Are you interested in reading some of the best money books? Reading financial books is a great way to improve your financial situation and reach your money and life goals.
If you want to make a change in your financial life, then I recommend that you start reading personal finance books.
What I like so much about reading financial books is that you can hear so many different kinds of stories (kind of like reading personal finance blogs!). But, the authors can go much more in-depth in a book.
The best money books motivate you with personal stories, teach strategies you never thought of, and lay out the steps to take charge of your financial life so you can change it for the better.
Today, I want to share some of the best money books for all ages.
The books below are great for any stage of your life, whether you are fresh out of school, have a family, seeking retirement, or something else.
These books are great to purchase for yourself, or to give away as gifts. I know for me, I like to give books as gifts as they can be so helpful in a person’s life.
Also, if you are looking to save money, you can simply see if your local library has the book that you are interested in. Many times they do, so that can be a great way to save money and reduce waste. Free personal finance books are a no brainer!
There are many different financial literacy books listed below, so you will be sure to find at least one or two that meet your needs.
I consider the books below to be some of the best finance books of all time, because they may help you:
- Reach early retirement
- Create healthy money habits that also save the planet
- Simplify your life and address your relationship with material possessions
- Make more money and overcome income obstacles in life
- Stop being broke and learn how to manage money when you’re young
- Learn how to make $40,000 a week with just 4 hours of work
And more!
Below are the best money books.
Work Optional: Retire Early the Non-Penny-Pinching Way
Work Optional is one of my top picks for best money books, and it was written by one of my favorite writers, Tanja Hester. This personal finance book will show you how to reach financial independence so that you can live the life you want.
I know retirement feels very far away, especially if you are younger, but this book explains how early retirement is a possibility if you start saving money now. Yes, retiring before the traditional age of 65 can happen, and it starts with the kind of guidance you’ll get in this book.
I have actually read this book twice, and I always recommend it to anyone who wants to retire early. I have lent this book out to many different people who have told me they were interested in pursuing early retirement.
Please click here to learn more about Work Optional: Retire Early the Non-Penny-Pinching Way.
Your Money Or Your Life
Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence has sold more than one million copies, and is one of the most popular and best money books of all time.
This book has been popular for more than 25 years, and it was recently updated to include modern topics like side hustles, new investment securities, tracking your money online, and more. The edition also includes an intro from popular personal finance blogger Mr. Money Mustache.
Even Oprah has said about this book “This is a wonderful book. It can really change your life.”
This book will help you to get out of debt, save money through mindfulness and good habits, create wealth, save the planet, and more.
Please click here to learn more about Your Money Or Your Life by Vicki Robin.
The Year of Less
In this book, Cait writes about her yearlong shopping ban, which will inspire you to simplify your own life and address your relationship with all of the things that you own.
The Year of Less is one of the best money books because it teaches you how easy it is to get in a spending cycle and let material possessions take over your life. Cait talks about how for a full year, she only bought groceries, toiletries, and gas, and how it impacted her life. This is a great read if you want to live more simply and are ready for a dramatic change.
Also, just in case you were not aware, the average household has around 300,000 items in it. That is a lot of stuff!
Reading Cait’s story is informative, but also inspiring. This book will help you figure out what you want in life and teach you that it’s okay to go against what society expects of you.
Please click here to learn more about The Year of Less by Cait Flanders.
Quit Like A Millionaire
Quit Like a Millionaire: No Gimmicks, Luck, or Trust Fund Required was written by Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung, who are well-known people in the Financial Independence Retire Early (or FIRE) community.
Kristy retired early at the age of 31 with a million dollars, and she has a very inspirational story. In Quit Like a Millionaire, she explains she was able to save a million dollars and how it can be a reality for you too. This is a great guide on how to save more money, retire early, and live the life that you want.
In this book, you’ll learn a step-by-step guide on how to reach success, whatever that means for you. This is a fun and inspirational book that will open you up to new possibilities and opportunities.
Please click here to learn more about Quit Like A Millionaire.
Financial Freedom: A Proven Path to All the Money You Will Ever Need
Financial Freedom was written by Grant Sabatier, who decided that he needed to change his life by learning how to make more money.
Here’s a bio I found about Grant to introduce you to his story.
“In 2010, 24-year old Grant Sabatier woke up to find he had $2.26 in his bank account. Five years later, he had a net worth of over $1.25 million, and CNBC began calling him ‘The Millennial Millionaire.’ By age 30, he had reached financial independence. Along the way he uncovered that most of the accepted wisdom about money, work, and retirement is either incorrect, incomplete, or so old-school it’s obsolete.”
In his book, Grant writes about how to reach financial freedom through steps such as building side hustles, traveling the world for less, building an investment portfolio, and more.
Please click here to learn more about Financial Freedom.
The Simple Path To Wealth
The Simple Path To Wealth was written by J.L. Collins, and it’s one of the best books on money management, especially if you want to retire early.
Collins writes about many important financial topics in his book, such as how to avoid debt, how to build wealth, what the 4% rule is, and more.
What I find really interesting about this book is that it is based on a series of letters the author wrote to his daughter. He wrote them knowing she probably wasn’t ready to hear them, but they were about important financial topics she eventually needed to learn about.
This is an easy money book to read, and it makes complicated personal finance topics much easier to understand. Like, there is a lot of information about different kinds of retirement funds, and the book explains confusing differences in a way that makes sense.
Also, many people have said that J.L. Collins is the reason why they were able to retire early.
Please click here to learn more about The Simple Path To Wealth.
You Are a Badass at Making Money
If you are wondering “What is the best book on making money?” then this is the one for you!
You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth teaches readers how to make more money, and it’s written with a female focus. This book will help you overcome obstacles in life so that you can make more money and be as wealthy as you want to be.
The author, Jen Sincero has an amazing financial story — she went from living in a garage to traveling the world.
She uses her story to show you how to tap into your natural ability to make money. She focuses on facing and eliminating your fears, excuses, and doubts. This book will help you uncover what is holding you back from living the life you want.
Please click here to learn more about You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero.
The Millionaire Next Door
The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy is another classic personal finance book, and it was written by Thomas J. Stanley.
In this book, he writes about the common traits of those who are wealthy, and how the wealthy can be even someone such as your neighbor, even though you might not realize it.
You will learn that many millionaires live fairly frugal lifestyles, the difference in how they allocate their time, even how they raise their children. It’s a surprising look at what it means to be rich, and how people who appear rich may actually be in a lot of debt.
This is one of the best money books because it shows readers that anyone can retire with wealth, not just your traditional multi-millionaires living in huge mansions with airplanes.
Please click here to learn more about The Millionaire Next Door.
I Will Teach You To Be Rich
I Will Teach You To Be Rich was written by Ramit Sethi and is a great personal finance book for beginners.
Ramit’s I Will Teach You To Be Rich is packed full of informative lessons, and it is written in a fun way. He covers the basics of personal finance such as budgeting, saving money, investing, and more.
The book is written as a 6-week program specifically for 25-to-35-year-olds who are ready to take control of their financial life. It’s very straightforward and non judgemental.
Please click here to learn more about I Will Teach You To Be Rich.
Broke Millennial
Broke Millennial was written by Erin Lowry, and is one of the must-read best money books for young adults. She makes the topic of money entertaining, fun, and relatable for young adults. You won’t be bored with this money book!
Erin gives readers a step-by-step plan to stop being broke, and she discusses many topics, from tricky ones like how to manage student loans, how to discuss money with your partner, and more.
I personally give this book as a graduation gift to anyone I know who is graduating from high school or college. This is one of the best personal finance books for beginners because it teaches young adults how to actually understand money.
Please click here to learn more about Broke Millennial.
If you’re looking for one of the best books on investing, I recommend her second book, Broke Millennial Takes On Investing. This is also a great read, and it covers the topic of investing without making you feel dumb. If you are brand new to investing, then this is the perfect book for new investors to get over what they are afraid of.
The 4-Hour Workweek
This is one of the best money books that has been changing peoples’ lives for a very long time, and it is a favorite of mine. The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich teaches people how to live more and work less.
I’ve heard from many full-time travelers, those who have reached early retirement and those who have completely changed their life, who have said that this book is the one that made the biggest impact.
So, you can’t go wrong reading this book!
You’ll learn through a step-by-step guide on topics such as how Tim went from $40,000 per year and 80 hours per week to $40,000 per month and 4 hours per week and how to trade a long career for frequent mini-retirements.
Please click here to learn more about The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss.
Choose FI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence
Choose FI is one of the top personal finance books in the FIRE movement. It’s written by Chris Mamula, Brad Barrett, and Jonathan Mendonsa — the hosts of the award-winning podcast of the same name.
The authors of this book explain how they learned to stop letting money dictate their life. It’s a blueprint that teaches you how to build a lifestyle around your passions, not money.
This is one of the best money books for anyone who wants to learn what it’s like when money no longer controls your life, and it will motivate you to get rid of your debt so you can start living life on your terms.
Also, if you are already a fan of the Choose FI podcast, then this book is a must-read.
Please click here to learn more about Choose FI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence.
The Boglehead’s Guide to Investing
This book teaches you the financial wisdom of John C. Bogle, who is the founder of Vanguard Investing and has been credited with creating the first index fund.
The Boglehead’s Guide to Investing is considered one of the best books on investing because you learn exactly how the stock market works. You also learn how to avoid common stock market advice that actually leads to investment failure.
This is a must-read money book for anyone who is interested in learning how to invest, especially those who want to be hands-on investors.
Meet the Frugalwoods
I shared an interview with the author of Meet the Frugalwoods, Elizabeth Willard Thames, a couple of years ago, and her story is truly inspiring.
Elizabeth reached financial independence by the age of 32, and then moved to a homestead in Vermont. Their lifestyle may seem extreme to some people, but it works for them.
Meet the Frugalwoods is the story of how they realized they wanted something other than a mainstream life, how they reached financial independence so young, and how to live a more meaningful life on your own terms.
If you are feeling stuck in your life and feel weighed down by the clutter of material things, this is one of the best money books to read.
Please click here to learn more about Meet the Frugalwoods.
Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness
Nudge is a little different from the rest of the best money books on this list as it explains the science behind why and how we make decisions.
Instead just focusing on money management, you will learn the psychology behind your financial decisions.
This book uses real-world examples of how people can overcome behaviors so you can make better choices with your money. These are things like creating regular savings habits or how to avoid impulse spending.
One of the authors of Nudge, Richard H. Thaler, has even won the Nobel Prize in Economics for his work in behavioral economics.
The best money books to read.
I hope you enjoyed this list of best money books.
Even if you only find one to read, I think that it will help you dramatically improve your life. Not just your financial life either. These best money management books can help you reduce stress, live more simply, pursue your passions, and live a happier life overall.
Whether your goal is to pay off debt, save more money, or even reach early retirement, there is something on this list of best finance books to read for everyone to enjoy.
Here’s an easy list of all of the best books on money that I talked about above:
- Work Optional: Retire Early the Non-Penny-Pinching Way
- Your Money Or Your Life
- The Year of Less
- Quit Like A Millionaire
- Financial Freedom
- The Simple Path To Wealth
- You Are a Badass at Making Money
- The Millionaire Next Door
- I Will Teach You To Be Rich
- Broke Millennial
- The 4-Hour Workweek
- Choose FI
- The Boglehead’s Guide to Investing
- Meet the Frugalwoods
- Nudge
What do you think are the best money books to read? Have you read anything on this list?
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