25 Best Budgeting Books You NEED to Read

Best Budgeting Books You NEED to Read – Ready for some reading that will change your entire life? I’ve got the best books for you here!

Every once in awhile, we all need a good dose of motivation that only a great book can deliver. Whether it’s about cooking, organizing, diet changes, becoming a minimalist, or finance, finding the right book to really speak to you can be all the kick you need.

True story: I never liked reading. (I have dyslexia so reading can be tedious, to say the least!) I’m much more of an audiobook person.

But, man, when one of those books speaks to you… the moment of “somebody gets me! I’m not alone!” is the best feeling in the world.

So naturally, being a cheapskate, most of the books that I read are about finances in some way. So I’ve found all of the best budgeting books you need to read to get a jump start on your finances.

I promise that none of them keep trying to drill into your head that you suck with money and that’s that. Each one of these books has left me feeling refreshed, refueled, and really motivated to stay on track with my money.

Side note: if you hate reading like me, check out your local library for the audiobooks, or you can try out Audible here.

The BEST Budgeting Books You Need to Read

The Total Money Makeover – Dave Ramsey

As far as I’m concerned, anything at all from Dave Ramsey needs to be a part of your budgeting reading.

Dave Ramsey also has an amazing podcast that will whip your finances into shape and get you really pumped while doing it!

His plan for getting your finances in order will be one that you will read over and over again. Even if you’ve always felt like you’re just no good at money or budgeting, you’ll learn the baby steps that you need to take to get control of your money.

Related post: How to Live on One Low Income

I Will Teach You To Be Rich – Ramit Sethi

Sethi covers how to save time by not wasting it managing money; the guns and cars myth of credit cards; how to negotiate like an Indian—the conversation begins with “no”; why “Budgeting Doesn’t Have to Suck!”; how to get things rolling—for real—with only $20; what most people don’t understand about taxes; how to get a CEO to take you out to lunch; how to avoid the Super Mario Brothers trap by making your savings work harder than you do; the difference between cheap and frugal; the hidden relationship between money and food. Not to mention his first key lesson: Getting started is more important than being the smartest person in the room.

At last, for a generation that’s materially ambitious yet financially clueless comes I Will Teach You To Be Rich, Ramit Sethi’s 6-week personal finance program for 20-to-35-year-olds. A completely practical approach delivered with a nonjudgmental style that makes readers want to do what Sethi says, it is based around the four pillars of personal finance— banking, saving, budgeting, and investing—and the wealth-building ideas of personal entrepreneurship.

Related post: How to Save Money When You’re Broke

Unshakeable: Your Financial Freedom Playbook – Tony Robbins

Tony Robbins has a step-by-step playbook, taking you on a journey to transform your financial life and accelerate your path to financial freedom.

No matter your salary, your stage of life, or when you started, this book will provide the tools to help you achieve your financial goals more rapidly than you ever thought possible.

He’ll teach you how to become unshakeable—someone who can not only maintain true peace of mind in a world of immense uncertainty, economic volatility, and unprecedented change, but who can profit from the fear that immobilizes so many.

Love Your Life, Not Theirs: 7 Money Habits for Living the Life You Want – Rachel Cruz

Rachel Cruze speaks the hard truth about the most damaging money habit we have: comparing ourselves to others. Then she unpacks seven essential money habits for living the life we really want – a life in line with our values, where we can afford the things we want to buy without being buried under debt, stress, and worry.

I love this line from the book: “The Joneses are broke.” Life looks good but hidden beneath that glossy exterior are credit card bills, student loans, car payments, and an out-of-control mortgage. Their money situation is a mess, and they’re trying to live a life they simply can’t afford.

Are we really living the lives we want, or are we chasing someone else’s dream, just trying to keep up appearances on social media, at church, and in our community? Why are we letting other people set the pace for our own family’s finances?

Stop comparing yourself and start living with this great book!

>The Minimalist Budget

A minimalist budget is a particular approach to abundance and fulfillment that may seem counter-intuitive to most.

You will explore shopping and spending habits, identify problem areas, think about debt and make achievable goals for home, work and more. Look at concrete ways to put some of these principles into action, and look at resources that will keep you focused and motivated.

Having less is really more in a minimalist budget. You don’t need to be thrifty to benefit from this book. It will help you to narrow down your budget to the bare bones in your “needs” and “wants.”

Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together – Erin Lowry

This is a brand new book that just came out from my blogging friend, Erin Lowry! Stop living paycheck to paycheck and get your financial life together!

If you’re a cash-strapped 20- or 30-something, it’s easy to get freaked out by finances. But you’re not doomed to spend your life drowning in debt or mystified by money. It’s time to stop scraping by and take control of your money and your life with this savvy and smart guide. Broke Millennial shows step-by-step how to go from flat-broke to financial badass.

Financial expert Erin Lowry goes beyond the basics to tackle tricky money matters and situations most of us face in real life. Understanding your relationship with money: do you treat it like a Tinder date or marriage material. Managing student loans without having a full-on panic attack. What to do when you’re out with your crew and can’t afford to split the bill evenly. How to get “financially naked” with your partner and find out his or her “number” (debt number, of course) . . . and much more.

Related post: 10 Reasons Why You Need An Emergency Fund

Real Life on a Budget: 17 Practical Challenges to Live and Thrive on a Budget – Jessi Fearon

Another book by my dear blogging friend, Jessi. Jessi is working on paying off her house in less than 5 years after she bought it. Her financial advice is incredible!

Real Life on a Budget is a practical guide to helping you navigate the waters of money management. It features real life budget advice, practical challenges, actionable steps that will help you map out your journey to living and thriving on a budget.

If you have been struggling with developing, maintaining, and living on a budget, Real Life on a Budget will help you create a system to better manage your finances and will challenge you to stick to your real life budget.

Jessi’s real-world budget advice and exercises for every area of managing your household budget. Real Life on a Budget is a powerful tool to help you start living and thriving on a budget.

The Broke and Beautiful Life: Small Town Budget, Big City Dreams – Stefanie O’Connell

After moving to New York City to become a Broadway actress, Stefanie O’Connell faced one of two inevitabilities when faced with unemployment – spiral into debt or learn how to effectively manage her money. Punctuated with humor, insight, and essential money management lessons, The Broke and Beautiful Life offers practical strategies to make smarter financial decisions today as a means to fulfill the goals and dreams of tomorrow.

Specializing in personal finance (with an emphasis on personal), Stefanie engages those who shy away from the word “investing,” scoff at the word “budget,” and equate interest rates with “snooze fest.” She encourages readers to redefine their relationship with money and approach budgeting as an exciting and sexy tool to transform from broke to beautiful while enjoying every step along the way.

Related post: How to Save for the Newly Frugal

Living Well Spending Less: 12 Secrets of the Good Life – Ruth Soukup

Living Well, Spending Less was written to bring hope and encouragement to every woman who currently feels overwhelmed or stressed with a life – and budget – that feels out of control.

It speaks to the mom trying to juggle all the demands of a busy life with the pressure to keep up with those around her. It’s a practical guide for those of us who often long to pull ourselves together but don’t always know how. It is real, honest, packed with practical tips, and speaks to the heart of the matter – how can we live the life we’ve always wanted?

Ruth is just a master at everything that she touches. She’s a financial guru, a blogging master, and so much more. But she does it all in such a down to earth manner. You’re going to feel like she’s talking directly to you on each page.

The No-Spend Challenge Guide: How to Stop Spending Money Impulsively, Pay off Debt Fast, & Make Your Finances – Jen Smith

Budgeting and money management are some of the hardest concepts for people to nail down. You can have all the knowledge available and suck at executing it.

Jen Smith, creator of the debt freedom blog Saving With Spunk went from not being able to stick to a budget longer than two weeks to paying off $78,000 of debt in less than two years. She shares her experiences and strategies using No-Spend Challenges to change her money mindset and budget like a (mostly) pro.

In The No-Spend Challenge Guide you’ll discover:
– Why budgeting alone isn’t working
– The psychology behind your impulsive spending
– How to pay off debt fast while still having fun
– Ways to do for free what you’ve probably been wasting money on
– Ways to save money on your financial obligations
– How to make the most of your time without spending money
– Discover what you value

You’ll also get a free resource guide with every recommendation in the book in one place.

Whether you’re paying off student loan debt, saving for your first home, or just trying to control your spending; This is a personal finance book you’ll return to again and again.

The Financial Diet: A Total Beginner’s Guide to Getting Good with Money – The Financial Diet’s Chelsea Fagen and Lauren Van Hage

How to get good with money, even if you have no idea where to start.

The Financial Diet is the personal finance book for people who don’t care about personal finance. Whether you’re in need of an overspending detox, buried under student debt, or just trying to figure out how to live on an entry-level salary, The Financial Diet gives you tools to make a budget, understand investments, and deal with your credit. Chelsea Fagan has tapped a range of experts to help you make the best choices for you, but she also knows that being smarter with money isn’t just about what you put in the bank. It’s about everything―from the clothes you put in your closet, to your financial relationship habits, to the food you put in your kitchen (instead of ordering in again).

The Financial Diet will teach you:
• how to get good with money in a year.
• the ingredients everyone needs to have a budget-friendly kitchen.
• how to talk about awkward money stuff with your friends.
• the best way to make (and stick to!) a budget.
• how to take care of your house like a grown-up.
• what the hell it means to invest (and how you can do it).

Broke Millennial Takes On Investing: A Beginner’s Guide to Leveling Up Your Money – Erin Lowery

A guide to investing basics by the author of Broke Millennial, for anyone who feels like they aren’t ready (or rich enough) to get into the market

Millennials want to learn how to start investing. The problem is that most have no idea where to begin. There’s a significant lack of information out there catering to the concerns of new millennial investors, such as:

* Should I invest while paying down student loans?
* How do I invest in a socially responsible way?
* What about robo-advisors and apps – are any of them any good?
* Where can I look online for investment advice?

In this second book in the Broke Millennial series, Erin Lowry answers those questions and delivers all of the investment basics in one easy-to-digest package. Tackling topics ranging from common terminology to how to handle your anxiety to retirement savings and even how to actually buy and sell a stock, this hands-on guide will help any investment newbie become a confident player in the market on their way to building wealth.

Smart Women Finish Rich – David Bach

Whether you are just getting started in your investment life, looking to manage your money yourself, or work closely with a financial advisor, this book is your proven roadmap to the life you want and deserve.

With Smart Women Finish Rich, you will feel like you are being coached personally by one of America’s favorite and most trusted financial experts. The Smart Women Finish Rich program has helped millions of women for over twenty years gain confidence, clarity, and control over their financial well-being – it has been passed from generation to generation – and it now can help you.

Financially Fearless: The LearnVest Program for Taking Control of Your Money – Alexa von Tobel

Finally, a financial plan that lets you be YOU, only richer.

It’s time to throw away all your old notions of what financial advice should look like. Because if you’re looking for a book to put you on an austerity savings plan that has you giving up vacations and lattes, you’re out of luck. But if you’re looking to get your finances in rock-hard shape–in less time than it takes to finish a workout–then Alexa von Tobel, Founder and CEO of LearnVest, has your back.

How? Through the LearnVest Program. First, you’ll take stock of where you stand today. Then, you’ll create your customized 50/20/30 plan. 50/20/30 simply refers to the percentage breakdown of how to spend your take-home pay each month. The 50 gets the essentials out of the way so you don’t have to stress about them. The 20 sets your foundation for the future, then the 30 is left to spend on the things that bring happiness to your life.

By the time you’re finished reading this book, you’ll walk away with a financial game plan tailored to your priorities, your hopes and dreams, and your lifestyle. And, because von Tobel and the team at LearnVest are experts at financial planning in the online era, you’ll also learn how to integrate your financial plan into your mobile, social, digital life. Like your own personal financial planner between two covers, this book will set you up for a secure, worry-free money future, without having to give up things you love.

So toss those old-school financial guides out the window, and get ready to start living your richest life.

How to Manage Your Money When You Don’t Have Any – Erik Wecks

Unlike many personal finance books, How to Manage Your Money When You Don’t Have Any was specifically written for Americans who struggle to make it on a monthly basis. It provides a respectful, no-nonsense look at the difficult realities of our modern economy, along with an easy-to-follow path toward better financial stability that will give hope to even the most financially strapped households.

Created by a financial expert who hasn’t struck it rich, How to Manage Your Money When You Don’t Have Any offers a first-hand story of financial survival in the face of rough times. Rather than emphasizing wealth creation, How to Manage Your Money When You Don’t Have Any teaches readers to do the best they can with their income no matter its size. Content-rich, personal, and jargon-free, the book is opinionated and at times humorous. Full of current everyday references, it is meant to be a quick read that will appeal to the average reader just struggling to make ends meet.

The Automatic Millionaire – David Bach

What’s the secret to becoming a millionaire?

For years people have asked David Bach, the national bestselling author of Smart Women Finish Rich, Smart Couples Finish Rich, and Start Late, Finish Rich what’s the real secret to getting rich? What’s the one thing I need to do?

Now, in The Automatic Millionaire, David Bach is sharing that secret.

The Automatic Millionaire starts with the powerful story of an average American couple – he’s a low-level manager, she’s a beautician – whose joint income never exceeds $55,000 a year, yet who somehow manage to own two homes debt-free, put two kids through college, and retire at 55 with more than $1 million in savings. Through their story, you’ll learn the surprising fact that you cannot get rich with a budget! You have to have a plan to pay yourself first that is totally automatic, a plan that will automatically secure your future and pay for your present.

What makes The Automatic Millionaire unique:

·        You don’t need a budget
·        You don’t need willpower
·        You don’t need to make a lot of money
·        You don’t need to be that interested in money
·        You can set up the plan in an hour

David gives you a totally realistic system, based on timeless principles, with everything you need to know, including phone numbers, websites and apps, so you can put the secret to becoming an Automatic Millionaire in place from the comfort of your own home.

This powerful little book has the potential to secure your financial future. Do it once – the rest is automatic!

Financial Freedom: A Proven Path to All the Money You Will Ever Need – Grant Sabatier

Money is unlimited. Time is not. Become financially independent as fast as possible.

In 2010, 24-year old Grant Sabatier woke up to find he had $2.26 in his bank account. Five years later, he had a net worth of over $1.25 million, and CNBC began calling him “the Millennial Millionaire.” By age 30, he had reached financial independence. Along the way he uncovered that most of the accepted wisdom about money, work, and retirement is either incorrect, incomplete, or so old-school it’s obsolete.

Financial Freedom is a step-by-step path to make more money in less time, so you have more time for the things you love. It challenges the accepted narrative of spending decades working a traditional 9 to 5 job, pinching pennies, and finally earning the right to retirement at age 65, and instead offers readers an alternative: forget everything you’ve ever learned about money so that you can actually live the life you want.

Sabatier offers surprising, counter-intuitive advice on topics such as how to:

*  Create profitable side hustles that you can turn into passive income streams or full-time businesses
*  Save money without giving up what makes you happy
*  Negotiate more out of your employer than you thought possible
*  Travel the world for less
*  Live for free–or better yet, make money on your living situation
*  Create a simple, money-making portfolio that only needs minor adjustments
* Think creatively–there are so many ways to make money, but we don’t see them.

But most importantly, Sabatier highlights that, while one’s ability to make money is limitless, one’s time is not. There’s also a limit to how much you can save, but not to how much money you can make. No one should spend precious years working at a job they dislike or worrying about how to make ends meet. Perhaps the biggest surprise: You need less money to “retire” at age 30 than you do at age 65.

Financial Freedom is not merely a laundry list of advice to follow to get rich quick–it’s a practical roadmap to living life on one’s own terms, as soon as possible.

Pay Off Your Debt for Good: 21 Days to Change Your Relationship With Money & Improve Your Spending Habits So You Can Get Out of Debt Fast – Jen Smith

Stop “falling off the wagon” and FINISH paying off your debt. For good.

Are you sick of hearing the same personal finance advice but never being able to get ahead?

Paying off debt takes more than making a budget and cutting your spending. Years of bad spending habits, not planning for setbacks, and stress that depletes your motivation are just some of the barriers that prevent people from paying off debt. This book will show you how to knock down every barrier and finally achieve debt freedom.

You’ll experience a renewed vigor to pay off your debt and feel the financial weight lifted off your shoulders.

If you’ve tried to pay off your debt but can’t stick to the process, or you’re just starting and you want to ensure you pay off your debt fast, then you need this book.

The Everything Budgeting Book: Practical Advice for Saving and Managing Your Money – from Daily Budgets to Long-term Goals – Tere Stouffer

A step-by-step plan for creating a budget that makes every dollar count!

Are you looking for practical ways to stretch your paycheck? Between working and maintaining a home, saving money can be difficult, but with The Everything Budgeting Book, 3rd Edition, you’ll learn to use your money wisely today and prepare for tomorrow.

This step-by-step guide shows you how to:

Improve spending patterns.
Save on everyday expenses.
Keep finances in order.
Prepare for unexpected events.
Plan for the future.

Whether you’re saving for a house, a child’s education or a new car, The Everything Budgeting Book will help you meet your financial goals. With this essential guide, you can stop living paycheck-to-paycheck and start enjoying the wealth you didn’t even know you had.

Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties – Beth Kobliner

A book designed to guide younger adults through the world of personal finance.

More than ever before, people in their twenties and thirties need help getting their financial lives in order. And who could blame them?

These so-called millennials have come of age in the wake of the worst economic crisis in memory, and are now trying to get by in its aftermath. They owe record levels of student loan debt, face sky-high rents, and struggle to live on a budget in an uncertain economy.

It’s time for them to get a financial life.

For two decades, Beth Kobliner’s bestseller has been the financial bible for people in their twenties and thirties. With her down-to-earth style, she has taught them how to get out of debt, learn to save, and invest for their futures. In this completely revised and updated edition, Kobliner shares brand-new insights and concrete, actionable advice geared to help a new generation of readers form healthy financial habits that will last a lifetime. With fresh material that reflects the changing digital world, Get a Financial Life remains an essential tool for young people learning how to manage their money.

From tackling taxes to boosting credit scores, Get a Financial Life can show those just starting out how to decrease their debt, avoid common money mistakes, and navigate the world of personal finance in today’s ever-changing landscape.

Just because a book is about personal finances doesn’t mean that it has to be boring or leave you feeling like you hate your life. These are the budgeting books you need to read if you ever want to get started changing your financial world.

Remember, even if it’s a small step, it’s still progress!