We are expected to make financial decisions every single day, but the education system does not equip us with the information needed to make educated and conscientious choices for ourselves.
Why does financial literacy matter?
I am safely assuming that you are here because you want to get your financial life together, or you are ready for a total money makeover. Financial literacy books are the best way to start your journey. At the end of the day, if we live in a society where everything has a monetary value, we deserve to have the financial literacy necessary to thrive together.
Personal finance is is still not a mandatory subject taught in school. However, the typical American student goes into debt to get through college, and their average student loan debt topped $37,500 in 2020 according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
According to the S&P Global Fin Lot Survey finding, only 1-in-3 adults are financially literate. Financial illiteracy is widespread, but it has a higher focus on women, the poor, and lower educated respondents.
The Federal Reserve Bulletin conducted a global research where it was found that 73 percent of people with high financial literacy scores claimed to gain their education from personal experience.
This is why it’s important to continue spreading resources for people to educate themselves on personal finance and the way they think about money.
Financial literacy and money still tend to be taboo topics in most conversations. People still feel uncomfortable having discussions on earning and spending money.
Here are the best personal finance books to get you started on your journey to be financial literate and be equipped with the tools to be able to make the best decisions for yourself. The following financial literacy books will give you tips on saving money, earning money, and investing your money. Enjoy!
Here are the best financial literacy books to get you started:
1. The psychology of Money
The finance industry talks too much about what to do, and not enough about what happens in your head when you try to do it. When it comes to money, your mindset has a big impact on the way you spend, save, and invest.
We relate money to numbers, but it’s important to examine the relationship between your financial performance and your mindset.
This book allows you to understand the value of compounding, the importance of being reasonable with money rather than being rational, and understanding that you are human.
The book consists of 20 short chapters sharing important financial lessons from people’s experiences.
It provides a valuable realistic perspective as the author, Morgan, is a big advocate of multi-disciplinary learning, so his lessons and observations are applicable to multiple fields.
2. Think and Grow Rich
This book covers the 17 fundamental laws of Success that allow every reader’s mind to expand beyond any beliefs that have been currently set. This book is mainly focused on the philosophy of moneymaking and financial success by developing your thoughts, ideas, and organized plans. If you are looking for a book to inspire you and push you to create wealth in your life, this book is it. Financial literacy is not only the ability to manage your money but also the ability to create more abundance for yourself to allow you to create the lifestyle you wish for.
I recommend treating this book as a textbook, rather than just mere entertainment.
This book will provide you with the thirteen principles of money-making essential to every person who accumulates sufficient money to guarantee financial independence.
3. Rich dad poor dad
This book is a classic in the financial literacy world. A lot of people have been “woken up” by this book, and the value it provides to changing your mindset and relationship with money.
Robert Kiyosaki tells the lessons he has learned from his rich dad and his poor dad, one who created wealth, and the other one who got stuck in the rat race. The main take away is showing that rich people make money work for them, whereas poor people work for it. He introduces you to the power of investing to create and increase your wealth and reach financial independence.
4. Clevergirl Finance: Ditch Debt, Save Money and Build Real Wealth
This book is amazing for someone starting their financial journey. It’s an amazing place to start if you need guidance on how to ditch debt, save money, and build real wealth.
The book is only a piece of all the value Sokunbi offers through the Clevergirl Finance website. She used her personal experience of money mistakes and financial redemption to educate and empower a new generation of women on their journey to financial freedom.
Clevergirl Finance has become a powerful force that has encouraged women to talk about money and financial wellness and shows them how to navigate their own storms and come out successful.
Learn to monitor your expenses, build a budget, and stick with it. Make the most of a modest salary and still have money to spare. Keep your credit in check and clean up credit card chaos. Start and succeed at your side hustle. Build a nest egg and invest in your future.
5. I will teach you to be rich
This book is a great package as it is structured to give you a 6 week plan to get your money under control and kickstart your wealth building journey.
Sethi conveys what “rich life” means to him, and emphasizes that you do not need to be an expert to get “rich”, but you do need to get started early.
He breaks down his 6 week plan into the following 6 steps:
- Optimize Your Credit Cards
- Open high-interest, low-maintenance bank accounts
- Open Investing Accounts
- Start Your Conscious Spending Plan
- Automate Everything
- Start Investing
6. you are a badass at making money
Amazing inspirational book if you feel like you have hit rock bottom! Jen Sincero shares her personal story in a funny and heart wrnching way. She shares her break through moment to financial freedom after spending years struggling to make money. This book focuses more on helping you develop an abundance mindset to push you to get out of the rat race life.
It’s an extremely insightful book that will allow you to take a closer look at your inner voice, your patterns, and every aspect of your life that is holding you back.
“The walls of your comfort zone are lovingly decorated with your lifelong collection of favorite excuses.” – Jen Sincero
7. The little book of common sense investing
Ready to start investing or understanding the world of investing? This is a great beginner’s book. Bogle was the founder and chief executive of The Vanguard group, and also known for creating the first index fund. By revolutionizing the world of mutual funds, index funds allowed investors to track a broader market, which is what this book focuses on.
The book is beneficial if you want to gain input on how to start structuring your investment accounts, and how to diversify your portfolio. It provides information and explanations on the differences of managing your own portfolio vs. having it actively managed. This books is full of numbers, statistics, and real life scenarios to help you understand how different decisions could play out.
Keep in mind this book argues heavily in favor of index funds, but for good reason. If you want to start being more actively involved with your portfolio and start understanding market performance, this book is for you!
8. Unshakable: Your Financial Freedom Playbook
Most people know Tony Robbins as a motivational speaker, but after the 2008 crisis, Robbins took a huge interest on finances and went on a journey to help understand the true importance and learn about what it takes to achieve financial independence.
This is an easy to tackle book for millennials and young adults looking to learn how to set financial goals. This book is a great next step for people who have gotten their budgets under control, and are ready to start investing. You will gain insight on how to invest responsibly and how to avoid unnecessary fees in investment accounts.
BONUS: 100% of profits from Unshakeable are donated to Feeding America, a charity focused on fighting the hunger crisis in the U.S.
9. your money or your life
This book is great is you are looking to break away from society’s construct. It challenges the concept that has developed over years tying a person’s career status to their personal value. It is a great book to shift our personal values, and starts introducing the trending strategy of FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early).
If you are a nonconformist, and refuse to accept the phrase “that’s how we’ve always done it”, this book is for you. It will push you to change your lifestyle goals, and break away from the common expectation of working in an office until you retire.
This book does not offer specific financial advice, but it encourages you to think of a career and money in a completely different way. If you are still looking to find a career or venture that allows you to get paid your worth, and spend money in ways that align with your values, this book is for you!
10. All the money in the world
This is a very thought provoking book that rather than teaching you how to create charts and spreadsheets to figure out your budgets and investment, it pushes you to investigate the relationship between money and happiness.
At the end of the day, as you embark on your financial journey, it’s easy to get caught up on the “money” and “becoming rich” cycle, which ends up consuming people and creating anxiety around money.
The universal lament about money is that there is never enough. We spend endless hours trying to figure out ways to stretch every dollar and kicking ourselves whenever we spend too much or save too little. For all the stress and effort we put into every choice, why are most of us unhappy about our finances? According to Laura Vanderkam, the key is to change your perspective. Instead of looking at money as a scarce resource, consider it a tool that you can use creatively to build a better life for yourself and the people you care about. Drawing on the latest happiness research as well as the stories of dozens of real people, Vanderkam offers a contrarian approach that forces us to examine our own beliefs, goals, and values.
Let us know if you have read or plan on reading any of these books. We hope they bring value to your life, and we can’t wait to see all the financial growth you experience in your life.
Don’t forget to spread the word, and share it with your friends!
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