tools I use to see where my money goes, bank with less friction and fly further for less, and the books that changed how I think about money. I’m a chartered accountant with an honours degree in business finance, and finance and investing have always interested me.
Tim Ferriss · 2007
Ferriss’s case against deferring life until retirement. His four steps, Definition, Elimination, Automation and Liberation, mean deciding what you actually want, cutting the work that does not matter, building income that runs without you, and then using the freedom.
What I took from itFor a long time I’ve been drawn to the idea of a lifestyle business, something aligned with how you actually want to live. That thinking was shaped by this book.
Michael E. Gerber · 1995
Why most small businesses fail: they are started by technicians who know the craft and assume that is the same as running a business. Gerber’s answer is to work on the business, not only in it, and to build systems as if you were going to franchise it.
What I took from itAnything only I can do is a weakness, not a strength. If something is repeatable, I always create a template.
Daniel Priestley · 2014
Priestley’s five-step method for becoming the recognised person in your field: Pitch, Publish, Product, Profile and Partnerships. Short and practical, built on the idea that the most valued people in any industry are visible for what they know.
What I took from itPublishing is the step most people skip. The Sunday list, starting soon, is me not skipping it.
John Lee · 2025
Three stages, making money, keeping it and multiplying it, with the mindset and the mechanics of each. Lee’s point is that most people only ever learn the first, and that income which does not depend on your time is what makes the other two possible.
What I took from itLots of helpful ideas, in particular building income streams that do not need me. I spent two days at his London mastermind in early October 2026.
Rob Moore · 2016
How to get more done in less time by outsourcing, delegating and automating what does not need you, and by using other people’s time, money and skills. Moore’s premise is that leverage, not effort, separates the busy from the free.
What I took from itI did his Life Leverage Masterclass too. The question I kept: is this the best use of my time, or just something I can do?
Napoleon Hill · 1937
The original personal development book, written after twenty years studying the wealthy of Hill’s day. Decide exactly what you want, set a deadline, write it down, read it morning and night, act daily, and persist. The mastermind, a group of people who help each other succeed, comes from here.
What I took from itChoose one clear goal, write it down, act on it every day and persist. Everything else in the book serves that.
Brings all my bank accounts and cards into one app, sorts the spending into categories and spots the subscriptions I’d forgotten about.
How I use it. Once a month I export the previous month’s transactions and go through them line by line. An accountant’s habit, and the reason I know where the money goes.
I own shares in Emma.
A current account and cards in the app, with spending abroad in the local currency and an eSIM for mobile data when travelling.
How I use it. Day-to-day spending abroad, and mobile data in South Africa without buying a local SIM.
The British Airways credit card I use to collect Avios on everyday spending.
How I use it. I use the Avios for reward flights: European short haul, and long haul back to South Africa. Nothing here is an invitation to apply.
Alerts when reward seats open up on the routes you watch, for British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. Reward availability changes hourly, and alerts are the practical way to catch it.
How I use it. Watching London to Johannesburg for trips home. The alerts land in my inbox the moment seats appear.
Email alerts for cheap fares out of UK airports, found by a team that watches fares all day. The premium tier gets the alerts first.
How I use it. Mostly reading. Every so often one lands for a place I had been meaning to go.
Chris Hutchins’s podcast on getting more from money, travel and points.
How I use it. One of my podcast subscriptions.
Hannah Munro of finance consultancy itas talks to CFOs and finance leaders about technology and the future of the finance function.
How I use it. One of my podcast subscriptions.
Amanda C. Watts on how accountants, bookkeepers and CFOs move from compliance work to advising the businesses they serve.
How I use it. One of my podcast subscriptions.
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This is not financial advice. It is what I do with my own money, not a recommendation for yours. Investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you put in. Tax treatment depends on your circumstances. If you need advice, speak to a regulated financial adviser.
