The Best Books About Financial Literacy | By Category

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Financial literacy is essential for anyone who wants to make informed decisions about their money. There are many great books about financial literacy, and these are some of the best.

The key to making savvy financial decisions is knowing what to do and why you should do it. And that’s where financial literacy comes in.

This is not another top financial literacy book list. Instead, this is a comprehensive list of the best books to read for financial literacy that will meet you wherever you are on your financial journey and get you to where you want to be.

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Best Financial Literacy Books for Kids

Help your little ones start their financial journeys with these titles that will introduce money topics in fun and playful ways.

1. M is For Money: It is never too early to start giving your child the foundations of financial literacy. This book familiarizes your child with the language of money using age-appropriate descriptions and fun illustrations.

2. Grampa’s Fortune Fables: An award-winning book that walks kids through the foundations of financial literacy with fun and engaging short stories.

3. The Four Money Bears: This book is great because it goes beyond spending, saving, and giving and introduces the concept of investing early on. It also shows the benefit of all four financial principles working together.

Best Financial Literacy Books for Teens

These titles will challenge teens but not overwhelm them. Hopefully, showing them what to expect and, even better, what to strive for, as they become young adults.

1. First to a Million: An excellent book for teens and young adults that breaks down how to reach your financial goals fast. It introduces the idea that you don’t need to wait until you are 65 to retire and then give young people a plan to get them there.

2. I Want More Pizza: Keep it short and simple. No complex math equations here, just use the one thing all teens seem to like, to teach them how to manage their money. Pizza! A great guidebook to introduce teens to managing their own money effectively.

3. Investing for Teens: “It’s never too early to learn how to make your money work for you!” This is a fact. It is often said the best time to start investing was anytime before today, the next best time is today. So give your teens a head start by giving them resources that will prepare them to make their money work for them.

Best Financial Literacy Books for Young Adults

Early adulthood can be a challenging but rewarding time. These books will help you get started on the right foot.

1. Broke Millennial: To master our money, we need to be able to talk about our money. This is a money conversation navigational guidebook with helpful scripts and prompts for all occasions and locations.

2. I Will Teach You To Be Rich: Ramit is like a wealth ninja who gives you actionable tips on how to structure your life to earn, save, invest and spend less time thinking about any of them.

3. Why Didn’t They Teach Me This in School?: A quick and easy read that focuses less on the numbers and more on sound money management principles. Practical lessons that really should be taught in schools.

Best Financial Literacy Books for Adults

Adulting is hard. Make it a little bit easier by building a better relationship with your money to reach your financial goals more quickly.

1. Millionaire Teacher: Becoming a millionaire is likely very different than what you thought. This practical handbook to spending and investing can help you get there.

2. The Simple Path to Wealth: A straightforward, slow and steady approach to wealth creation. While most financial instruments specified are solely for a U.S. audience, this book is full of practical advice in an easy-to-read format.

3. Choose FI: If you are not into the slow and steady approach to reaching financial independence, this book is for you. This book and the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement both advocate for frugal living and early investing, so that you can reach a state of financial independence as soon as possible.

Best Financial Literacy Books for Parents and Guardians

Parents have a unique role in educating and supporting the next generation. Take a look at these great books (if I say so myself) to help you, help your family, be more financially literate and prepared.

1. Your Kids, Their Money: Am I biased? Yes, but I still think this book is a phenomenal guide for parents and kids. With heart and soul, this book speaks to parents to help give them the tools, resources, and language to prepare children of any age to become financially literate.

2. Money Boss Mom: Parenting is not easy, so take all the help you can get. Use this book to learn how to talk with your spouse and children about money.

3. The Opposite of Spoiled: This book has compiled fantastic stories and best practices to use when approaching money and parenting. While the author’s assessment of the middle class is on the very high side, the concepts discussed are still a great starting point.

Best Financial Literacy Books for Seniors

We all hope our money will last through retirement, but let’s be proactive rather than hope. Use these books to ensure you can live life to the fullest and support yourself in your later years.

1. The 5 Years Before You Retire: It’s never a good idea to wait until the last minute when planning. That is especially true when talking about retirement planning. This book helps you create a realistic retirement plan, even if retirement is just around the corner.

2. How to Make Your Money Last: Thankfully, most people live longer than previous generations. Unfortunately, too many financial guides still spout old investment advice that doesn’t take longer retirements into account. This book is the exception.

3. Rock Retirement: This book takes a holistic look at retirement. Instead of just focusing on the money and the “save more” script, it makes you think about what you want out of retirement and helps folks think about how they want to live today and tomorrow.

Best Financial Literacy Books for Beginners

These are the best books to read for financial literacy if you are a beginner. The stories are fun and provide interesting perspectives that I hope will open your mind to managing their money to live a more financially stable and fulfilling life.

1. Richest Man in Babylon: Arguably the best book on financial literacy, this timeless classic gives you the keys to wealth in fun parables located in ancient Babylon. This updated version removes some of the challenging prose of the original.

2. The Wealthy Barber: While this book is dated, its narrative style is helpful to get beginners to start engaging with financial literacy concepts. Reading a story can often be a lot more palatable to the beginner. So start here, but don’t stop here.

3. Your Money or Your Life: This book details its nine-step program to transform your relationship with money to help you reach financial independence. This book is for you if you want to live a better life and money is holding you back.

Best Books to Improve Your Financial Literacy for Intermediate

If you already know the basics but would like to understand better why you do or don’t do what you need to, then delve into the depths of your mind with these books.

1. The Psychology of Money: I love this book. It highlights how we do not always act rationally with our money. It lets you know that it is okay to make a wrong decision, as long as you make the right financial moves when it counts.

2. Happy Go Money: A happiness guidebook. If you have ever thought, “If I only had more money, I would be happy,” buy this book. If your goal is to have a healthy and happy relationship with money, this book is for you.

3. The Next Millionaire Next Door: The much-needed follow-up to the groundbreaking The Millionaire Next Door. This book helps you better understand what millionaires think, do and buy. And it will tell you how it is in your power to be one of them.

Best Financial Literacy Books for Women

Any gender can use every book on this list, but if you are looking for financial literacy books written by women, here are my top 3.

1. You Are a Badass at Making Money: This book will motivate you to make a change if it is the last thing it does. It is scattered with motivational quotes, like “A healthy desire for wealth is not greed, it’s a desire for life” or “You have infiltrated greatness inside of you. Let it win over the BS.” Written in a very casual style, this is an unapologetic manual to help you get yours.

2. Get Good with Money: Pulls you right in from the jump. The author’s story is crazy. And reading her fall from “financial grace” will keep you turning the pages on this helpful guidebook that focuses on budgeting and debt: a perfect step-by-step and chapter-by-chapter approach to get yourself on track financially.

3. Clever Girl Finance: This is a no-fluff book to help women build a financial action plan. Each chapter is short but purposeful, carrying you on a path to financial wellness.

Best Financial Literacy Books for Black and Other Minorities

Like my books for women, black and minority readers can use any book on this list. But if you are looking for books written by black or minority authors, here is my list.

1. Your Kids, Their Money (For Parents): After digging out of debt in his early twenties, Corbin has dedicated himself to helping the next generation make wise financial money moves.

2. Get Good with Money (For Adults): The self-proclaimed “Budgetnista” breaks down what you should be doing with your money in a skillfully laid out, informative, and engaging plan.

3. Cashing Out (For Adults): A roadmap to creating wealth for black folks that shows them a different path than the usual scripts we have been hearing since we were little, with practical advice that addresses the struggle.

Check out this post for a list of financial literacy books for black youth.

Best Financial Literacy Books for Canadians

The Canadian financial landscape is unique, from TSA to RRSPs. Check out this list to make the most of your loonies and twoonies.

1. Money Like You Mean It: A cleaver book that breaks down the big picture economic policies by giving you the historical context for how we got here and how you can best maneuver the Canadian economy to maximize your financial wellness.

2. Wealthing Like Rabbits: Don’t take this book lightly because of its title. While written in an easy-to-read casual, and fun manner, the lessons imparted are helpful to any Canadian who wants to ensure they can retire comfortably.

3. House Poor No More: Specifically for the homeowner, this book breaks down the wise and not so wise moves you can make financially with one of the most significant assets many of us will ever own.

Hidden Gems, Financial Literacy Books that are not about Financial Literacy

Managing your money is about so much more than just what you do with your money. It is about your mindset and the stories we tell ourselves. Use these books to help get you to find your happy place.

1. Atomic Habits: If you want to be successful with your money, you must form healthy money habits. Changing your spending or saving patterns is not easy, but it’s worth the effort. Atomic habits breaks down how habits are formed and help you remake them.

2. Daring Greatly: Unfortunately, money is still often a taboo subject connected with a lot of shame and self-doubt. To help you get better with your money, sometimes you have to get better with yourself. This book provides a roadmap on how to be vulnerable, experience joy, let go of shame, and understand that you are enough.

Read my Daring Greatly review.

3. The Obstacle Is the Way: Stoicism is coming back. Stoicism is a philosophy that was founded in Athens, Greece, in the early 3rd century B.C. The philosophy teaches self-control, inner calm, and resilience in the face of adversity. Use this book to face the complexities of our money and life.

Final Thoughts

These books about financial literacy will help you achieve your financial goals, whatever they may be. I wish you the best of luck on your financial journey.

If you feel like I missed one of the top financial literacy books or the best books to read for financial literacy, please let me know in the comments. I would love to hear your thoughts.

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