Even though everyone seems to be struggling at the moment when it comes to money, people aren’t sure what they can do to solve their financial issues.
Many people have struggled to save money, and with the cost of everything rising, it’s only getting worse.
For some, they’d be lucky to have even $1000 in savings, though a lot of people don’t even have that.
This isn’t a problem because “you should save money,” but rather because not having savings puts you in a very precarious position.
Bad luck always seems to come around when we’re at our poorest. You don’t want to be caught off guard when anything like that occurs, such as illness or divorce.
That’s just the most obvious reason why you need to get better at managing your money, though there are plenty of others.
There are other ways in which money can make our lives easier, such as allowing us to retire in peace, having enough to invest in a new venture, and freely giving to friends, family, and charitable organizations.
For advice on your money, you’d only want the best. That’s why we’ve rounded up this list of the top 14 financial books that you should read.
Consider reading one or more of these books if you want to get more knowledgeable about managing your money, become wiser in how you spend and save, and learn how to invest your money to build up your freedom.
Keep reading to gain financial freedom!
Best Financial Literacy Books
1. Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert T. Kiyosaki
This book will help you develop the mindset and financial understanding you need to establish a life of riches and independence.
This education is taught by telling the narrative of a youngster who has two fathers, one rich and one poor.
Even if you haven’t dived that deeply into the pool of financial advice books, you have almost certainly heard of this one.
Since it was published it has been criticized for its provocative content, but it’s effective in its goal of motivating readers to take action.
This book is mainly based on author Kiyosaki’s life, in which he learnt two distinct ways of handling money from his father and that of his best friend.
The book is based on this experience.
The lessons cover a variety of topics, including how to think about money as a concept, the fundamentals of accounting, budgeting, and investing, and how to manage your finances so that they work for you rather than against you.
You will find that putting the advice into practice is enjoyable by the time you have finished reading this book.
Main Lessons
- Use your money to acquire assets, not liabilities.
- Instead of trying to prevent them, risks should be managed.
- Work should be done for education/fun, not money.
2. The Barefoot Investor – Scott Pape
The Barefoot Investor is a straightforward guide to taking control of your finances written by an Australian farm boy who worked his way up.
It outlines a straightforward method to get rid of debt, enjoy life in the present moment, and how to retire in peace knowing that you’re taken care of.
Scott Pape is widely regarded as Australia’s most credible authority on personal finance.
More than one million copies of his book have been sold. Pape, despite having spent his childhood on a farm, dreamed of becoming wealthy through the stock market.
That did not go as planned. Pape moved back to the farm and now utilizes the idea of living a simple life as a metaphor for how one should handle their finances.
The book guides you through the process of regaining control in three stages: planting, growing, and finally harvesting your money.
He offers both straightforward recommendations and unconventional guidance. This is a fantastic book for beginners.
Main Lessons
- Utilizing multiple bank accounts will help you manage your money more efficiently.
- Shred all of your credit cards before you start making payments toward your debt.
- Using index funds can help you automate some of your preparation for retirement.
3. The Intelligent Investor – Benjamin Graham
This book explains value investing, which is centred on the generation of consistent profits over a very long time.
This is accomplished by disregarding the present market and selecting companies based on their high intrinsic worth.
Some people call this book the single best book on investments that has ever been written.
It is based on the lessons that “co-author” Warren Buffett learned as a young student from Benjamin Graham, who taught those lessons.
Warren Buffett learned that value investors seek out businesses that exhibit strong fundamentals and then purchase the stocks of those businesses at a discount.
After that, there’s nothing left for them to do but wait. At some point, their true value will become apparent and you should be able to make quite a bit of profit.
Main Lessons
- Intelligent investing adhere to three guiding principles: consider the long term when making decisions, take precautions to prevent financial loss, and avoid chasing after excessive profits.
- Never put your faith in Mr Market since in the short and medium terms he can act quite irrationally.
- Maintain a methodical approach to how you make all of your investments, and you should be successful.
4. The Millionaire Fastlane – MJ DeMarco
The Millionaire Fastlane identifies the flaws in the traditional “go to school, work hard, retire rich” model, and offers a fresh perspective on what constitutes wealth, as well as outline a strategy for reaching financial independence at an early age.
Though this title makes this book seem like a quick rich scheme, it’s far from it. Instead, it’s a tale about tenacity, bravery, taking chances, and thinking outside the box in unique ways.
When MJ DeMarco was a teenager, he saw a man driving a Lamborghini.
This experience made him realize that he wanted to be wealthy, but he didn’t want to put in 40 years of hard labour to get there.
He started his own company, then sold it and bought it again, and by the time he was 33, he was a multimillionaire and could retire. An inspiring read!
Main Lessons
- Money isn’t one of the things that wealth represents, but health, relationships, and freedom are. These are the things that matter in life.
- At some point in time, you will need to free your income from being dependent on the amount of work you put in.
- Imagine yourself in the role of a producer, rather than a consumer.
5. I Will Teach You To Be Rich – Ramit Sethi
This book is a guide that teaches you how to save money on autopilot so that you can spend freely on the things that bring you joy without feeling guilty about it.
In 2004, Ramit Sethi began his blog in the dorm room of his university. He started slowly by selling an ebook for a few dollars, but once he realized the potential of making money online, he went all in.
After 15 years, his company GrowthLab has generated millions of dollars in annual income from its online courses.
His book, which became a bestseller in The New York Times, will teach you how to save money in every aspect of your life, indulge in the things that bring you joy, and program your retirement savings.
And all from a practical point of view from a person who has been there and done that.
Main Lessons
- You are the only person to blame for the difficulties you are experiencing financially.
- Find out how much money is coming in, and then set it up so that it goes exactly where you want it to go.
- Start putting money down for your future right now, even if it’s just a dollar.
6. The Automatic Millionaire – David Bach
The Automatic Millionaire is a plan for growing money without having to rely on fixed percentages, tiny payments, and automatic transactions.
This approach is broken down into a series of actionable, step-by-step instructions.
David Bach’s grandmother took him to McDonald’s when he was seven years old. Odd place to start we know.
She explained to him over lunch that there are three types of people in the world: those who eat at McDonald’s, those who work at McDonald’s, and those who invest in McDonald’s.
Taking this mindset to heart, many years later Bach rose through the ranks to become a vice president at Morgan Stanley.
Today, he publishes books and has a consultancy business.
Seven of his books have been best sellers on the New York Times bestseller list, but this one is the most actionable guide to accumulating wealth.
Main Lessons
- A modest amount set aside each day will quickly add up to a sizeable sum.
- You should prioritize making payments to yourself to protect your financial future.
- You can invest in a disciplined manner with automatic instalments, which eliminates the need for you to be personally disciplined.
7. Secrets Of The Millionaire Mind – T. Harv Eker
This financial book argues that our level of economic success is not predetermined at birth, so just because you were born poor doesn’t mean you have to stay that way.
It teaches you how to overcome mental obstacles to acquiring the behaviours and ways of thinking that are characteristic of wealthy people.
T. Harv Eker examined his own relationship with money after experiencing the emotional ups and downs of starting, selling, losing, and failing at over a dozen different enterprises.
It dawned on him that he had simply followed in his parents’ financial footsteps, as do the vast majority of us.
The negative financial lessons that you’ve always held true will be easier to erase with the guidance of this book, and you’ll be able to replace them with sound financial habits and ways of thinking.
Main Lessons
- You have a natural tendency to imitate the methods your parents used to make money.
- If you want to be in command of your financial situation, you must first acknowledge that you are the one in control.
- If you look down on others who are wealthy, you will never achieve financial success for yourself.
8. Money: Master The Game – Tony Robbins
In his book “Money: Master the Game,” Tony Robbins interviews some of the world’s most successful billionaire investors and compiles their insights into seven straightforward steps that can be taken to achieve financial independence.
Tony Robbins spent ten years researching to write this book. After the economic collapse that occurred in 2008, he decided to assist regular people in securing a prosperous future for themselves.
After speaking with many different financially successful billionaires, such as Ray Dalio, Warren Buffett, and Jack Bogle, he compiled the greatest methods that each of them had to offer.
The book covers a wide range of topics, including how to alter your thinking, how to save money, and how to allocate assets.
Simply having access to the transcripts of the interviews makes purchasing the book more than worthwhile.
Main Lessons
- Never, ever undervalue the multiplicative effect that compounding interest can have.
- You can demonstrate to yourself that financial independence is within reach by choosing one of these three financial goals: basic expenses, basic expenses plus enjoyment, or financial independence.
- You should use a three-bucket strategy to diversify your finances. You should have a a growth bucket, security bucket, and a dream bucket.
9. The One-Page Financial Plan by Carl Richards
By teaching you how to organize your entire financial future on a single sheet of paper, the One-Page Financial Plan eliminates the sense that financial planning is a burden for people who struggle with self-discipline.
Over the past twenty years, Carl Richards has worked as a financial advisor for a variety of companies including Wells Fargo, Merrill Lynch, and others.
Some of the financial-style drawings that he posts on Instagram have gained widespread attention.
These thoughts are illustrated on a single sheet of paper, which allowed him and his wife to better plan their financial future.
His book will teach you how to achieve the same results.
Main Lessons
- Establish some objectives, but remember to maintain flexibility and hone your approach as you go.
- Make saving money more enjoyable by turning budgeting into a game.
- Consider the amount you pay toward debt to be an investment in your future.
10. The Little Book That Beats The Market – Joel Greenblatt
This book is an instructional guide that walks readers through the process of applying a straightforward mathematical formula to their stock purchases to ensure profitable returns over the long run.
Joel Greenblatt is an investment legend. From 1986 to 2006, his investment company, Gotham Funds, achieved an annual return of more than 40 per cent through those 20 years.
Joel has been successful in transforming Benjamin Graham’s approach to value investing into a method that requires only annual updating thanks to the straightforward formula he developed.
In 2005, he committed it to paper to give to his kids, and eventually to us in the form of this book.
This is your best bet if you’re searching for a specific investment strategy that requires little to no effort on your part.
Main Lessons
- When analyzing equities, you should look at the earnings yield as well as the return on capital.
- Find successful businesses by ranking these two components and combining them.
- Be patient, as this method’s lack of popularity is directly attributable to its success.
11. Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
Research conducted over twenty years on more than five hundred different people led to the compilation of the book Think and Grow Rich, our final pick of best financial literacy books.
This book is a compilation of the 13 most frequent habits of wealthy and successful people.
This is a pretty odd book in that it’s very old, but all of the advice in it is still as strong and sound as it was in the past.
Napoleon Hill spent twenty years conducting interviews with prosperous people, having been tasked with doing so by none other than the steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie.
As a result, in 1937, the book was released, and it has since sold over seventy million copies.
This is a book on thinking, having a vision, and doing the work necessary to achieve your goals.
Main Lessons
- Employing autosuggestion is a great way to create an unshakable conviction in oneself.
- Be resolute and unwavering in your commitment to your choices.
- Consider joining a Mastermind group to accelerate your personal growth.
Summary
These are, in our opinion, the best financial literacy books ever written, and they can help you begin to get control over your money and your life.
After reading these finance books, you will quickly be able to generate more financial breathing room in your life, regardless of whether you are attempting to recover from an unlucky turn of events, are suffering from terrible financial habits picked up in childhood, or are simply not good at numbers.
If you increase your knowledge of finance, cut back on your spending, begin saving money, and become involved in investing, you will be well on your road to achieving financial independence.
If you don’t think you have time to read, perhaps one of the best financial podcasts in Australia would be more your speed!
