Financial Literacy: My Favorite Books About Money

April is Financial Literacy Month. Many people ask me about my favorite resources, including books. Check out my favorite books about money. They’ll help you learn more about finances and help you take your money to the next level.

As a personal finance writer, I’d be remiss if I didn’t have something related to financial literacy published during April. While I think financial literacy is important — all need to learn about money — it’s not a cure-all. Many of us shout, “financial literacy!” and “teach financial literacy in school!” and then assume we’ve done what we need to. Good job, problem solved.

Alas, it’s not that simple. Financial literacy isn’t some panacea that will fix all our issues. So, while I think you should learn about money and apply what you learn, it’s only part of the solution.

If you’re ready to take the personal step of getting better with money, check out some of my favorite books about money.

Check out these books about money

My preference is for books about money that are simple. In fact, one of the books that got me hooked on indexing was Oblivious Investing Building Wealth While Ignoring the Noise. Short, simple, and to the point. However, it’s been removed for listing, so you’ll pay an arm and a leg for it from resellers. Since it’s probably not your best bet, here are some other books about money to try. Disclaimer: most of these books are written by friends of mine.

General money books

These are my favorite books about money that focus on general topics. They can give you a good foundation for learning money management and strategy principles.

• • Stacked Your Super-Serious Guide to Modern Money Management by Joe Saul-Sehy and Emily Guy Birken
  • Get Good with Money by Tiffany Aliche
  • The Psychology of Money Timeless lessons on wealth greed and happiness by Morgan Housel
  • Your Money or Your Life 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence by Vicki Robin

Getting out of debt

If you’re trying to get out of debt, these books can help you get a feel for creating a plan and moving forward.

• Life or Debt 2010 A New Path to Financial Freedom by Stacy Johnson (an older book, but good on the basics)
• DEBT Free or Die Trying How I Buried Myself $30,000 in Debt and Dug My Way Out by Marcus Garrett
• The Debt Consolidation Myth A Proven Method to Help You Get Out of Debt While Still Living Your Life by Jesse Meacham (founder of YNAB)

Investing

Of course, I need to have my favorite investing books on this list. Get the basics of managing money, create your debt paydown plan, and start investing to build wealth. Of course, you can also check out my guide on how to start investing.

• Money for the Rest of Us 10 Questions to Master Successful Investing by J. David Stein (you can read my review of the book)
• Starting Point How To Create Wealth That Lasts by Kevin L. Matthews II
• The Book on Investing In Real Estate with No and Low Money Down Creative Strategies for Investing in Real Estate Using Other People’s Money by Brandon Turner
• You can also consider the course Invested Development from Amanda Holden — worth every penny!

Other books about money topics

There are some other books about interesting money topics and ideas as well. Check them out if you want to take things to the next level. Don’t forget that you can get my little guidebook on setting your financial values.

• Wallet Activism by Tanja Hester
• I like this big post from Daniella Flores on the best side hustles
• Making Money by Terry Pratchett — a satirical look at how money works

In the end, there are a lot of resources you can turn to and learn about money. I like reading, and many people ask me what I read about money.

Hopefully, that helps you find what you need to get more from your money. And if you’re looking for information on how I manage my money to live a life I enjoy, you can check out my favorite money resources.