Everybody, and especially young people, should strive to attain a certain level of financial literacy and become equipped with the skills, knowledge, and ability, to understand money and how the system works.Without such an understanding, you are likely to be taken advantage of in one way or the other, and lose out financially in the process.By becoming financially literate, you will be in control of making your own smart financial decisions, and therefore not falling prey to the system. You will have money work hard for you, instead of you working hard for it.Learning and understanding about money and finance is not complicated, and yet so many people struggle with the basic concepts, either through a lack of financial education being taught during school, college and university, or a lack of interest in learning about it, once they leave formal education.This lack of interest to learn, maybe down to people thinking that finance is either too complicated, boring, or both, but it doesn’t have to be either! Through the simple process of saving and investing small amounts of money on a regular basis, and harnessing the power of compound interest, small sums can grow into exciting life-changing sums, easily capable of replacing a salary and providing financial freedom. In this book, I aim to empower young people, and investment beginners, with a broad range of financial knowledge, so they can understand the way the system works, how they can use the system to their best advantage, and what pitfalls to avoid.The book follows a logical step by step progression, divided up into five main Parts, (consisting of 50 short chapters), with facts, tips and real-life stories throughout.Part 1 – Money: Considers what money is, and where it came from, along with how to live within your means, prepare a budget, understand what financial independence really is, and an introduction to the main financial products.Part 2 – Making it: Explores the wide topic of how to make money through employment, self-employment, entrepreneurship, as a business owner or franchise owner, (either on-line or in the real world.) The importance of office politics and “who you know” is also explored, along with an overview of basic company structures, and how to avoid scams and fraud.Part 3 – Saving it: Teaches you the two key concepts of saving money, and how to save enough for your future. Savings accounts, savings bonds, premium bonds, tax-free accounts and pensions, are also explored in this Part.Part 4 – Investing it: Explains why you need to invest and how to go about it, if you ultimately seek long term financial freedom. Considers the link between risk and reward, and looks at your own risk appetite. Provides an overview of setting objectives, along with short, medium and long term targets and goals. Reviews all the main asset types, including stocks, bonds, property and commodities, as well as peer to peer investments, and SIPP pensions.Part 5 – Conclusion: The book concludes with a quick quiz, and summing up of what you have learnt. It briefly discusses some alternative investments that can be considered in the future, and also provides a 15 point “to do” list for planning your own roadmap to financial freedom. Further reading and additional resources conclude this Part.Part 6 – Glossary: The glossary provides a useful overview of some of the keywords and phrases used in the financial world, (and within this book), along with a short plain English explanation of what they mean. This easy to read, jargon-free book, contains everything you need to know, to fully understand the basics and Master the Art of Money.I very much hope you find it useful, and inspirational enough to trigger a lifelong interest in money and finance, that ultimately makes your financial life ahead, much easier.