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BECOME FINANCIALLY SAVVY BY READING THESE INSPIRING FINANCIAL FREEDOM BOOKS
We spend most of our life earning money, but how much time do we actually spend learning about how to manage it?
One of the most important things I did in the past 5 years, was spending time reading books to help me escape from a life that I didn’t enjoy. I would wake up early every day, spend 10-12 hours in a dark office, go home tired only to start again the next day.
Reaching financial freedom has truly changed my life. Can you imagine having enough money to be able to live the life you want without having to go to work every day? These books will set you on your own path to becoming financially free.
By investing in yourself and in your knowledge, you’ll finally stop worrying about money and actually use it as an instrument to build your wealth.
When I read the first of these books and then discovered the others, I didn’t know how much they would help me towards embracing happiness and following my true dreams. I hope you will find them as inspirational and life-changing as I did.
My favorite Financial Freedom Books
1. The 4-Hour Workweek
BY TIM FERRIS
Tim Ferris is a great entrepreneur, he has sold millions of books and has an inspiring podcast.
I read the Kindle edition of this book on a wonderful beach in Sicily. I hated my job, I was working more than 60 hours a week and I just wanted a way out.
What I loved about this book is how Tim inspires you to work smarter and not harder. It also encourages you to just stop thinking and start doing. I also embraced his idea of taking mini-retirements during your life. Not all of us want to quit our jobs, but finding the right balance between work and life is essential to be happy!
This book helped me to understand that it is possible to escape the 9 to 5 and create streams of passive income to support your life, without being chained at your desk every day!
2. Rich Dad Poor Dad
BY ROBERT KYOSAKI
In this book, Robert Kyosaki talks about how he grew up and learned about money from two very different dads (one was the father of his childhood friend). The very different ideas of his not-so-wealthy dad compared to his wealthy dad’s friend reveal very different ideas on life and wealth.
This book made me realize how important financial education is and how little we are taught about it when we are young. The difference between assets and liabilities and the importance of having money working for you, instead of you having to work for money is the biggest lesson I learned from “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”.
3. The Magic of Thinking Big
BY DAVID JOSEPH SCHWARTZ
The first edition of this book is quite old, it was first published in 1959, but there is a reason why over 6 million people have read it and loved it: its message is as relevant today as it was back then. The book is all about self-confidence, removing negativity and the importance of believing in yourself. Only by thinking big and surrounding yourself with positivity you can achieve happiness!
Why limit yourself?
4. The Millionaire Next Door
BY THOMAS STANLEY AND WILLIAM DANKO
A great insight into who the real millionaires are – people that live well below their means and achieve great wealth through hard work and savings. Stanley Thomas interviews hundreds of millionaires and they couldn’t be more different than what you think. They won’t often come from Hollywood but they are often living next door. Truly inspirational if you aim to be a millionaire yourself one day.
5. The Simple Path to Wealth
BY JIM COLLINS
I have always been terrified of investing in the stock market as I am the worst gambler in history. Once I went to Vegas and couldn’t even bring myself to play at one of the tables. I have always seen investing in stocks as gambling and stayed well clear of it for ages.
Then I discovered Index Investing, Vanguard and The Simple Path to Wealth.
I can’t say I am now a great investor and I am still worried about the market being overvalued, but this book from Jim Collins gives you a great insight into Index Investing and the reasons why it has worked for so long. If you want your money working for you, you are looking for a simple approach and don’t want to play with risky strategies, this book is for you.
It’s been one of the best, easy to read financial freedom books I’ve read to help me in my investment journey.
6. The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing
BY TAYLOR LARIMORE, MEL LINDAUER, MICHAEL LEBOEUF
Another straightforward guide to investing that will advise you on how to lay the foundations to create long-term wealth. This book focuses on passive investing strategies based on investing in low-cost index funds. It’s a great guide if you have managed to save money but aren’t sure about how to invest it meanwhile wanting a solution that won’t let you lose any sleep over it.
7. Financial Freedom
BY GRANT SABATIER
I was fortunate enough to read one of the final drafts of this book before it was published. Grant is an amazing blogger who managed to go from $2.26 to over $1 million in only 5 years.
Financial Freedom gives you everything you need to start living a better life!
I love when Grant says:
Making a lot of money isn’t the point. Time is!
You cannot buy time back, and by learning how to manage your money in the best possible way, you can buy your freedom!
This book will teach you everything you need about side hustles, hacking your 9 to 5, investing, saving, and more.
Ready to kickstart your road to financial freedom?
I hope these financial freedom books will inspire you as much as they have inspired me! Start learning today about how you can improve your wealth.
Money isn’t the most important thing in life, but knowing how to manage it will really set you free!
READ MORE ABOUT FINANCIAL FREEDOM & PASSIVE INCOME:
If you are interested in starting your own blog, have a look at my step-by-step guide! I will show you everything you need to do to start a successful money-making blog!
Check out all the best resources for your blog! I find all these resources so valuable and I am sure they will help you as much as they helped me.
Yogesh Shinde says
I love the list because some of these books are already in my list and I’ve read “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”. It’s a fabulous book for novice financial book readers because it’s easy to understand.
Thanks for compiling the list for us. Keep inspiring us Sara.
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
Thanks so much, Yogesh. I know some people don’t rate “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” too much, but I think it’s great for beginners. I found it incredibly useful in my journey to financial freedom.
Yogesh Shinde says
Rich Dad Poor Dad is best for beginners, it changes our mindset and it’s easy to read.
I will add others in my wishlist.
Thanks for these great recommendations.
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
Yes, Rich Dad Poor Dad is a good eye-opener for people that aren’t familiar with the difference between assets and liabilities! Thanks Yogesh, for stopping by 🙂
Cristina Notte says
Financial Freedom With Real Estate by Michael Steven is a great book. Probably the most simple and straight-to-the-point book I have ever read in real estate investing.
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
Oh, haven’t read that one, Cristina! I’ll put it on my list! thanks for the recommendation!
Lena says
Thank you for this article!! I’ve already read a couple books on here and I loved them!! I’ll be sure to check out the rest. Are there any others that you’ve read recently that you recommend? I just started Retire Before Mom and Dad, which I find to be a great introduction to financial freedom.
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
I am keen to read “Quit Like A Millionaire” as I’ve heard great things. I also really enjoyed “You are a badass at making money” by Jan Sincero. It’s not so much about financial freedom but from my experience, you have to get better at making money if you want to reach financial freedom sooner rather than later 🙂
Alex Endrich says
4/7 isn’t bad. I know which ones I’ll be adding to my 2021 reading list!
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
Hope you’ll find others on this list great! 🙂 Let me know!
Ashley says
Have you read I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi?
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
I have just finished reading it a few weeks ago!
I think it’s a fantastic book for beginners, and a book I wish I read 10 years ago!
It’s extremely helpful when you are starting out to put your finances in order and to create a system that can just automate your savings. I do find Ramit a bit over the tops at times, but I appreciate his enthusiasm! What did you think of it?
Yogesh says
Mindblowing post. Great article. Very informative.
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
Thank you, Yogesh 🙂
Yogesh jain says
To be honest, I only read Rich dad poor dad. It has some amazing lessons with every being should learn. This book is a must read for everyone who want to Ve successful in life.
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
Yes, I loved Rich Dad Poor Dad 🙂 I agree!
Vivien says
Thanks for sharing this list! I have The 4 hr work week on my list of upcoming books to read! Currently reading Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, which I see someone else has already suggested in the comments 🙂 ♥
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
I have that on my list too 😉
MG. @YourFinancialToolkit says
Great list, I’m an absolute fan of Tim Ferris, I read the 4-hour workweek first and then also read his 4-hour-body which I also really liked (I would also recommend listening to his podcast). The Boglehead guide to Investing is also an amazing book, I’m not familiar with a couple of the other books so I already added them to my GoodReads list.
Thank you for your recommendations!
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
Glad you found some books to read in this list MG 🙂
Johnny Yim says
I really am striving to read financial freedom, and I cannot wait to do that. I also would add Dave Ramsey’s book, Total Money Makeover, in there as well. It helps build the foundation to get financially free and to live life you want.
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
Thank you Johnny, I’m sure it could be super useful for beginners! I will check it out as I always want to read everything I recommend 🙂
Karla | Travellersoul says
Great selections!
I have read the first three and they’re full of sound advice. Definitely must be added to any personal library.
There’s a very special book that I suggest to read as it is a classic and that is “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill.
It should be taught to young people and anyone in need of financial advice!
Learning to be financially literate is a top priority and the sooner, the better right? 😉
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
Hey Karla,
Yes, “Think and Grow Rich” is another amazing book! And we all spend so much of our life earning money that we really need to learn how to manage it better!
Abhijeet singh says
Looking forward to read 4 hour work week.
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
It’s a great book 🙂
JOHN MULINDI says
Good resources for personal finance. I believe this will be of help to many people.
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
Thank you, John! 🙂
furtdso linopv says
Hello! Would you mind if I share your blog with my facebook group? There’s a lot of people that I think would really enjoy your content. Please let me know. Thanks
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
Of course, feel free to share 🙂
kiwiandkeweenaw says
Yes to the Simple Path to Wealth! It is great to share with everyone who ever plans to retire!
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
Yes agree! I loved it 🙂
fin$avvy panda says
Lol yup! A lot for sure, but it looks like you know what you’re doing. You have a fantastic layout, theme, and content. Very pretty and user friendly. Keep up the great work! 😉
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
You are too kind! You seem to be doing pretty well too. I am going to get into some of your articles tonight! 😉
finsavvypanda says
Aww hope you enjoy! Again, I’m just starting out. 😄
fin$avvy panda says
I have to say that The Millionaire Next Door was a book that changed my view about money and just owning stuff.
I used to think millionaires were those who lived in the fanciest houses and drove the nicest cars. But it’s not entirely true. Majority of them are humble, live below their means, and are wise about saving and investing. One of the tricks is to start as early as possible!
There was one fascinating fact I remember from the book. That the F-150 is a common vehicle purchased amongst the millionaires lol. Not the Ferraris, Lambos, Rolls Royce, etc… but just your typical F-150 pick up 😄
Anyways, I agree with you that this book is very inspirational. I would highly recommend it to people who want to escape the rat race earlier! 👍
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
I agree The Millionaire Next Door is a great book that changes the perception of what having money is all about. And it definitely isn’t about fancy houses and cars!
P.S. Good luck with your blog! It’s so hard to start, so much work! I will check it out today 🙂