As I work on my own book this year to add to the personal finance discourse, I’m naturally more and more curious what other authors are writing on the subject and what readers are enjoying. (I might have recently gone down a newspapers.com rabbit hole reading old-timey budgeting advice for ladies of the early 20th century…)
I’d love to know your favorite books on personal finance! And what a great opportunity to give a nod to great writers and thinkers in this space so others in the community can discover them 💖
Jump in the comments to tell us about books on work and/or money that you’ve read lately or the one you read years ago that changed your life or the one that’s sitting in your to-be-read pile because you loved an interview with the author on a podcast (but you might never actually read it because who has the time, but yay for buying books! 🤷♀️).
We all know how to google, but links are even better. Share a bookshop.org link to the books you mention to make it easy for others to jump over and impulse-buy them — while supporting local bookstores!
Get Good with Money: 10 Simple Steps to Becoming Financially Whole by Tiffany Aliche provides 10 steps to financial wholeness which she describes as "when all aspects of your financial life are working together for your greatest good." It's not just about budgeting and saving but also coming up with a plan for your credit score, investing, what types of insurance you need and estate planning (something we don't like to talk about but must). I highly recommend this book! https://bookshop.org/p/books/get-good-with-money-ten-simple-steps-to-becoming-financially-whole-tiffany-the-budgetnista-aliche/15005369?ean=9780593232743
I really enjoyed All Your Worth. I'm incredibly budget-resistant, but their overall stance really resonated with me (and gave me another reason to love Elizabeth Warren :)
Not exactly a finances book, but Make Your Art No Matter What by Beth Pickens addresses roadblocks for a creative practice including a deep dive into finances and the shame we feel around money and charging for things.
I don't love that all the other authors I've learned about money from are cis men. We need more representation from women and gender minorities I'm this space. But I've learned from Ramit Sethi (I will teach you to be rich), Tim Ferriss (4 Hour Workweek), and the Mr Money Mustache blog.
Love that you're questioning your sources :) Those are super prominent men in the space, so tend to show up in all the lists if you're looking for financial guidance.
Derek Thompson's "On Work: Money, Meaning, Identity," a collection of his The Atlantic articles that serves as a handy primer on workism. https://bookshop.org/a/93113/9781638930723
(Disclosure: the links are affiliate links for my Heigh Ho bookshop)
Women Talk Money edited by Rebecca Walker features 29 thought-provoking essays about how money shapes women's lives. I thought each story brought a much needed perspective to the money conversation and has me examining my own story around money.
I'm also going through a personal finance work book called Wild Money: A Creative Journey to Financial Wisdom by Luna Jaffe which is really fun! I'm learning how our beliefs around money can hold us back from making values based financial decisions. It's a very creative and fun way to examine our stories and beliefs around money.
My friend and colleague wrote a short book on personal finance and behavior/decision-making called "The Foolish Corner." It is humorous (at least to me), and my students find it worthwhile, so I usually have a stack of them in my office to give away. It is an excellent entryway to behavioral finance. https://www.amazon.com/Foolish-Corner-Avoiding-Financial-Decisions-ebook/dp/B01NAWTTWP
I'm a fan of Amanda Frances, the fabulous, seriously woo woo money queen. I read her book https://amandafrances.com/rich-af/ at the start of the pandemic and some of her concepts changed my thinking about money in a profound way. Now, for example, I see money as something positive that supports me rather than something to be suspicious of.
Loved this one - it's not about number crunching it's about the way people operate and then based on that, how does that impact people's financial decisions and why?
I'd been following the author's blog here for a bit before realizing they wrote a book that is basically a collection of subjects and topics they cover in this blog:
I have never read a personal finance book but I'm so glad I found your substack! I like the following money and work related podcasts: Financial Feminist, Other People's Pockets, This Is Uncomfortable, and Work Appropriate. Based on some interviews I've heard, I have the following books on my list to check out:
."Tipped: The life changing guide to financial freedom for waitresses, bartenders, strippers, and all other service industry professionals" by Barbara Sloan
."Get Good with Money: Ten Simple Steps to Becoming Financially Whole" by Tiffany Aliche
."Financial Feminist: Overcome the Patriarchy's Bullsh*t to Master Your Money and Build a Life You Love" by Tori Dunlap
So glad you're here, too! I hadn't heard of Other People's Pockets, but I'm intrigued by the name. And always open to new podcasts :) Going to check that out.
Paco de Leon's Finance for the People really balances the practical with the political: https://bookshop.org/p/books/finance-for-the-people-getting-a-grip-on-your-finances-paco-de-leon/17298515
And I personally think everyone should read Debt: The First 5000 Years by David Graeber. It's not about personal finance, but it IS about money and how it shapes society: https://bookshop.org/p/books/debt-the-first-5-000-years-updated-and-expanded-david-graeber/8072806
Ooo, I hadn't heart of Graeber's book. Definitely adding this to my list! Thank you!
Three finance books I like are:
The Financial Anxiety Solution workbook by Lindsay Bryan-Podvin that provides money assessments, questions to ask yourself about your money mindset and journaling prompts to get clear on your money path forward. https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-financial-anxiety-solution-a-step-by-step-workbook-to-stop-worrying-about-money-take-control-of-your-finances-and-live-a-happier-life-lindsay-brya/14300042?ean=9781646040070
We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers which delves into the systemic economic oppression women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ and the differently abled have been subjected to for generations and the path to building wealth and gaining economic power particularly through entrepreneurship. https://bookshop.org/p/books/we-should-all-be-millionaires-a-woman-s-guide-to-earning-more-building-wealth-and-gaining-economic-power-rachel-rodgers/14885769?ean=9781400221684
Get Good with Money: 10 Simple Steps to Becoming Financially Whole by Tiffany Aliche provides 10 steps to financial wholeness which she describes as "when all aspects of your financial life are working together for your greatest good." It's not just about budgeting and saving but also coming up with a plan for your credit score, investing, what types of insurance you need and estate planning (something we don't like to talk about but must). I highly recommend this book! https://bookshop.org/p/books/get-good-with-money-ten-simple-steps-to-becoming-financially-whole-tiffany-the-budgetnista-aliche/15005369?ean=9780593232743
Great recs, Kristina, thank you!
Financially Fearless
Book by Alexa von Tobel
All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan
by Elizabeth Warren, Amelia Warren Tyagi\
These two books are the best I've seen personal budgeting and debt management.
I really enjoyed All Your Worth. I'm incredibly budget-resistant, but their overall stance really resonated with me (and gave me another reason to love Elizabeth Warren :)
Not exactly a finances book, but Make Your Art No Matter What by Beth Pickens addresses roadblocks for a creative practice including a deep dive into finances and the shame we feel around money and charging for things.
I don't love that all the other authors I've learned about money from are cis men. We need more representation from women and gender minorities I'm this space. But I've learned from Ramit Sethi (I will teach you to be rich), Tim Ferriss (4 Hour Workweek), and the Mr Money Mustache blog.
Love that you're questioning your sources :) Those are super prominent men in the space, so tend to show up in all the lists if you're looking for financial guidance.
We published a list last year of women in personal finance we recommend: https://www.healthyrich.co/p/women-in-finance
And a list of PF blogs by + for women: https://www.healthyrich.co/p/personal-finance-blogs-for-women
I can also recommend Paco de Leon (whose book Tara recommended in this thread): https://thehellyeahgroup.com/
And Daniella Flores on freelancing/portfolio careers: https://iliketodabble.com/
Thank you so much for all the recommendations! I appreciate this a lot.
A Happy Pocketfull of Money
Money, A Love Story by Kate Northrup
And because I am an entrepreneur...Profit First
Just read the description of A Happy Pocket Full of Money, and I'm intrigued! Going to pick that up.
I haven't read this one by Kate Northrup, but have seen her talking about others, and I like the way she thinks.
I don't read books about money, but I read a lot of books about work. This week, I'm reading
"Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America" by Eyal Press: https://bookshop.org/a/93113/9781250849342
Derek Thompson's "On Work: Money, Meaning, Identity," a collection of his The Atlantic articles that serves as a handy primer on workism. https://bookshop.org/a/93113/9781638930723
(Disclosure: the links are affiliate links for my Heigh Ho bookshop)
Thank you! (And yay for bookshop.org affiliates!) I've been eyeing Dirty Work for a while — good nudge to finally pick it up.
Women Talk Money edited by Rebecca Walker features 29 thought-provoking essays about how money shapes women's lives. I thought each story brought a much needed perspective to the money conversation and has me examining my own story around money.
I'm also going through a personal finance work book called Wild Money: A Creative Journey to Financial Wisdom by Luna Jaffe which is really fun! I'm learning how our beliefs around money can hold us back from making values based financial decisions. It's a very creative and fun way to examine our stories and beliefs around money.
My friend and colleague wrote a short book on personal finance and behavior/decision-making called "The Foolish Corner." It is humorous (at least to me), and my students find it worthwhile, so I usually have a stack of them in my office to give away. It is an excellent entryway to behavioral finance. https://www.amazon.com/Foolish-Corner-Avoiding-Financial-Decisions-ebook/dp/B01NAWTTWP
I'm a fan of Amanda Frances, the fabulous, seriously woo woo money queen. I read her book https://amandafrances.com/rich-af/ at the start of the pandemic and some of her concepts changed my thinking about money in a profound way. Now, for example, I see money as something positive that supports me rather than something to be suspicious of.
Yay for a mindset shift around money! A friend recommended this one to me, and it's on my (tall!) to-be-read pile.
Loved this one - it's not about number crunching it's about the way people operate and then based on that, how does that impact people's financial decisions and why?
https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-psychology-of-money-timeless-lessons-on-wealth-greed-and-happiness/14357913?ean=9780857197689
I'd been following the author's blog here for a bit before realizing they wrote a book that is basically a collection of subjects and topics they cover in this blog:
https://collabfund.com/blog/
I have never read a personal finance book but I'm so glad I found your substack! I like the following money and work related podcasts: Financial Feminist, Other People's Pockets, This Is Uncomfortable, and Work Appropriate. Based on some interviews I've heard, I have the following books on my list to check out:
."Tipped: The life changing guide to financial freedom for waitresses, bartenders, strippers, and all other service industry professionals" by Barbara Sloan
."Get Good with Money: Ten Simple Steps to Becoming Financially Whole" by Tiffany Aliche
."Financial Feminist: Overcome the Patriarchy's Bullsh*t to Master Your Money and Build a Life You Love" by Tori Dunlap
So glad you're here, too! I hadn't heard of Other People's Pockets, but I'm intrigued by the name. And always open to new podcasts :) Going to check that out.
Pound Foolish is still relevant a decade later.
This book changed my life and the trajectory of my career. (I didn't pick it up until 2020.)
Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel is one of my faves.
I see this one come up a lot! What makes it a favorite for you?