13 Top Books About How to Make Money To Boost Your Earnings
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In the pursuit of financial freedom, reading books is one of the best things you can do. Here I break down the top books about how to make money to maximize your earnings and accelerate your financial success in 2023.
Only a few short years ago, I was working long hours at a job I didn’t like, chained to a desk every day and wondering if this was all life had to offer.
Today, I spend my time doing what I’m passionate about, having achieved the financial freedom to live life on my own terms.
How did I do it?
It sounds simple, but it all started when I began to read books about how to make money.
Seriously, there are so many great books out there that can teach you not only critical financial basics like budgeting, getting out of debt, and saving money for retirement but also how to reach the type of financial freedom we all want.
Below are the books about how to make money which helped me on my path.
I hope you will find them as inspirational and life-changing as I did!
Also read, 7 Inspiring Financial Independence Books.
The Best Money-Making Books
- Rich Dad Poor Dad -> get it here
- The 4-Hour Workweek -> get it here
- The Richest Man in Babylon -> get it here
- The Psychology of Money -> get it here
- The Little Book of Common Sense Investing -> get it here
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People -> get it here
- You Are a Badass at Making Money -> get it here
- I Will Teach You to Be Rich -> get it here
- Think and Grow Rich -> get it here
- The $100 Startup -> get it here
- The Intelligent Investor -> get it here
- The Magic of Thinking Big -> get it here
- The Millionaire Fastlane -> get it here
1. Rich Dad Poor Dad
Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad is one of the most well-known books about how to make money of all time, and probably the best place to start this list.
Written in 1997, the book tells Kiyosaki’s autobiographical story of growing up and learning from two father figures – his own father, who worked hard all his life but never reached financial stability, and his friend’s father, a rich and successful man.
Through the stories told about these two men and the different ways that each thought about money, Kiyosaki imparts the practical advice and fundamental financial concepts we all need.
Best Quote:
“In school we learn that mistakes are bad, and we are punished for making them. Yet, if you look at the way humans are designed to learn, we learn by making mistakes. We learn to walk by falling down. If we never fell down, we would never walk.”
2. The 4-Hour Workweek
Before he was a famous podcaster selling millions of books, Tim Ferris was working 14-hour days at a day job he didn’t like, frustrated and demoralized by his lack of freedom (I have to say, this sounds pretty familiar, if you know my story).
It was not until he took a three-week sabbatical that Ferris began to reassess his conception of work, exploring a new way of doing things that would evolve into The 4-Hour Workweek.
This incredible book gives you the blueprint Ferris used to obtain the type of financial independence and lifestyle freedom we all want, while working only a few hours per week!
Sound impossible?
I’m here to tell you, it’s not. The 4-Hour Workweek was the first thing I read on my own journey to financial freedom.
Best Quote:
“What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.”
3. The Richest Man in Babylon
The Richest Man in Babylon remains one of the best books about how to make money nearly 100 years after it was first written by George S. Clason in 1926.
It brilliantly dispenses common-sense financial advice and actionable steps anyone can take through a series of engaging parables set in ancient Babylon.
For almost a century, these parables have taught readers not only how to generate wealth but how to protect and grow that wealth to reach financial freedom.
Best Quote:
“I found the road to wealth when I decided that a part of all I earned was mine to keep.”
4. The Psychology of Money
A new entry on the list of the best books about how to make money, The Psychology of Money has totally changed the game since it was first published in 2020.
Why?
Because it recognizes that making money is not all about what you know – we are not spreadsheets; our decisions are influenced by the real world around us, by our psychology and emotion.
Through 19 short stories, author Morgan Housel teaches you how to analyze your relationship with money on a deeper level and understand how your history, worldview, and personal psychology can play into your success or failure.
Best Quote:
“Controlling your time is the highest dividend money pays.”
5. The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
I was always terrified of investing in the stock market, even though I knew it was one of the best ways to earn passive income.
That is until I started reading about a great way to invest without taking big risks.
It’s called index investing – meaning investing in Index Funds which mirror the performance of the stock market as a whole.
One of my favorite books on the topic is The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John C. Bogle.
It breaks down why index investing is the only way to guarantee your fair share of stock market returns and how beginners can get started today!
Best Quote:
“Don’t look for the needle in the haystack. Just buy the haystack!”
6. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Published in 1989, Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is timeless.
Indeed, the entire purpose of the book is to illuminate the universal and timeless characteristics of the rich and successful.
The book breaks down the habits of successful people into seven key principles. What I loved about it is that instead of focusing on skills, it helps you develop as a human being. It gives you all the tools you need to change how you react, feel, and see the world.
Although it was written over 30 years ago, the book’s insights into developing positive relationships, effective communication, and personal mastery are still incredibly relevant today.
This book is a must-read for anyone that wants to improve themselves and live a productive and happy life.
Best Quote:
“Start with the end in mind. ”
7. You Are a Badass at Making Money
Probably one of my favorite money-making books is Jen Sincero’s new book, You Are a Badass at Making Money.
If you want to be a “badass,” Jen is a pretty good model to emulate.
She combines hilarious personal anecdotes with practical advice on how to overcome your money fears and start making bank. From smashing your limiting beliefs to embracing your inner badass, her no-nonsense approach will inspire you to take action and make the money you deserve.
If you’re ready to upgrade your money mindset and unleash your financial potential, then grab a copy of this book and get ready to rock your bank account like a boss.
In her uniquely irreverent style, she teaches you how to do it too!
Best Quote:
“You can have excuses or you can have success; you can’t have both.”
8. I Will Teach You to Be Rich
Ramit Sethi’s book I Will Teach You to Be Rich puts the emphasis on the word ‘teach.’
It is, in effect, a six-week crash course on how to manage money, including how to make more and invest.
Yes, like other money books on this list, I Will Teach You to Be Rich breaks down the basic principles of personal finance in an easy-to-digest way.
But what makes it unique and a great place to start your financial journey is that at the end of each chapter, a workbook is provided for you to complete in order to solidify the concepts in your mind and truly take control of your finances.
Best Quote:
“The single most important factor to getting rich is getting started, not being the smartest person in the room.”
9. Think and Grow Rich
Published way back in 1937, Think and Grow Rich is a classic book constructed by Napoleon Hill over the course of 20 years, stretching from WWI into the Great Depression.
During these years, Hill interviewed more than 500 of the most successful individuals in the United States, distilling their insights and secrets down into 13 decisive principles which make up what he calls a “Philosophy of Achievement.”
Think and Grow Rich breaks down each of these principles in a way that anyone can understand and utilize.
Best Quote:
“Verily, there is nothing, right or wrong, which belief, plus burning desire, cannot make real.”
10. The $100 Startup
In some ways, Chris Guillebeau’s The $100 Startup is a kind of Think and Grow Rich for a modern age.
Published in 2012, Guillebeau conducted interviews with 1,500 individuals who created successful businesses with a low investment (usually $100 or less), then compiled the 50 most interesting case studies for the book.
Through these case studies, he provides a useful guide to success for those starting a small business, a side hustle, or a lifestyle business.
What I particularly like is that the different case studies effectively illustrate that, truly, one size does not fit all and that achieving success is a personal journey.
Best Quote:
“Don’t waste your time living someone else’s life.”
11. The Intelligent Investor
If you want to take your investment game to the next level, a great book to check out is The Intelligent Investor.
It was written back in 1949 by Columbia Business School professor Benjamin Graham, who, get this, actually taught a young Warren Buffett!
In fact, Buffett even called The Intelligent Investor “by far the best book on investing ever written.”
It breaks down an approach known as “value investing,” which focuses on investing in undervalued companies with great fundamentals, then waiting for the company’s stock to rise as value meets price.
Best Quote:
“The intelligent investor is a realist who sells to optimists and buys from pessimists.”
12. The Magic of Thinking Big
First published in 1959, The Magic of Thinking Big makes this list of books because it provides a simple truth that remains relevant to this day – making a lot of money is as much about confidence and belief as it is about skills.
This is because when you have confidence in yourself and believe that success is possible, it triggers your mind to figure out how to get there.
In the book, author David J. Schwartz provides simple steps for growing the type of functional confidence that leads to success not only of your financial plan but in your personal life and community.
Best Quote:
“Think more of yourself and there is more of you.”
13. The Millionaire Fastlane
If you’re someone who likes an author that doesn’t sugar coat things and isn’t afraid to go hard, M. J. DeMarco might be the man for you.
Just look at the website for his 2011 book The Millionaire Fastlane, where he derides the “financially enslaved” and condemns other money strategies as those promising “wealth in a wheelchair.”
Indeed, a central part of the book is rejecting many of the fundamental money principles promoted in other books, which DeMarco calls “The Slowlane.”
Instead, he gives readers a detailed step-by-step guide to his proprietary approach to making money – the “Fastlane.”
Best Quote:
“My doctor’s preferred method of attack was prescription drugs. I refused because I wanted to fix problems, not mask symptoms.”
Have you read any of these books? Which one is your favorite? Let me know in the comments!
