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10 Best Money Books That Live in Reality(2024)

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.

best money books

We could all use a little help getting our finances in order, and this is doubly important if you’re a self-employed freelancer whose income can be sporadic or if you travel.

People always talk about having a positive money mindset, meaning 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 psychology about money that we are carrying.

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 to helping you protect what you do have.

money mindset books for financial literacy

Our favourite personal finance books for beginners

Whether you’re looking for help managing and paying off your debts, you need help with saving or investments, you want to live more frugally, or you want a solid guide to creating multiple income streams (including passive income), then these varied and accessible personal finance books will help you out.

1) Finance for the People

by Paco De Leon

finance for the people

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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2) I Survived Capitalism and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt: Everything I Wish I Never Had to Learn About Money

by Madeline Pendleton

I Survived Capitalism and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt: Everything I Wish I Never Had to Learn About Money

What makes I Survived Capitalism stand out is its authenticity. It’s a rare and valuable money book that doesn’t just talk about finances, but about the realities of hardship and the importance of fighting for something better.

Her relatable struggles (even more relatable for those of us with ADHD) and inspiring journey, from living paycheck to paycheck to building a company that truly cares for its employees, will resonate with many readers and is guaranteed to inspire, whatever your financial situation is.

If you’re searching for hope in an unjust world, want to understand money matters, or simply love a good memoir with a powerful message, this book is for you.

3) Good With Money

by Emma Edwards

Good With Money by Emma Edwards

Ready to change your relationship with money? Good With Money, by the founder of The Broke Generation, dives deep into the emotional side of spending, helping you understand your habits and create lasting change.

Discover how to make smart financial decisions, feel confident in your choices, and build a life where money supports your dreams with a step-by-step guide to creating a money management system that actually works.

Good With Money will change the way you think about budgeting and consumption (and yourself) with very real and practical advice presented in a funny and non-judgmental way.

4) From Side Hustle to Main Hustle to Millionaire: 13 Lessons

by Ryan Scribner

from side hustle to miilionaire

From Side Hustle to Main Hustle to Millionaire emphasizes that anyone can start a side hustle, and there are 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, whether you just want a second stream of income or a new career.

Read More: Investing for Digital Nomads: A Complete Guide

5) Money: A User’s Guide

by Laura Whateley

money a users guide

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 counselors, 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.

Read More: 9 Apps That Help You Budget Money (Pros and Cons)

6) Money Lessons: How to Manage your Finances to Get the Life you Want

by Lisa Conway-Hughes

money lessons

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, 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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7) Open Up: Why Talking About Money Will Change Your Life

by Alex Holder

money

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 feel 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 in reality, and it’s far beyond the time when 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.

Read More: 12 Inspiring Books like Atomic Habits

8) Climbing Out of Debt: Practical Steps to Managing your Money, Defeating your Fear and Taking Control

by Nick Sturgeon

debt mangement book

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.

Read More: How to Avoid Debt as a Digital Nomad

9) Side Hustle: Build a Side Business and Make Extra Money – Without Quitting Your Day Job

by Chris Guillebeau

side hustle

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.

Read More: 10 Ideas for Starting a Home-Based Business

10) The Art of Frugal Hedonism: A Guide to Spending Less While Enjoying Everything More

by Annie Raser-Rowland Page

hedonism

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 make you 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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