It’s always a perfect time to learn more about money, investing, debt management, and saving so here are the best and most accessible personal finance books to do just that.
We could all use a little help getting our finances in order and this is doubly important if you move around a lot as a digital nomad or you’re a freelancer whose income can be sporadic.
A money mindset is referring to our beliefs, attitudes, and habits around money, wealth, and financial success. It’s the way we think about earning, spending, saving, and investing money, and the emotions and values that are associated with these actions.
Specifically, a positive money mindset is characterized by a growth mindset, a sense of financial responsibility, and the belief that one has the ability to increase their wealth and financial stability.
Though we don’t live in a fair system, practicing some of the money management techniques introduced in these financial literacy books can go a long way in protecting what you do have.
Our favourite financial literacy books for beginners
Whether you’re looking for help managing and paying off your debts, you need help with saving or investments, want to live more frugally, or want a solid guide to creating multiple income streams (including passive income) then these varied and accessible personal finance books will help you out.
Finance for the People
by Paco De Leon
Finance for the People offers a unique approach to personal finance by focusing on examining one’s beliefs and experiences with money. The book blends practical exercises with mindfulness and includes over 50 illustrations to make the concepts accessible and engaging.
With deep expertise from various corners of the financial industry, the author, Paco de Leon, serves as a knowledgeable and approachable guide to help readers change their relationship with money.
Through this holistic approach, readers will learn how to uncover unconscious beliefs about money, reduce the mental and emotional burden of student loans, adopt a gratitude practice for spending, and break free from debt to build wealth.
This book is for anyone seeking a fresh and empowering perspective on personal finance and is ready to embark on a journey of self-discovery and financial empowerment.
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From Side Hustle to Main Hustle to Millionaire: 13 Lessons
by Ryan Scribner
In From Side Hustle to Main Hustle to Millionaire emphasizes that anyone can start a side hustle and there are now more opportunities now than ever before. Ryan shares his experience quitting his job to become a self-employed business owner and his journey to becoming a millionaire by age 26.
The book offers 13 simple lessons on how to leave the workforce, follow your passions, and earn passive income. It guides readers on how to build a successful side business and make it their main source of income over time with specific guidance on frugality, choosing a side hustle, finding a mentor, growing an audience or customer base, and diversifying into other assets for passive revenue streams.
Overall, this book offers valuable insights and practical advice to those looking to start their own side hustle, wether you just want a second stream of income or a new career.
Money: A User’s Guide
by Laura Whateley
This book is an ideal starting point for anyone wanting to take control of their finances. In Money: A User’s Guide Laura walks you through improving your credit rating, paying off debts and managing student loans, housing solutions for renters and buyers, and investing.
Importantly, she also talks about money and mental health with insight gathered from counsellors, which is an important factor that many of us put aside when thinking about money matters.
What makes this one of the best personal finance books is the fact that she discusses and demystifies a lot of the jargon that comes with talking about personal finance and has something to teach people of all ages.
She also touches on how to manage your money ethically in terms of where you should invest in terms of your pension and savings while being mindful of its impact on the environment and others.
Note: The book is more geared towards people from the UK but the currency is easily converted and has a lot to offer people globally.
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Money Lessons: How to Manage your Finances to Get the Life you Want
by Lisa Conway-Hughes
This book stands out for allowing you to structure your financial learning journey into small monthly changes you can make that take no more than an hour and make a big difference a year on. It is also a more specifically goal-orientated book.
Money Lessons, while dealing with many of the subjects that Laura’s book focuses on —like debt relief, preparing for retirement, and getting ready for a mortgage — also focuses more on life goals and how to prepare specifically for those goals.
For example, this book covers planning for a wedding, or how to approach asking for a pay rise from your manager, or saving for a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
The book focuses more on people who know exactly what they want from their savings goals and are prepared to do the work to get there. If you have a dream and want to make it a fully-fledged plan then this is the book for you.
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Open Up: Why Talking About Money Will Change Your Life
by Alex Holder
This important book approaches the topic of personal finance from a different angle. Talking about money is often considered taboo, whether we’re struggling with our finances and could use some help or feeling comfortable and looking at how to take the next step to feel financially secure.
But, as the author mentions, in an age of pay-gap exposés and growing inequality, we need to talk about money more than ever.
We’re constantly being enticed to spend our money with targeted advertising and tempting lifestyles that look better on social media than the reality and it’s far beyond the time where we need to move past any shame and have an honest conversation about money.
Open Up looks into those tough conversations we may need to have with loved ones or bosses and also takes a nose dive into transitioning to life as a freelancer or negotiating at work.
This book is full of practical advice and is delivered in such a way that it feels like a conversation with a well-adjusted friend.
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Climbing Out of Debt: Practical Steps to Managing your Money, Defeating your Fear and Taking Control
by Nick Sturgeon
Did you know that the average household debt in the UK is £31,867 (and $67,000) in the US before factoring in student loans? That’s a lot of people in debt and, with the growing disparity between rich and poor, it’s likely the situation is only going to worsen in coming years.
It’s easy to feel as if you are the only person who has debt or a bad credit score when you see friends online making big purchases or landing a mortgage but clearly far more people are in debt than it would first appear.
Managing that debt and keeping in control is one of the key and most important aspects that this book addresses as one of the worst situations to be in isn’t actually being in debt but being in debt and ignoring a worsening situation with those feelings of guilt, fear, and anxiety that comes with it.
You can absolutely take control of your money situation now without taking out more debt.
Nick, the author of Climbing Out of Debt, is someone who has been in debt as a property owner and entrepreneur and had to rebuild his life while dealing with his debts.
He offers an actionable, step-by-step approach to managing the situation, freeing yourself from debt, and taking back control of your life. He also illustrates his points with varied case studies of others in a diverse range of situations.
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Side Hustle: Build a Side Business and Make Extra Money – Without Quitting Your Day Job
by Chris Guillebeau
Most well summed up in the title, this is the ideal book for anyone looking for an in-depth guide to making money while holding on to your day job.
Rather than encouraging anyone to quit their job and launch themselves into online money-making pursuits, this book eases you into setting up the groundwork for passive income and achievable side jobs which will place you in a much more secure financial position for the future.
The plan in Side Hustle doesn’t require you to have a budget and relays lots of inspiring stories from others who have managed to set up successful side incomes.
This is ideal for anyone who is interested in the idea of a side hustle but doesn’t know where or how to start and how to utilize the skills they already have.
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The Art of Frugal Hedonism: A Guide to Spending Less While Enjoying Everything More
by Annie Raser-Rowland Page
This insightful book encourages the reader to focus on their quality of life above money, emphasizing not spending simply to spend. That’s just the surface of this book though and it’s more like a philosophical approach to life reminiscent of many books on minimalism at the moment — creating a minimal life that actually makes you happy.
Frugality is portrayed as something that can enhance your life in every way and certainly not feel like you’re missing out on life which is how we often approach saving and budgeting.
So, if you feel like your consumption is having a negative impact on your well-being or your paid work isn’t leaving you in a position where you feel fulfilled, then The Art of Frugal Hedonism is an ideal book to reshape the way you think about and approach money.
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