Looking for the best financial books for young adults? In the past when I was a teenager, I looked up to adults for having their life together. I believed that being an adult was the best thing that could happen to me. However, the moment I started having more responsibilities, I faced reality and it was ugly. I realized I knew nothing about what it takes to be an adult.
I am a person who has a rich lifestyle, I have an expensive taste that I can’t afford sometimes thanks to my horrible money choices as I don’t save and I spend way more than I make.
Unfortunately, we weren’t educated on handling our finances in school and society didn’t teach us a single useful thing. We weren’t prepared for being an adult and we needed serious guidance.
However, being a responsible adult doesn’t mean just having a stable income, it means knowing how to use that money correctly by saving up and investing.
Immediately after I got disappointed in our education system, I turned to books to teach me what school failed to do. I spent a great deal of time searching for the best finance books that can guide me as a young adult. I found many options but not all of them taught me what I needed to know. However, I was able to find finance books for young adults with great advice and important tips that changed my view on money.
Best Financial Books for Young Adults List
If you need to take control of your financial situation, you can check these 10 finance books that have been written for young adults!
Get a notebook and a pen and try to note down any tip that’s new to you. It will change your life, trust me.
1. You’re So Money: Live Rich, Even When You’re Not by Farnoosh Torabi
Financial reporter Farnoosh Torabi published this book in 2008 and it became a must-read for all young adults.
The purpose of the book is to teach you how to improve your financial situation, how to make more money, how to save it, spend it and invest it. It will simply help you to live happier.
One of the things she mentioned in her book was that you can live beyond your means as long as you spend within them. She also focused on how you should invest and start saving for your retirement in order to live debt-free when you are older.
This book is perfect for young adults with an expensive taste for finer things, for those who like designer clothes and branded coffee. Farnoosh will teach you how to live that lifestyle while staying financially stable.
- Reviews: 3.21/5 on Goodreads. 3.4/5 on Amazon
- Read more on Goodreads.
2. The Financial Diet by Chelsea Fagan and Lauren Hage
Chelsea and Lauren had a youtube channel along with a blog called the financial diet before they decided to write this book. It came out in 2018 and received a lot of positive reviews.
The book features a lot of tips that will help every young adult to achieve financial stability. It will teach you how to have a good relationship with money in just a year, how to stick to a budget that suits you, how to invest, and much more.
Moreover, the authors believe that by saving money, you aren’t depriving yourself but you’re making your future a priority. They believe that money doesn’t buy happiness but buys the construction kit for building happiness. Money can give you security and comfort allowing you to build your happiness on top.
- Reviews: 3.43/5 on Goodreads. 4.5/5 on Amazon.
- Read more on Goodreads.
3. I Want More Pizza by Steve Burkholder – 3rd in the Young Adults Finance Books List
This easy-to-read book was published in 2015. It’s considered a must-read finance book for all young adults who needs to learn money skills. This book is a light read and a short one. It can be read in one sitting.
Steve believes that financial literacy is one of the main problems in today’s generation. He also believes that the sooner you learn how to handle money the better. It’s never too early or too young to be in control of your financial life.
This finance book is divided into 4 “slices” that cover different sides of handling money:
- You: this slice covers identifying your actions, goals, and priorities.
- Saving: this slice explains why you should save money and how you can do that.
- Growing your savings: this one covers the benefits of investing.
- Debt: the last slice helps you figure out a way to pay your debt whether it’s college funds or credit cards.
- Reviews: 4.2/5 on Goodreads. 4.6/5 on Amazon.
- Read more on Goodreads.
- Check out this: Books On Business Management That Will Thrive Your Business!
4. Why Didn’t They Teach Me This in School? by Cary Siegel
We all wish that we had a finance class in high school. We grew up knowing nothing about handling money. This is why this finance book is perfect for all of us young adults. It features everything you need to know about money and finance.
Published in 2013, this book is basic and straight to point. It offers 99 principles that will change the way you handle your money. The principles are divided into 8 different categories:
- 12 life lessons.
- 11 budgeting and saving lessons.
- 19 spending lessons.
- 8 debt and credit cards lessons.
- 9 investing lessons.
- 10 housing lessons.
- 4 insurance lessons.
- 26 quick tips.
This book summarizes all of the big lessons you need to know about money. Although it has 99 principles, it is a very short read with a lot of info to take in.
- Reviews: 3.8/5 on Goodreads. 4.5/5 on Amazon.
- Read more on Goodreads.
5. Happy Go Money: Spend Smart, Save Right and Enjoy Life by Melissa Leong
Melissa is a financial writer and keynote speaker who wrote this book in 2018 and it received a lot of praise.
What’s special about this book is that it combines both psychology and finance tips to help you handle money the best way you could.
This book will challenge every young adult into living a better financial life with its basic tips and lessons. It will teach you that you can be happy no matter your financial situation.
It also offers direct, easy-to-follow, and basic pieces of advice on different sides of handling money from spending to investing.
This book can also be considered a self-help book as it also covers the psychological aspect of having money.
- Reviews: 4/5 on Goodreads. 4.5/5 on Amazon.
- Read more on Goodreads.
- Read also: 5 Self-Help Books About Happiness List
6. The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
Came out in 2007, this book for young adults is considered one of the books that will change your life. It’s written to help you escape the 9 to 5 routine and start your business so you can live your life the way everyone deserves which is free.
Ferris focused on how you can enjoy your life now instead of waiting until your retire. He wants you to take control of your financial situation and be your own boss, which is what we all want of this life.
This book will open your eyes to the real meaning of productivity and will convince you to stop wasting your time on a corporate job and reach for the stars instead.
- Reviews: 3.9/5 on Goodreads. 4.5/5 on Amazon.
- Read more on Goodreads.
7. Student Loan Solution: 5 Steps to Take Control of Your Student Loans and Financial Life by David Carlson
Recently published in 2019, this finance book is perfect for young adults who went or are still going to college. If you are in debt to pay your college fees, get a notebook and a pen and start reading this book.
In this book, David will teach you how to treat money with a positive mindset, how to create a budget, and how to make more money at your job and outside it. He will also teach you the importance of credit scores and much more.
It’s easy to read and perfect for you if you don’t want to spend the next 10 years paying thousands of dollars for a college degree.
This finance book got a lot of positive reviews because it’s efficient and very realistic. It’s not full of white lies and empty promises as it’s written by someone who was thousands of dollars in debt. You can sense that David knows what he was writing about.
- Reviews: 4.5/5 on Goodreads. 4.4/5 on Amazon.
- Read more on Goodreads.
8. The Simple Path to Wealth: Your Road Map to Financial by J. L. Collins
Collins originally published this finance book in 2018 and it gave amazing tips on handling money.
It will teach you how to avoid debt and how to handle it if it was necessary, how to think about money in the right way, how to invest, and much more. It contains important pieces of advice that every young adult needs to hear.
Collins also explains the stock market and how you can benefit from it. He went to great details to help you understand everything there is to know about money because he believes that money is a powerful tool in our world and we must understand it. Couldn’t agree more.
A fun fact I learned about this book was that it’s the result of letters Collins wrote to his daughter when she needed financial advice.
- Reviews: 4.6/5 on Goodreads. 4.8/5 on Amazon.
- Read more on Goodreads.
9. Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties by Beth Kobliner
In 1996, this book offers important tips for handling your financial situation.
Although it isn’t just for young adults, it carries great advice for people in their twenties and thirties.
In this book, you will learn the importance of knowing how much your dreams cost so you can make them come true. It will also teach you how critical it is to have credit card debt and how paying it will make your life easier. It also covers insurance and how it’s necessary for every adult to have it.
That’s not all this finance book covers, it will offer you a lot of tips and lessons to make your life as an adult much easier.
- Reviews: 3.9/5 on Goodreads. 4.6/5 on Amazon.
- Read more on Goodreads.
10. Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping by and Get Your Financial Life Together by Erin Lowry
10th in this Finance Books List – Published in 2017, this book will identify the bad decisions that some adults make when handling money and eventually help you become financially free.
Lowery gave important lessons to help you manage your finances more responsibly as a young adult.
Like other books mentioned in this list, this book focused on explaining your relationship with money along with the importance of credit cards.
- Reviews: 3.9/5 on Goodreads. 4.6/5 on Amazon.
- Read more on Goodreads.
Final Thoughts
I still remember my first paying job and how happy I was when I got my first paycheck and I remember how badly I handled it and how much money I wasted. I made the mistake of not saving or investing. If I had read these books 4 years ago, my financial life today would have been totally different.
Please don’t make the same mistake I did and try to get as many lessons from these finance books as possible.
Understanding money is the key to living a better life and hopefully, the books I mentioned will allow you to do that!
Happy reading, and good luck!