Young people face unprecedented financial challenges: rising student debt, stiff competition for jobs, barriers to home ownership, dwindling state benefits and prospects of a longer working life. Essential Personal Finance is a guide to all the key areas of personal finance: budgeting, managing debt, savings and investments, insurance, securing a home and laying the foundations for retirement. It provides an introduction to some of the essential foundations of a modern undergraduate finance qualification, including: • the nature of financial institutions, markets and economic policy that shape the opportunities and decisions individuals face • the range of financial assets available to households, risk-return trade-off, basics of portfolio construction and impact of tax • the importance of the efficient market hypothesis and modern portfolio theory in shaping investment strategies and the limitations of these approaches • behavioural finance as a key to understanding factors influencing individual and market perceptions and actions • using financial data to inform investment selection and create financial management tools that can aid decision-making. The second edition has been fully updated and includes: more information on the cost of living crisis; Fintech, climate change, sustainable finance and cryptocurrencies; financial skills and calculations; tax, trust planning and wills; pensions; regulation and fraud; and additional case studies. Written by authors who contribute experience as financial advisers, practitioners and academics, Essential Personal Finance is a compelling combination of a textbook aimed at students on personal finance and financial services courses, and a practical guide for young people in building their own financial strength and capability.