5 Personal Finance Books to Read to Thrive in a Recession
Updated November 2025
Money can be a taboo topic, especially for women. We often feel more comfortable talking about other areas of wellness, like fitness or mental health, because it’s more socially acceptable.
Yet, wise money management is an integral part of overall wellbeing. Taking ownership of our financial futures allows us to make informed decisions to create wealth, build assets, and eliminate unnecessary debt. With inflation at over 8% and world bank leaders predicting an impending recession, there is no time like the present to improve your money management skills so you can prepare for – and thrive – in the upcoming economic downturn.
I am not a financial coach or money expert, but I am passionate about wellness overall – which, in my opinion, includes proper money management. Today I want to share with you 5 books (and two bonus YouTube channels) that have been essential to my journey of becoming more financially educated. Applying what I’ve learned from these resources has helped me to achieve several financial goals. I hope these resources help you to reach your goals as well.
5 Must-Read Books for Financial Literacy
I’ve categorized the books under money management (logistics of how to save, what percentage to save, how to create a budget, etc.) and money mindset (believing you are worthy to be debt-free and achieve your financial goals). To me, both aspects are equally important to overall financial wellbeing.
You’ll probably be able to find most of these books in your local library, but I’ve also included links where you can purchase them on Amazon – whether used, new, on Kindle or Audible.
This post has affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
Money Management Books
1. I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
Paperback x Audiobook x Kindle
This is the book that taught me how to use my credit card the right way, automate my savings, and create a budget. I didn’t know what a 401(k) or a Roth IRA was until I cracked open this book.
Ramit Sethi is a no-nonsense teacher, and his advice in this book is very direct. If you like teachers who tell it like it is, this is the book for you.
My savings account would not be nearly as robust as it is now if it weren’t thanks to reading this book by Sethi and learning how to automate my savings into different buckets.
2. Clever Girl Finance: Learn How Investing Works, Grow Your Money by Bola Sokunbi
Paperback x Audiobook x Kindle
Y’all. Investing is so dang confusing.
I’m pretty sure that this is the reason why more people don’t invest. Apart from my retirement accounts, I never felt compelled to open a brokerage account until I read this line in Bola Sokunbi’s book:
“If you’re wondering how the truly rich get and stay rich, investing is the answer.”
Investing is a critical component of wealth building.
You cannot become rich by saving your money. I’ll prove it to you. Log into your savings account. Now, look at what your interest rate is. Chances are, it’s probably around 0.05% to 2%. The money in your savings account is probably accumulating a few pennies (or if you’re lucky, dollars) per year.
By contrast, the average stock market return is about 10% per year. You will see much greater returns if you invest your money. Of course, you’ll want to have savings for a rainy day, but investing is essential once you’re ready to move beyond saving and start growing your money.
If you want a thorough beginner’s guide on learning how to invest, this book is for you! Sokunbi teaches you everything from index funds to compound interest and how to work with a financial advisor.
3. A Beginner’s Guide to Win with Money by Christina Edel
Did you know that the average American has $105,056 in debt? If you’re in debt, know that you are not alone. We are all up to our necks in it – and many of us have multiple loans.
In this book, Christina Edel teaches about the importance of prioritizing. Tina is a great financial coach (in fact, I’ve hired her and have been a happy client of hers!) and owner of the business Picture it Personal Finance. One thing I’ve learned through reading her book and working with her is how quickly progress happens when you focus on making extra payments on one debt at a time (while still making the minimum payments on other debts, of course).
One of the lines in her book that I’ve made a mantra for myself is this:
“It’s okay to want something and not have it.”
In America, we live in a culture that idolizes immediate gratification – ubiquitous services like AfterPay and Affirm allow you to “Buy Now, Pay Later” for everything from designer jeans to electronics. It can be hard to exercise discipline and say “no” when advertising is screaming “Say yes!!! You deserve that YSL bag!!” But the more you flex that discipline muscle, the stronger it gets.
Money Mindset Books
4. We Should All Be Millionaires: A Woman’s Guide to Earning More, Building Wealth, and Gaining Economic Power by Rachel Rodgers
Hardback x Paperback x Audiobook x Kindle
America’s first self-made woman millionaire was born to former slaves, had three months of formal education, was orphaned at a young age, and lived in an unsafe neighborhood. She had every excuse not to become a millionaire – and yet, Madame CJ Walker (born Sarah Breedlove) did just that.
I love this book by Rachel Rodgers (which a dear friend gifted me for my birthday last year). Rodgers really digs in deep about setting boundaries, beating imposter syndrome, and valuing the unpaid labor many women do within their households. She focuses on replacing what she calls “broke ass thoughts” (feelings of failure and unworthiness around money) with “million dollar thoughts.” Even if you’re not aiming to be a millionaire, it helps to shoot high.
“Demands require capital. It takes money to lobby Congress. It takes money to support protestors who march in the streets. It takes money to bail out activists and fund research that provides evidence of the need for change. So it’s time for us, as women, to turn toward our money. To begin focusing on our earning potential and our ability to generate wealth.”
5. The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko, Ph.D.
Hardcover x Paperback x Audiobook x Kindle
I read this book shortly after I graduated college, around the same time that I read Ramit Sethi’s I Will Teach You to Be Rich. The Millionaire Next Door taught me that the prototypical American millionaire lives well below their means. They also are commonly engaged in regular, everyday professions – pest controllers, mobile home owners, welding contractors. One of the authors’ main findings is that those who work in flashier occupations (e.g., lawyers or doctors) often have a greater internal and societal pressure to have flashier homes, cars, and wardrobes. However, no one expects a rice farmer to wear a $5,000 suit or drive a foreign car, so those who work in what the authors call “dull” professions can live in modest homes in working class neighborhoods and – with discipline and a plan – save and invest more of their earnings. It’s okay to have a “boring” job – the important thing is to make your money work for you.
I also highly recommend reading the sister book, Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen. The everyday millionaire woman is not a hyperconsumer – she doesn’t flaunt her wealth or behave in any manner that would indicate that she is rich. She is also often self-employed.
YouTube Channels
Minority Mindset YouTube Channel & Newsletter
The Minority Mindset YouTube Channel is run by Jaspreet Singh, a serial entrepreneur and licensed attorney on a mission to spread financial education.
His team also sends out a daily info-packed finance & business newsletter called Market Briefs that I’m subscribed to, which is great if you’re an investor. You can subscribe here to the newsletter.
To me, it’s clear that Singh is fiercely passionate about spreading free financial education far and wide. I am in awe of how many YouTube videos he churns out in a 24-hour span – and they’re all quality content. I started watching him sometime in 2017/2018. The cover art on his YouTube videos can be a little cheesy, but don’t let that turn you off. There are gems of wisdom in each video. Things that I’ve learned from him are:
- If you can’t buy 5 of them, you can’t afford 1 of them. This is his mantra to avoid overspending. To apply this to a real-world example, if you want to buy a $1,000 laptop and you don’t have $5,000 in your checking and savings accounts, you can’t afford that laptop.
- When stock prices fall, don’t panic and start selling your investments. Think of it as the stock market being on sale. During a bear market like we’re in now, stock prices have fallen. Now is the perfect time to buy. Because in the future, when the economy bounces back (which it always does), the value of the stocks/funds you buy now will likely be worth much more.
- There are exchange traded funds (ETFs) that pay dividends! And when you purchase the ETF, you can select the option for your brokerage to automatically reinvest those dividends.
Social Symone YouTube Channel
I started watching Social Symone more recently. On this YouTube channel, Symone reacts to current trends from a financial perspective in a funny and lighthearted way. She’ll de-influence you from mindlessly spending money on the latest fads with a dash of humor and a healthy helping of common sense. She’ll also share about any deals (like the Aldi’s $40 Thanksgiving dinner for 10).
What are some personal finance books that you’ve read and loved? Share them with me in the comments below! I love reading about money management and continually expanding my knowledge in this area. I look forward to hearing your recommendations.
