Young people today face unprecedented financial challenges such as rising student debt, stiff competition for jobs, barriers to home ownership, dwindling state benefits, and a longer working life. Essential Personal Finance: A Practical Guide for Students, authored by Lien Luu and published by Routledge in 2017, is essential reading for students navigating these complex financial landscapes. The book covers all the key areas of personal finance, including budgeting, managing debt, savings and investments, insurance, securing a home, and laying the foundations for retirement.

It also provides an introduction to some of the fundamental concepts underlying a modern undergraduate finance qualification. These include:

• 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, the risk-return trade-off, basics of portfolio construction, and the impact of tax
• The importance of the efficient market hypothesis and modern portfolio theory in shaping investment strategies, as well as their limitations

This comprehensive guide is designed to equip students with the financial knowledge and skills needed not only for their own financial security but also to help build a new generation of financial advisers capable of guiding all citizens through the complex world of personal finance.