“There is a difference between being poor and being broke. Broke is temporary. Poor is eternal.”
Being a student and worrying about money (specifically the lack of it) is about a natural combination of peanut butter and jelly. Scrimping and saving around has become part of that typical ‘student lifestyle’, with many associating an extended stint in the education system with a lifetime’s debt supply. Happily, this doesn’t have to be the case. There are so many valuable resources out there for young adults looking to step into financial independence, so why not check out our favourite finance books for teens and young adults here at What We Reading?
Money Skills For Teens: Practical Financial Skills For Teens To Build A Strong Money Foundation – Naomi Hendrix
Kicking off our list of the best finance books for teens, Naomi Hendrix’s Money Skills for Teens is the perfect handbook for any young adult looking for real-world practical money advice. Presented with a friendly tone and concise guidance, this book aims to take the stress out of budgeting for readers and bridge the gaps that schools don’t teach.
From cultivating a money-making mindset, understanding how to budget and the importance of finding a way of balancing the books by gaining control of spending, establishing an emergency fund and even prepping for a retirement fund (because it is never too early), it is one of the most invaluable financial guidebooks for young adults.
Contributed by Finance Crate
Broke Millenial – Erin Lowry
Erin Lowry’s Broke Millenial is one of the most valuable personal finance books for teens they could hope to own. In it, Lowry introduces how those starting their journeys on financial independence can make their money stretch further by setting up monthly budgets, worthwhile investments, and plans and avoiding the trap of credit and debit card debts.
Delivered with lighthearted humour that helps keep the material engaging as well as helpful, Broke Millenial takes some of the most common issues that plague people in their 20s and 30s to help students avoid them before they begin.
How To Money – Jean Chatzky And Kathryn Tuggle
How To Money: Your Ultimate Visual Guide to the Basics of Finance is a collaboration between best-selling author Jean Chatzky, Kathryn Tuggle, and the HerMoney Team. In this fun and friendly personal finance book, the pair team up to introduce students to everything from budgeting and investments to taxes.
With quirky illustrations from Nina Cosford, How To Money is a 256-page all-round guide dealing with every bit of insight a teenager needs to get to grips with the world of money.
The Psychology Of Money – Morgan Housel
Former Wall Street Journalist Morgan Housel takes readers through not only the mechanics behind money but also the psychology behind spending and saving in The Psychology Of Money.
In the book, Housel covers 19 unique short stories as a way for readers to understand how decisions around money aren’t made based on logic and spreadsheets, but in the home and around loved ones. By going through each of these stories, readers can make better sense of the behaviours behind how money is moved around, helping them to become more street-wise in the process.
Why Didn’t They Teach Me This In School? – Cary Siegel
Why Didn’t They Teach Me This In School is Cary Siegel’s acclaimed personal finance book for students. Recommended by the likes of Forbes, Google, Lifehack and Bustle, this top-selling graduation book comes complete with 99 money management lessons students can take with them as they step into financial independence.
Originally intended to be a book written for his children, Siegel makes a real effort to deliver a personalised approach to discussing how to save money. Rather than presenting the book as a businessman’s resource book, he uses unorthodox methods to give readers more application in the real world.
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I Want More Pizza – Steve Burkholder
One of the most digestible personal finance books for students currently on the market, author Steve Burkholder takes all the aloofness away from the world of finance in favour of simple, straight-shooting saving tips.
Written specifically for young adults, Burkholder explores how everyone has goals in life and wants to live a certain lifestyle, though financial constraints can make this seem difficult to do. I Want More Pizza is a casual guide for students to step out into financial freedom with all the tools needed to stretch their finances as far as they want, utilising helpful real-life examples and case studies as evidence for every point.
The Meaningful Money Handbook – Pete Matthew
Whilst most finance books for young adults will give readers a good guide on the ins and outs of finance, seldom few offer this and a solid walkthrough on what they need to do properly to make a success of their independence.
Thankfully, Pete Matthew’s The Meaningful Money Handbook offers both of those features by the bucketload. This student finance book tackles three main elements:
- 1. Spend less than you earn and clear debt.
- 2. Insure against disaster.
- 3. Build up your savings and invest wisely.
It is one of the most valuable commodities for those readers looking to trim the fat on their spending and secure a solid foundation for whatever life throws at them.
Surrounded By Idiots: The Four Types of Human Behaviour – Thomas Erikson
Surrounded By Idiots isn’t a financial guide, but more of an insight into some wild and wacky behaviour types that help cause people to act the way they do. Swedish behavioural expert Thomas Erikson got the idea for this book after coming out of a work meeting pondering whether he was the only sane person at his company – an everyday occurrence plenty of readers will be able to sympathise with.
Splitting people into four different personality groups, Surrounded By Idiots is mainly focused on helping reduce conflict with others, understand body language and improve dynamics with people they work with, readers will also get a renewed understanding of their personality that may help get to better grips with their spending habits.
Money: A User’s Guide – Laura Whateley
A Sunday Times bestselling classic, Laura Whateley’s Money: A User’s Guide is the complete walkthrough teens and young adults need to take control of their finances. Whateley is an acclaimed money expert and uses concise and informative points to slice through the difficult questions readers usually skip over during a conversation.
Covering everything from ethical investments, and the influence of money on our mental health to how to pay off student loans, it is as close to a timeless guide on finance as any reader could hope for.
Rich Dad Poor Dad For Teens – Robert T. Kiyosaki And Sharon L. Lechter
Robert T. Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad is undoubtedly one of the most successful book series on how to make money. The number one New York Bestselling series’ ninth entry, Rich Dad Poor Dad For Teens is one of the best finance books for teenagers and young adults looking to step out with their financial independence.
Tackling everything from the hazards of credit cards to savvy investments in real estate, Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter combine for one of the most complete walkthroughs on all the money-saving tips students aren’t taught during their school days.
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Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
