5 Best Personal Finance Books for Millennials

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At Literally Simple, we’ve been focusing on making, manifesting, and creating more money, income, and profits for the entire month of May. It’s fitting to write up a post on the best personal finance books for millennials, in the midst of challenging myself to make more money. Feel free to follow me on Instagram for updates on my progress this month. We’ve been using the hashtag #makemoremoneymay to share our stories. You can also check out some quick ways to raise your income here.

Make More Money May Update

During #makemoremoneymay, I’ve added a new tutoring student, sold some stuff, raised our principal payment on our house, reached my company’s retirement match, asked for a raise, and delegated a few more funds to my 401K to lower my taxable income. Lastly, I plan on calculating my specific net worth with personalcapital.com (as suggested by my older brother who will smugly enjoy the shout out). Finding my accurate net worth will focus my investments, and by doing so increase my retirement funds.

Personal Finances and Parenthood

As a teacher by trade, I never thought too much about profits, or even making or manifesting more money. I didn’t really have that much control over my income, or so I thought. My income didn’t start to be a matter of concern until I had my daughter, and I realized I was spreading myself too thin, and having very little monetary gains to show for it.

Don’t get me wrong. I love teaching and I will eventually go back to the classroom, but at the end of the day, I was mostly exhausted. Meanwhile our family was drowning in student loan debt. I needed a way to make more money, give away less of my time, so my family could get out of debt, and I could have a robust retirement. You can read about the 4 action steps my husband and I took to pay off $20,000 in debt last year here.

The Best Personal Finance Book for this Millennial

Lucky for me, I snagged a great job as an online teacher, and curriculum writer after resigning from my classroom teaching position. This allowed me to work from home, which gave me more time to solve the income problem, and care for my newborn baby daughter. After reading and rereading all of the books listed in this blog post, but specifically $100 Start Up I decided to start my own tutoring business as a side hustle.

Side Hustle Results

Consequently, the tutoring business has not made me rich yet. However, it will. Because with this extra income, we can afford to put more money into our retirement, pay off more debt, and ultimately work less for a higher concentrated yield. Who doesn’t want to work less and make more money?

5 Best Personal Finance Books for Millennials

Are You?

Seeking advice on investing your money?

Concerned about your own time management and personal finances?

Willing to take control of your finances for your own future?

Then, you should definitely read all of the 5 best personal finance books for millennials.

You’re welcome.

Your Money or Your Life – Vicki Robin

I had never read this book until I embraced the minimalist lifestyle, and until last year had never seen the correlation between stuff, time and money. This book forces you to look at your finances in relation to your time and your top priorities. A great read for the budding minimalist, or anyone who feels stretched too thin.

The 4 Hour Work Week – Timothy Ferriss

I found this book when I was curious about starting my own business. The biggest take away from this book for me was the fact that a set amount of time, doesn’t necessarily make a set amount of profits. You can automate low level tasks, and save creative tasks for your brain to focus on. You also can work less. This gave me clear parameters to follow and helped me see the benefit of automating low level tasks to make more profit.

Smart Couples Finish Rich – David Bach

I’ve been reading this book for about a decade now. It was the first personal finance book that was recommended to me by my older brother. I actually re-read chapters of it, when I need a refresher or when a major life change occurs. The biggest take away from this book, aside from it being extremely practical, is that David Bach focuses on your ability to save rather than your ability to earn. You can save at any point of your life, and you have the ability to invest at whatever income level you are currently at.

Smart Women Finish Rich – David Bach

Another David Bach book specifically written for women. One great point made in the book is that women tend to be better investors than men because they stick to a process. Hopefully the process is automatic payments to your retirement account!

100$ Start Up – Christ Guillebeau

This book first motivated me to start my small tutoring business. I actually started my tutoring business with no overhead, as a Craigslist ad. for services at that time was free. I still have very low overhead costs so that I can maintain very high profits for my time. It’s possible to start a side hustle with a talent you already possess, and it can be relatively cheap to begin. That’s why this book makes the top 5 best personal finance books for millennials.

Honorable Mention

The Total Money Makeover – Dave Ramsey

Finally, This book helped my husband and I get on the same page about student loan debt. We also love his Youtube channel! He has a no nonsense attitude about paying off debt aggressively. If you happen to have any type of debt, read this book for motivation!

Join the Discussion

What books do you recommend for personal finances? Have you read any of these listed? Which were the most helpful?

P.S. I always ask readers to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. I consciously try to document my everyday simple life. Since we happen to be on a debt free journey, it can be motivating because most of my activities are intentionally inexpensive. However, if you’re trying to cut out social media, you’ll need to subscribe directly to this blog.

Author

-Maria Halcumb
B.A. in Secondary Education, English, and Physical Education
M.A. Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction and Reading Specialist