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10 years since the publication of The Wellbeing Book
10 years since the publication of The Wellbeing Book
By guest contributor Chris Budd
In the summer of 2015, I decided to take some time out to write a book. Little did I know how much this would change not only my life, but the lives of many other people as well.
I wanted to write about money, having been a financial planner for some twenty years. But not just another financial literacy book, explaining how pensions work. I wanted to provide a guide for readers to produce their own financial plan. But, crucially, one that would make them happier, not just wealthier.
I had been inspired by the work of the Penny Brohn Cancer Centre, where my wife was working. They help people with a cancer diagnosis to live a life of wellbeing. One way is to reduce stress.
It occurred to me that worries about money can be a major cause of stress. If we could have a healthier relationship with money, then perhaps this could have a positive impact on our health and our wellbeing.
I had my title. The Financial Wellbeing Book.
I then began researching the relationship between money and happiness – and I have not stopped since!
Impact
When I was writing the book, my wife asked me what I hoped it might achieve. I replied that I wanted to change the financial advice profession so that it focused on helping people to become happier, not just helping rich people to get richer. I remember her smiling kindly towards me, with a look that said: ‘Well, it’s nice to have dreams’!
I came up with the term Financial Wellbeing for the title for the book. When I googled the term to see if it had been used for a book before, there were only two results; one relating to the workplace, and one from Gallup.
Once the book was published, I began the Financial Wellbeing Podcast, which is still going and has over 130 episodes. I have spoken at conferences in the UK and around the world. I founded the Institute for Financial Wellbeing in 2020, and published a second book, The Four Cornerstones of Financial Wellbeing. Financial wellbeing is now a term that is used by many financial advice firms. In 2023, I received an ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Financial Advice industry’ award.
The Professional Adviser Small Advice Firm of the year award is one of the major awards in the industry. In 2025, when announcing the winner, the judge stated that the firm’s commitment to financial wellbeing was a major factor in them winning the award. This was the point of which I thought that maybe I had actually achieved that ambition!
Financial Wellbeing And My Life
So how has the book changed my life? Well, I sold the financial planning company that I founded, Ovation Finance Limited, to an Employee Ownership Trust in 2018. This gave me the freedom to continue researching, writing and speaking about financial wellbeing.
What I learned led to me to review my own relationship with money. I always felt that our Western society places too much emphasis on wealth as part of success, rather than wellbeing. Now I had the evidence.
I learned about the importance of having meaning and purpose; of having quality social relationships. I also learned that spending on unnecessary things is fine, if it is affordable and if those things are for personal enjoyment, not to impress others. My vinyl record collection has particularly benefited from this realisation!
It is truly humbling to be at a party and meet somebody who recognises your name (or, more bizarrely, your voice!). More so when they realise it is from The Financial Wellbeing Book, they excitedly tell you how they made changes to their own lives as a result of reading it.
Money can be a positive force for wellbeing. However, it can also get in the way. Writing The Financial Wellbeing Book, and everything that has come since, has helped me find real purpose in helping others to have a relationship with money that increases their wellbeing.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Budd is the founder of the Initiative for Financial Wellbeing and is the Chairman of Ovation Finance. He is the author of The Financial Wellbeing Book (part of LID’s Concise Advice series)and The Four Cornerstones of Financial Wellbeing (LID) and is based in the UK.
Suggested Reading
One of the biggest enemies of our general wellbeing is stress; and one of the biggest causes of stress is concern about money. This book provides a simple and practical guide to planning your daily and long-term finances by understanding your objectives and motivations. In doing so, it offers respite from the anxiety and stress caused by money problems.