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- Best for beginners in personal finance: "On My Own Two Feet: A Modern Girl's Guide to Personal Finance" by Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar
- Best for improving your money mindset: "You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth" by Jen Sincero
- Best for improving your mindset with money, runner up: "Defining Wealth for Women (n.) Peace, Purpose, and Plenty of Cash!" by Bonnie Koo
- Best for money management: "The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn't Have to Be Complicated" by Helaine Olen and Harold Pollack
- Best for a comprehensive overview: "The Money Manual: A Practical Money Guide to Help You Succeed on Your Financial Journey" by Tonya B Rapley
- Best for millennials: "Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties" by Beth Kobliner
- Best for teens and Gen Z: "How to Money: Your Ultimate Visual Guide to the Basics of Finance" by Jean Chatzky
- Best for understanding your relationship with money: "My Money My Way: Taking Back Control of Your Financial Life" by Kumiko Love
- Best for budgeting: "Get Good with Money: 10 Simple Steps to Becoming Financially Whole" by Tiffany Aliche
- Best for learning about investing: "Broke Millennial Takes On Investing: A Beginner's Guide to Leveling Up Your Money" by Erin Lowry
These Are the Best Personal Finance Books by Women for 2023:
If you're lounging around and looking for a good read to help get your personal finances in order, we have a list of goodies for you to consider.
Below is a compilation of great personal finance books authored by inspiring women.
Best for Beginners in Personal Finance: 'On My Own Two Feet: A Modern Girl's Guide to Personal Finance' by Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar
Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar, Harvard Business School graduates and leading investment experts, hit on the basic principles of money management. You learn about all the essential components of personal finance, like budgeting, saving, student loans, and retirement. Whatever your income level, this book can help you understand how to stay on track when it comes to your personal finances.
Best for Improving Your Money Mindset: 'You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth' by Jen Sincero
If you want fun and witty, this is it. Jen Sincero draws on her own experience from living in a converted garage to traveling and living her best life. She shares her own experiences and includes tidbits of advice that help readers face financial obstacles.
This book will also help you mentally uncover what's holding you back from making money. Sincero wants you to tackle those doubts so you can think about money differently and start building wealth.
Best for Improving Your Money Mindset, Runner-up: 'Defining Wealth for Women (n.) Peace, Purpose, and Plenty of Cash!' by Bonnie Koo
We have multiple options in this category because we wanted to provide you with more than one book for gaining confidence in managing your money. The scarcity mindset has historically affected women more than men, but becoming more knowledgeable about the way you view money may help with shifting your mindset.
In this book, Bonnie Koo empowers women by challenging common money myths like "money is complicated" or "budgets are money diets." She explains what women can do to be in control of their finances through journal prompts and activities. Overall, this read will be a good fit if you aren't feeling confident about money, but you want to change your perspective on it.
Best for Money Management: 'The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn't Have to Be Complicated' by Helaine Olen and Harold Pollack
This book is the work of dynamic duo Harold Pollack, a University of Chicago professor, and Helaine Olen, an award-winning financial journalist. It's an effort to prove that personal finance should be simple by fitting the things you need to know about managing money on a few index cards.
Best for a Comprehensive Overview: 'The Money Manual: A Practical Money Guide to Help You Succeed on Your Financial Journey' by Tonya B. Rapley
Tonya B. Rapley. founder of the website My Fab Finance, creates a straightforward guide for people at any stage of their personal finance journey. Rapley has you perform a simple self-assessment on your current relationship with money. Then, you may read on to get actionable advice and tips based on your self-assessment. Rapley covers a variety of topics, from savings strategies to handling debt.
Best for Millennials: 'Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties' by Beth Kobliner
This is a great read for anyone, but especially if you're in your 20s or 30s and want to start cleaning up your act when it comes to finances. "Get a Financial Life" by Beth Kobliner tackles topics such as finding deals on insurance policies, homebuying, and reining in your spending habits.
Best for Teens and Gen Z: 'How to Money: Your Ultimate Visual Guide to the Basics of Finance' by Jean Chatzky
Jean Chatzky, Kathryn Tuggle, and the HerMoney team do a great job explaining a variety of personal finance topics that are very relevant for young adults especially, like buying a first car or understanding student loans. Another bonus — there are a lot of cute visuals that make the read absolutely delightful.
Best for Understanding Your Relationship With Money: 'My Money My Way: Taking Back Control of Your Financial Life' by Kumiko Love
This book might be worth considering if traditional budgeting or saving tactics haven't worked for you in the past. Kumiko Love, "The Budget Mom," focuses on your relationship with money when providing advice so that you can truly recognize the control you have over your finances. Kumiko also shares her own experiences, so you feel like you talking to your knowledgeable and put-together friend.
Best for Budgeting: 'Get Good with Money: 10 Simple Steps to Becoming Financially Whole' by Tiffany Aliche
Tiffany Aliche, known as "The Budgetnista," lays out a 10-step approach to dealing with your personal finances. "Get Good with Money" is an easy-to-follow guide that breaks down each step, starting with determining your budget, then moving to saving and automating bills and investments.
Best for Learning about Investing: 'Broke Millennial Takes On Investing: A Beginner's Guide to Leveling Up Your Money' by Erin Lowry
In her second book of the Broke Millennial series, Erin Lowry provides practical, easy-to-read guide to investing. Broke Millennial Takes On Investing is a great option if you're new to investing and don't really understand the terminology.
Other Personal Finance Books by Women we Considered
There are many personal finance books by women. For our guide, we consider 15 personal finance books by women.
While these weren't chosen as our top picks, you also might consider reading some of the following books:
- "CleverGirl Finance: Learn How Investing Works, Grow Your Money," by Bola Sokunbi
- "When She Makes More: 10 Rules for Breadwinning Women," by Farnoosh Torabi
- "Zero Debt: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Freedom," by Lynnette Khalfani-Cox
- "Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together," by Erin Lowry
- "Know Yourself, Know Your Money," by Rachel Cruze
- "The Financial Diet: A Total Beginner's Guide to Getting Good with Money," by Chelsea Fagan and Lauren Ver Hage
Personal Finance Books by Women Frequently Asked Questions
Why should I read personal finance books?
Personal finance books can serve as a great resource for anyone interested in learning to use and manage money effectively.
Many personal finance books are great for learning about money basics, like budgeting, saving, investing or retirement.
Other personal finance books may be ideal as a source of inspiration. These books focus more on how to improve your mindset on money and become more confident in your money-based decisions.
Why is financial literacy for women important?
A study conducted by the Stanford Center on Longevity found that women commonly performed more poorly on financial literacy tests than men. Women were more likely to get answers wrong or mark "don't know" in comparison to men.
Learning about financial topics can play an important role in improving financial literacy and building confidence in making financial decisions.
However, it should be acknowledged, that some systematic inequalities, like the gender pay gap and the glass ceiling, also affect the way women view money. To resolve these issues, change is needed culturally and across companies.