UPDATED FOR 2019!
Millennials have their own unique financial challenges.
Most have a high – if not debilitating – level of student loan debt.
Others struggle with connecting their dreams with reality (dreams can be expensive, after all).
Worst of all is the fact that most lack the financial literacy they need to make moves today that will set them up for success down the road.
Despite these unique challenges millennials have a lot going for them. They are extremely resourceful because of the technology they grew up with. They are less content with “business as usual” and will do what they need to do to live the life they want.
Given the right tools and resources, millennials can do incredible things.
That’s why I created this list of personal finance books for millennials. Books do what articles and blog posts cannot – they take a deep dive into a topic and leave the reader with tools and inspiration to get things done that will have a positive impact on their life.
So millennials pick a book or two – or more – from this list and start equipping yourself with the financial literacy and inspiration you need to succeed.
And if you’re shopping for a millennial, please get one of these personal finance books in their hands!
*New for 2019*
1) Student Loan Solution: 5 Steps to Take Control of your Student Loans and Financial Life
From Amazon: Lower Your Student Loan Debt
Personalize your approach to student loans: Those who have student loans, especially those with a lot of student loans, need to approach their finances differently than those who do not have student loan debt. Student Loan Solution explains what student loan borrowers should be focusing on when it comes to their finances above and beyond managing their student loan debt. Additionally, it shows borrowers how to take advantage of strategies that help them make more money, save more money, and ultimately pay down their student loans faster.
Be smarter than your student loan debt: Loans should be straightforward, but unfortunately, student loans are complicated. College financial aid terms like “federal direct subsidized” and “GRAD Plus” mean little to most of us, but each type of student loan is slightly different, with its own set of rules and repayment options. Student Loan Solution explains everything you need to know about your student loans. From how student loans work, to student loan repayment options and opportunities for loan forgiveness, to creating a plan for managing and paying down your loans, author David Carlson covers it all.
De-complicate your life: By the time you are done reading Student Loan Solution, you will understand your student loans, gain control of your finances, and be armed with strategies to improve your finances and, ultimately, your life.
Be more than a statistic: For millions of Americans, paying for college meant taking out loans. If you are one of the 70% of college graduates with student loans, Student Loan Solution has financial advice for you. Fight the student loans epidemic affecting 40 million borrowers―learn the best way to pay off the college degree you worked so hard to earn.
A step-by-step approach: Student Loan Solution uses a 5-step approach to help you understand your loans, your options, and how to improve your greater financial life while paying down your student loan debt. A topic that can be overwhelming is simplified through the step-by-step approach that gives clear action items that keep you moving forward in your journey to repay your loans.
Student Loan Solution has the tools you need to start your student loans repayment with a bang. In this book, David Carlson provides the tools and financial advice to:
- Pay off your student loan debt
- Personalize your student loan repayment plan
- Live a happier, more financially knowledgeable life
Title: Student Loan Solution: 5 Steps to Take Control of your Student Loans and Financial Life
Author: David Carlson
Ideal Reader: Anyone who has student loans.
2) Get Money: Live the Life You Want, Not Just the Life You Can Afford
From Amazon: Learn how to live the life you want, not just the life you can afford!
Managing your money is like going to the dentist or standing in line at the DMV. Nobody wants to do it, but at some point, it’s inevitable: you need to clean your teeth, renew your license, and manage your personal finances like a grown-up. Whether you’re struggling to pay off student loan debt, ready to stop living paycheck to paycheck, or have finally accepted that your Beanie Baby collection will never pay off, tackling your finances may seem immensely intimidating. But it doesn’t have to be. In fact, by approaching it as a game–or something that requires you to set clear goals, as well as face challenges you must “beat”–personal finance can not only be easy to understand, but it can also be fun!
In Get Money, personal finance expert Kristin Wong shows you the exact steps to getting more money in your pocket without letting it rule your life. Through a series of challenges designed to boost your personal finance I.Q., interviews with other leading financial experts, and exercises tailored to help you achieve even your biggest goals, you’ll learn valuable skills such as:
- Building a budget that (gasp) actually works
- Super-charging a debt payoff plan
- How to strategically hack your credit score
- Negotiating like a shark (or at least a piranha)
- Side-hustling to speed up your money goals
- Starting a lazy investment portfolio…and many more!
Simply put, with this gamified guide to personal finance, you’ll no longer stress about understanding how your finances work–you’ll finally “get” money.
Title: Get Money: Live the Life You Want, Not Just the Life You Can Afford
Author: Kristin Wong
Ideal Reader: Those who are sick and tired of not understanding their money and ready to move forward
*New for 2019*
3) Broke Millennial Takes On Investing: A Beginner’s Guide to Leveling Up Your Money
From Amazon: A guide to investing basics by the author of Broke Millennial, for anyone who feels like they aren’t ready (or rich enough) to get into the market
Millennials want to learn how to start investing. The problem is that most have no idea where to begin. There’s a significant lack of information out there catering to the concerns of new millennial investors, such as:
- Should I invest while paying down student loans?
- How do I invest in a socially responsible way?
- What about robo-advisors and apps–are any of them any good?
- Where can I look online for investment advice?
In this second book in the Broke Millennial series, Erin Lowry answers those questions and delivers all of the investment basics in one easy-to-digest package. Tackling topics ranging from common terminology to how to handle your anxiety to retirement savings and even how to actually buy and sell a stock, this hands-on guide will help any investment newbie become a confident player in the market on their way to building wealth.
Title: Broke Millennial Takes On Investing: A Beginner’s Guide to Leveling Up Your Money
Author: Erin Lowry
Ideal Reader: Newcomers to investing who are looking for a crash course on how best to get started.
4) Young, Fun & Financially Free: Live the Good Life Now and Build a Kick-Ass Future!
From Amazon: Young, Fun & Financially Free Live the good life now and build a kick-ass future!
Does the thought of budgeting and retirement leave you frustrated and uninspired?
Sadly, our culture promotes consumer spending and instant gratification at the expense of financial freedom. Most people think that they have to suffer now in order to live well later.
In this groundbreaking book, Leanna shows you how you can create a wealthy future and still live the good life today.
You will discover:
- How to be in the right money mindset – creating the lifestyle of your dreams should be exciting!
- How to spend wisely and live freely – on your own terms
- Brilliant tips for upscale living that won’t break the bank
- Investing 101 – take the mystery out of investing and start building your nest egg today
- How to eliminate debt and fix your credit stat!
- How to stay the financial course when life throws you curveballs
- Inspirational stories of others who’ve done it – and you can too!
- Strategies you can implement NOW to get your money working for you TODAY
Title: Young, Fun & Financially Free: Live the Good Life Now and Build a Kick-Ass Future!
Author: Leanna Haakons
Ideal Reader: Millennials who want to build their dream life, but need inspiration (and guidance) to get their finances together
5) The Feminist Financial Handbook: A Modern Woman’s Guide to a Wealthy Life
From Amazon: Live your wealthiest life: Sometimes the best way to stick it to the man is by doing well for yourself. There’s just one problem: it’s hard to do well for yourself when systemic oppression has placed innumerable hurdles between you and your aspirations. The Feminist Financial Handbook provides real motivation and resources for real women who may be struggling―not only those who have already accumulated wealth.
Overcome obstacles: The Feminist Financial Handbook provides actionable tips for women in business to overcome these obstacles without dulling the visceral experience of the real-life struggles women face as they try to master their money management and their lives. Because women’s experiences don’t exist in a vacuum relegated to their gender, the handbook explores financial issues with anecdotes and perspectives of women of different races, sexual orientations and abilities.
Find the answers to your money questions: Whether you want to learn more about general financial planning principles, like saving or earning a higher income, or delve into issues that disproportionately affect women, like the wage gap or the long road to economic recovery after experiencing domestic violence, The Feminist Financial Handbook has stories and advice from women who have been there, worked through the struggle, and achieved personal success.
Learn from the frontrunner of the Femme Frugality blog: Written in the same passionate tone that has made Femme Frugality a two-time nominee for Best Women’s Finance Blog, The Feminist Financial Handbook acknowledges the financial struggles and oppression modern women face while providing actionable steps to live your wealthiest life and achieve personal success.
The Feminist Financial Handbook presents a feminist view on finances relevant to a post-Recession economy. This book will walk you through how to:
- Decide what wealth and success means for you
- Learn how to earn more and negotiate effectively
- Master manageable money-saving methods
Title: The Feminist Financial Handbook: A Modern Woman’s Guide to a Wealthy Life
Author: Brynne Conroy
Ideal Reader: Someone looking for personal finance information and advice from a feminist perspective.
6) Hustle Away Debt
From Amazon: Learn how to get out of debt from an expert
Debt free living: Forbes calls David Carlson’s personal finance blog Young Adult Money “a must read for millennials.” Hustle Away Debt, by David Carlson, gives millennials drowning in debt – student and otherwise – a lifeline.
Learn the secrets to being debt free: Carlson details his secrets to getting out of debt through the concept of “side hustles.” He shows how side hustles can help you develop new sources of income that allow you to pay off debt faster. He also shows how this can lead you to explore new fields you might not have otherwise worked in and how you can pick up useful skills for your full-time job – all while developing your earning potential to the fullest.
In Hustle Away Debt, you will learn:
- What it is like to enjoy debt free living
- How to save more and get ahead faster
- What it takes to seize control of your money
- How to get out of debt once and for all
- How to eliminate student debt
Title: Hustle Away Debt
Author: David Carlson
Ideal For: People who want to pay off their debt faster, people working 9-5 jobs that wish they were running a business instead, and anyone looking to increase their income.
7) You Only Live Once: The Roadmap to Financial Wellness and a Purposeful Life
From Amazon: You Only Live Once is the guide to achieving your best life through smart money moves. Before you even begin making a budget, you need to think about why.
Where do you see yourself financially in ten years? Five years? This time next year? What does money do for you? Once you know your destination, you can begin charting your course.
Step-by-step guidance walks you through the budgeting process, and shows you how to plan your financial path to point toward your goals. You’ll learn how to prioritize spending, how to save efficiently, and how to take advantage of simple tools you didn’t know you had. Next comes the most important part: taking control. You need to really look at how you perceive and use money day-to-day. Chances are, changing a few habits could give you some breathing room and help you reach your goals sooner.
Title: You Only Live Once
Author: Jason Vitug
Ideal Reader: People who aren’t content with their current life and want something “more” but are unsure of what changes to make
8) Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together
From Amazon: Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck and Get Your Financial Life Together (#GYFLT)!
If you’re a cash-strapped 20- or 30-something, it’s easy to get freaked out by finances. But you’re not doomed to spend your life drowning in debt or mystified by money. It’s time to stop scraping by and take control of your money and your life with this savvy and smart guide.
Broke Millennial shows step-by-step how to go from flat-broke to financial badass. Unlike most personal finance books out there, it doesn’t just cover boring stuff like credit card debt, investing, and dealing with the dreaded “B” word (budgeting). Financial expert Erin Lowry goes beyond the basics to tackle tricky money matters and situations most of us face #IRL.
Title: Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together
Author: Erin Lowry
Ideal Reader: Millennials who are new to personal finance and want to get their financial life together.
9) Corporate Survival Guide for Your Twenties: A Guide to Help You Navigate the Business World
From Amazon: Welcome to the corporate world, friend! A world where things aren’t fair, some people are mean, and if you want to succeed, your boss has to like you.
In her new book: Corporate Survival Guide for Your Twenties: A Guide to Help You Navigate the Business World, Kayla Buell, founder of the award-winning blog Lost GenY Girl, helps you face the corporate world post-college. Navigating a corporate working world filled with pitfalls and traps is not easy there’s no app for that.
Should you speak up in meetings? Should you stay quiet? Should you eat at your desk? What should you wear? And what do you do when someone blasts you via e-mail? In Corporate Survival Guide for Your Twenties, Buell helps the early career professionals get their kick-ass career running!
Title: Corporate Survival Guide for Your Twenties
Author: Kayla Cruz
Ideal Reader: Millennials who are about to enter the workforce or who have recently graduated and entered the workforce
10) Dear Debt: A Story About Breaking Up With Debt
From Amazon: In her debut book Dear Debt, personal finance expert Melanie Lockert combines her endearing and humorous personal narrative with practical tools to help readers overcome the crippling effects of debt
Drawing from her personal experience of paying off eighty thousand dollars of student loan debt, Melanie provides a wealth of money-saving tips to help her community of debt fighters navigate the repayment process, increase current income, and ultimately become debt-free.
By breaking down complex financial concepts into clear, manageable tools and step-by-step processes, Melanie has provided a venerable guide to overcoming debt fatigue and obtaining financial freedom.
Title: Dear Debt
Author: Melanie Lockert
Ideal For: People who are in debt and want to become debt-free
11) How to Be a Financial Grownup: Proven Advice from High Achievers on How to Live Your Dreams and Have Financial Freedom
From Amazon: Bobbi Rebell, award-winning TV anchor and personal finance columnist at Thomson Reuters, taps into her exclusive network of business leaders to share with you stories of the financial lessons they learned early in their lives that helped them become successful. She then uses these stories as jumping off points to offer specific, actionable advice on how you can become a financial grownup just like them.
Financial role models such as Author Tony Robbins, Entrepreneur Ivanka Trump, Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary, Mad Money’s Jim Cramer, Designer Cynthia Rowley, Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren, Zillow’s CEO Spencer Rascoff, PwC’s CEO Bob Moritz, and twenty others share their stories with you.
Title: How to Be a Financial Grownup
Author: Bobbi Rebell
Ideal Reader: People who want new ideas that help them better manage their finances and are interested in hearing tips from some successful individuals
12) Zero Down Your Debt: Reclaim Your Income and Build a Life You’ll Love
From Amazon: Zero Down Your Debt
How to get out of debt: With just a pen and a piece of paper in your arsenal, you’ll learn how to implement a zero-sum budget and become debt-free – once and for all. The zero-sum budget’s primary tenets are giving every single dollar earned a purpose ― whether it’s for bills, debt repayment or savings ― and using last month’s earnings to cover this month’s bills. All you need is the know-how, some willpower, and a positive attitude to transform your financial situation. Let Holly and Greg Johnson show you how to put zero-sum budgeting to work for you.
Title: Zero Down Your Debt: Reclaim Your Income and Build a Life You’ll Love
Author: Holly Porter Johnson & Greg Johnson
Ideal Reader: Anyone who wants to stop living paycheck-to-paycheck and pay down debt once and for all
13) The Broke and Beautiful Life: Small Town Budget, Big City Dreams
From Amazon: After moving to New York City to become a Broadway actress, Stefanie O’Connell faced one of two inevitabilities when faced with unemployment–spiral into debt or learn how to effectively manage her money. Punctuated with humor, insight, and essential money management lessons, The Broke and Beautiful Life offers practical strategies to make smarter financial decisions today as a means to fulfill the goals and dreams of tomorrow.
Specializing in personal finance (with an emphasis on personal), Stefanie engages those who shy away from the word “investing,” scoff at the word “budget,” and equate interest rates with “snooze fest.” She encourages readers to redefine their relationship with money and approach budgeting as an exciting and sexy tool to transform from broke to beautiful while enjoying every step along the way.
Title: The Broke and Beautiful Life: Small Town Budget, Big City Dreams
Author: Stefanie O’Connell
Ideal Reader: Any millennial who is looking to be empowered financially
Which book on this list do you want to read? What other personal finance books do you recommend for millennials?
Check out some of our favorite personal finance resources:
Are you getting the best credit card rewards? Check out the top cash back credit card offers (updated daily)
Make extra money: 15 ways to make money from your computer
Get the First Chapter Free!
Join our online community and get the first chapter of the book Student Loan Solution absolutely FREE!
I knew about your book before, but Zero Down Your Debt looks like an interesting read. Maybe just because I’m a PF nerd, but I like to read different peoples ideas on PF. Even if a lot of the times they are very similar.
I also like to read different opinions on personal finance. I actually look for outliers who don’t “go with the crowd” and think outside the box. They typically stand out because, as you pointed out, there are a lot of writers and authors who have very similar views.
Solid list DC! I’ve heard of most of them, but there are a few new to me ones you’ve got listed. One of my favorites is If You Can – I have it in my best investing books post. It’s geared specifically towards starting out investing on a smaller salary/novice. It’s pretty helpful and simple to follow, which can be a challenge with pure investing books.
Oh sounds like a really great read for millennials. I will have to check it out!
Thanks for sharing! I see some awesome authors that I am familiar with. The only book I have read on the list is Suzie Orman’s book but I will check out some of the others.
The Suze Orman book is such a good one! I can’t believe it’s already 10 years old.
Great suggestions! I have a copy of Broke Millennial already. Planning on checking that out next on my list.
Zero Down Your Debt looks fun as well. There are only a few of these that I’ve actually heard of. Time to add to my wishlist on Amazon!
I am a few chapters into “Broke MIllennial” but like most books…I got busy and haven’t finished it yet!
This is a great list, I hadn’t heard of most of these! I’ll be checking out The Broke and Beautiful Life next.
I also like Ramit Sethi’s: I Will Teach You To Be Rich. His philosophy is to spend money on what you like but not on stuff you don’t want or need. It’s a good book to read if you’re struggling with the budget life.
I’ve heard a lot of good things about “I Will Teach You to Be Rich” but I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet! There’s a lot of great books out there, really tough to limit this list.
Thanks for covering fellow bloggers books as well as the big names like Orman and Cruz. It’s pretty helpful to hear the stories and advice of those who have worked out these ideas in the real world and even learned from their mistakes.
I am always conflicted about some of the bigger names out there : ) I like Suze Orman because I feel like she’s a grinder who went from waitressing to building an empire. Cruz is Dave Ramsey’s son so it’s tough for me. I’m biased towards people who really grind their way to the top, but I’m sure Cruz put in plenty of work to get where she is, just tough when she has such a big advantage over others.
Great list! There’s a quite a few on here I’ve never read so I’ll have to add them to my ‘must read’ list. Thanks!
Oh I’m glad there’s some new ones on here! And I’m glad you liked the list!
Interesting list, unluckily I’m in a sort of shopping ban until the end of august but I am intrigued by 3 titles: The recovering spender, the broke and beautiful life and Hustle away debt