When it comes to money and personal finance, many of us don’t even want to think about it. Either we’re too overwhelmed to even assess our financial situation, too embarrassed to talk about such a “taboo” subject, or just plain bored out of our minds when it comes to contemplating bland topics such as debt, retirement, and investing.
Regardless of how you feel about the topic of money, the reality is that in today’s world it is an essential commodity. Getting a handle on your personal financial situation – whether it be paying off credit card or student loan debt, saving money for things that make you happy, or learning how to build wealth – can relieve SO MUCH unnecessary stress and uncertainty in your life. More importantly, not having to worry about money lets you focus on the things that matter most to you in your life.
And learning about managing your money doesn’t have to be scary, traumatic, or boring! In fact, I think you’ll find that it’s quite liberating to get your finances in check (I know I did!). To help you get started on your journey to financial freedom, here’s a list of the best personal finance books that I’ve read when it comes to mastering your money mindset, paying off debt, and organizing your finances so that your money works for you!
Disclosure: This article may contain affiliate links that direct you to another business’s goods and/or services. If you purchase anything through the links I provide, I may receive compensation or a commission – a percentage of the sales price you pay – at no additional cost to you. Please know that I only recommend products and services that I personally use and love, or those that I have thoroughly researched and believe would be of value to you.
(If you don’t like to read, you should seriously consider signing up for an account on Audible.com or visit your local library’s website for audio versions of these books. I’ve been obsessed with Audible since I signed up just over a year ago and it’s a membership I don’t think I’ll ever stop using – if you’re new to Audible you can get one free audiobook, two Audible Original audiobooks, and a 30-day free trial by signing up here).
You Are A Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth
If you’ve read some of my other articles, you know I love Jen Sincero’s books! She’s super down-to-earth, funny, and straightforward in showing you how to change your life for the better, including your finances. You Are A Badass at Making Money is all about changing your attitude towards money and developing a mindset that allows you to make more of it! As Jen Sincero explains in the introduction:
“If you’re ready to make more money, you can. I don’t care how many times you’ve tried and failed, or if you’re so broke you’re selling your bodily fluids for bus fare, or how often you’ve found yourself center stage at the checkout counter feigning shock and indignation ‘are you sure? Declined? That’s impossible, could you run it one more time?’ No matter how out of the question it may seem for you at this moment, you can make lots of money. Even imma-buy-everyone-I-love-a-house-and-a-gold-tooth kinda money, if that’s what turns you on. I also want to point out that there’s nothing horribly wrong with you if you haven’t figured out how to do it yet.”
Through sharing her story (with humility and humor) about her rocky history with money, including how she was living in a garage at the age of 40, Jen Sincero shows us that it is possible to overcome a lifetime’s worth of struggles with money to achieve financial independence.
This book teaches you how to take an inventory on the way you look at and treat money, make new decisions about how to handle finances, learn more about personal finance, and go all-out to completely change your financial future. It’s entertaining and motivating, and each chapter ends with “success stories,” “money mantras,” and action steps you can take to change your financial reality. If you’re new to, or skeptical of, “mindset” work, I encourage you to approach this book with an open mind! Some of the material may seem “new-agey,” but it’s good stuff and it can change your life if you let it!
If you’re tired of obsessively checking your bank account, living paycheck-to-paycheck, or simply want to stop worrying and stressing about money, I recommend starting with You Are A Badass at Making Money. You can attain financial freedom and make tons of money, and, as the author suggests: “Believe me when I say if my broke ass can do it, you can do it too, no matter how rickety or hopeless you may feel right now.”
If you have an Audible account, I recommend buying the audio version of this book. It’s read by the author and she’s so motivational yet relatable, I enjoy the audio version so much more than print!
Side note: If you’re looking for a quick read about where to start with getting your finances in order, check out my post 5 Simple Steps to Feel Less Stressed About Your Money.
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The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness
You’ve probably heard of Total Money Makeover, or of Dave Ramsey, before and there’s a good reason why. Dave Ramsey’s books and podcast have helped so many people get out of debt and experience financial freedom.
This was the first personal finance book I ever read. I was in massive student loan debt, stressed out all the time, extremely ignorant and disorganized with my money, and feeling absolutely hopeless about my financial future. (Read My Student Loan Debt Story here) I can’t explain to you how much better I felt after reading Total Money Makeover and taking the simple, actionable steps recommended by Dave Ramsey.
Total Money Makeover was the catalyst for tackling my debt head-on and eventually paying off over $100,000 in less than 5 years. I talk a little more about the specific methods I used in 7 Strategies I Used to Pay Off $100,000 in Debt.
The goal of the Total Money Makeover Challenge incorporates getting into financial “shape,” paying off debt as quickly as possible (and not taking on more debt), maximizing emergency and retirement funds, then building wealth. Ramsey breaks the process down into seven “Baby Steps” as follows:
- Save $1,000 for your starter emergency fund;
- Pay off all debt (except your house) using the Debt Snowball Method (I talk about how I used the debt snowball method to pay off my debt here);
- Save 3-6 months of expenses in a fully-funded emergency fund;
- Invest 15% of your household income in retirement;
- Save of your children’s college fund;
- Pay off your home early;
- Build wealth and give.
If you’re struggling at all with your finances, reading Total Money Makeover is a no-brainer. And if your experience reading this book is anything like mine, it will motivate and even excite you to pay off debt and get on pace for financial freedom.
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I Will Teach You To Be Rich: No Guilt. No Excuses. No BS. Just a 6-Week Program That Works (Second Edition)
Note: I specifically recommend the second edition of I Will Teach You to be Rich because the first was written 10 years ago and the new edition has new tools and lots of updated information.
If you hate the idea of creating a budget, of cutting out your daily latte from Starbucks to save money, or of being lectured about all of the many things that you shouldn’t do with your money, you’re gonna want to read this book. Ramit Sethi cuts out all of the unnecessary chatter we hear regarding what we need to do with our money, simplifies this information, and provides specific steps for you to take week-by-week (for six weeks) to master your money.
You’ll learn how to pay off debt quickly, which types of bank accounts to set up (and which banks to avoid), how to get out of paying fees, which types of credit cards to open, how to automate your finances to your advantage, how to “Spend extravagantly on the things you love, and cut costs mercilessly on the things you don’t,” how to negotiate a raise, how to start investing the right way, and more! And you will be entertained throughout as Ramit injects his sense of humor and shares his personal experiences along the way.
I’ve already seen so many positive results in my life simply due to reading this book and, as a result, by changing where I bank, utilizing the scripts Ramit provides to avoid paying unnecessary fees, and creating an automated system that manages my money for me. Although I’m still paying off student loans and haven’t been able to try out some of other recommended strategies yet, I can’t wait to be debt-free so that I can implement everything I learned in I Will Teach You To Be Rich.
I really enjoyed listening to this one on Audible, too. Again it’s read by the author and it’s very entertaining listening to him read his own book. You can get the audiobook version of I Will Teach You to Be Rich here.
Bonus! Great Personal Finance Blogs to Check Out:
Along with the books above, I read tons of articles from personal finance bloggers when I was working my way out of six-figure debt. Blogs are great because they’re divided up into easily-digestible articles and they’re completely free to access! My favorites are:
NatalieBacon.com. Natalie has been one of my inspirations in both paying off student loan debt and in starting a blog of my own. Her material is practical and so easy to read and implement. A lot of what she teaches about focuses on creating a new mindset around debt and money (and life in general). I’m in Natalie’s life coaching program Grow You and it’s absolutely amazing, I can’t recommend her highly enough!
MakingSenseofCents.com. This is another blog I’ve been following for years. Michelle Schroeder is the go-to for all things money – saving more money, making money, blogging about money, affiliate marketing, you name it! Michelle is an uber-successful blogger and (million-dollar) business owner who knows what she’s talking about when it comes to personal finance. If you own a blog or business, I highly recommend following Michelle and taking her course Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing to learn more about how to make more money from your website. If you haven’t started a blog, but are thinking about it, check out my article on How to Start a Blog or Website for Beginners.
ClubThrifty.com. Holly Johnson is the super successful blogger/freelance finance writer behind this blog. She makes multiple six figures per year off of freelance writing alone! She’s also an expert on personal finance, with a passion for travel and using credit card rewards programs. If you want to learn more about increasing your income so that you can travel more, check out her blog. And if writing/blogging is up your alley, consider taking her course Earn More Writing – it’ll teach you all about how to get high-paying freelance writing clients to skyrocket your income!
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Improving my money mindset and getting my financial life in order was one of the best decisions I ever made.
I really hope you’ll consider checking some of these books and resources if you’re trying to get out of debt, save up, or make more money. They’ve changed my life so much and I truly believe they can change yours!
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