Is taking control of your finances on your list of New Year's resolutions for 2022? Then you’ll want to make these books your first port of call!
We get it, reading books about finance and money sounds pretty dull, but not all finance books are made equal and believe us or not, some are actually seriously binge-worthy and will get you excited to sort your finances (or take them to the next level). There are a lot of great personal finance books out there nowadays, so we’ve chosen 10 best-sellers that cover a range of different topics. So whether you’re learning the money basics, wanting to invest, are on the road to being a millionaire, or are working on paying off debt, you’ll find a book for you!
The Barefoot Investor: The Only Money Guide You’ll Ever Need - by Scott Pape
The Barefoot Investor is a cult classic, and if you lurk in any investing sub reddits or Facebook groups you’ll know it’s one of the most referenced books for people starting out on their money journey. The principles set out in Barefoot Investor emphasise on saving, not living beyond your means and having a manageable mortgage. We think this book has gone on to create a movement mainly because it doesn’t overwhelm the reader with a bunch of tips. It’s not a get-rich-quick book. Or a book about how to buy 30 investment properties. Or how to retire by 40. Instead, Scott keeps his rules to wealth simple and uses humorous analogies throughout on how wealth building works, taking the mystique out of money. And now there’s also The Barefoot Investor for families which are meant to be a money guide for the kids and hope to equip them with financial literacy as well.
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I will teach you to be rich - by Ramit Sethi
Ramit Sethi started out writing a personal finance blog in 2004 and has gone on to become one of the biggest personal finance gurus of our time. His sarcastic, funny and down to earth book I Will Teach You To Be Rich outlines a six-week plan for living out your "rich life". It’s a highly actionable book that teaches you how to set up systems to build wealth, starting with basics like earning interest on savings, maximizing rewards if using a credit card, and how to automate your financial plan so you can grow your wealth without lots of effort every month.
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The Automatic Millionaire: A powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich – By David Bach
David Bach is a financial writer who is also well-known for best-selling books Smart Women Finish Rich, Smart Couples Finish Rich, and The Finish Rich Workbook. His book The Automatic Millionaire lays out a plan that almost anyone can put into place to grow their wealth and start their journey to being a millionaire. One of the reasons this book flies off of the shelves is that it starts off by telling the story of how an average American couple who jointly earn $55,000 per year end up owning two homes debt-free, put two kids through university, retire at 55, and have more than $1million in savings, all by following a realistic framework.
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Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence – By Vicki Robin
Your Money or Your Life is another oldie but goodie that has been considered a go-to book for personal finances for more than 20 years. So, if you decide to add this one to your 2022 reading list, you’ll be joining hundreds of thousands of others who have followed the nine-step program that teaches you how to change your relationship with money. It covers topics such as how to get out of debt and start saving, saving money through mindfulness and good habits (rather than just setting a strict budget), investing to build wealth, and doing your bit for the planet while still saving and growing your wealth. Since its first publication it has been updated to cover things like managing income from side hustles and contract work, index funds, and using online tools to track your finances.
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Get Good With Money: Ten Simple Steps To Becoming Financially Whole - by Tiffany "The Budgetnista" Aliche
Compared to a lot of the other books on this reading list, Get Good With Money is the new kid on the block, having been published in 2021. Despite how new it is, it’s already making waves because of the way author Tiffany Aliche takes tried and tested financial tips and techniques and applies them in a modern and fresh approach. In the book she shares her story of being a successful pre-school teacher with a nest egg, who then found herself in a deep financial hole after being hit by the recession and following some dodgy financial advice. She outlines her ten-step process for building wealth and her concept of ‘financial wholeness’. The book also has a whole lot of helpful resources like worksheets and checklists, so you can start actioning everything you learn from the get-go!
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Broke Millennial Takes On Investing: A Beginner's Guide To Leveling Up Your Money - by Erin Lowry
It’s all in the name for this book! If you’re a broke millennial who doesn’t think you have enough money to invest or just don’t know where to start your investing journey, The Broke Millennial runs through all of the investment basics like commonly used investing terminology, how to buy and sell shares, and where to go (or not) for financial advice. It’s a practical and easy to digest read and will also help you figure out how to align your values with where you invest your money.
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Why didn’t they teach me this in school?: 99 Personal Money Management Principles to Live By. - By Cary Siegel
If you learned something helpful about managing your personal finances and growing your wealth at school (that you’ve ACTUALLY applied to your real life), then hats off to you and your teacher. For the rest of us, school left us high and dry when it came to educating us on personal finance – and that’s where Cary Siegel’s book comes in. Why Didn’t They Teach Me This In School is Siegel’s 99 principles and 8 money lessons that you arguably should’ve learned at high school. Siegel is a retired business exec and originally put the lessons together for his own children. Don’t let the title put you off, the book doesn’t bear any resemblance to a school textbook, instead it’s easy to read, practical, and suitable for adults and teenagers alike.
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The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns - by John C. Bogle
John Bogle is another veteran of the personal finance world and The Little Book of Common Sense Investing isn’t his only bestselling publication! But we had to pick one of his books, so we chose this one because in it John lays down some simple rules and tips for generating returns when you invest in the stock market. He gets another big tick from us because he talks all about investing in low-cost index funds, and how building wealth can be achieved by sticking to a long-term strategy of investing in a fund that tracks a stock market index like the S&P 500. Or in other words, he’s in favour of a passive investment strategy and at kōura, so are we!
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The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness - by Morgan Housel
We’re closing out this list with a book that’s a little different to the ones before it! The Psychology of Money addresses the elephant in the room – that money decisions are often based on or severely impacted by our emotions like ego and pride. And spoiler – emotional money decisions often aren’t the best ones. Morgan delves into this interesting topic through 19 short stories and provides tools to help you avoid making rash emotional money choices.
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