Money, Money, Money & Books About Money
Have you read any good books about money? Every so often, this question makes its way to me from readers, friends, family members, and all sorts of people in my life. Usually in January. And every time it comes up, I promise myself I’m going to make a list of all of the books I’ve read about money — the good and the bad — and put them in one gigantic post I can share the next time the question comes up.
Then, I chicken out.
In truth, I almost didn’t click the publish button on this message today. I almost chickened out again and sent you a message about something completely benign, something a little more in my comfort zone, like why I’m loving the YA romance novels my niece recommended for me or my delicious new winter habit of abandoning technology after 6 pm and reading said romance novels in bed all evening. I think it’s because a large part of our culture and conditioning has told us we shouldn’t talk about money and we definitely shouldn’t talk publicly about it.
I disagree.
My life has been changed by people who talk honestly about money.
Like really changed. In big ways. So really, I have no idea why I’m still so shy when it comes to writing about it.
If you’ve been around this email group for a while, you may remember that I’ve written about money before in a little article called “A Reading List to Help You Love Your Work & Make More Money” — a post I published almost exactly two years ago to the day actually. I liked that article. I remember it feeling good to send a little bit of positive money-talk out into the world. But it’s not all I have to say on the subject, nor does it begin to cover all of the books I’ve read and learned about money from.
So here I am.
Let me start by saying I’m not claiming to have the one secret or solve-it-all answer to anyone’s money issues. I don’t have a golden key, silver bullet, or solve-all of any sort. I lose heaps of respect for my fellow writers on the internet when they claim to have the one secret that will change every person’s financial future. They’re usually selling something. It’s usually a coaching package or an online program. Some of them are great and can really help a lot of people. None of them are right for everyone.
Here’s what I do have — a little stack of books that have changed my thinking around money so drastically and helped transform my financial situation so completely it still blows my mind.
Daily.
Here’s why I’m sharing it — a little over a year ago I committed to being honest with myself about why I still write on the internet after all these years. I had started writing publicly because I wanted to honor my mom after she passed, because she always wanted me to publish my writing. After getting started, I wrote because I loved the interaction with my readers (you!) and believed I could turn my writing into a full-time job I loved. Now, after realizing the full-time writing dream might take decades or might look different from what I originally thought, I have a deeper and better motivation — I love helping women thrive, at home, at work, and where it matters most, inside. (Just like my home page says.) And let’s face it, whatever your complicated feelings may be on the topic, money can help us thrive. Give us options. Grant us the freedom to be more us.
Let’s talk about it.
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Here’s how my thinking about money drastically changed ⤵
After reading the first few books about money, I quickly started noticing my limiting beliefs, adopting new beliefs, and watching my relationship with money change as a result. I kept reading and my thinking about money kept changing. I replaced “We can’t afford. . . ” and “I could never. . . “ with “Good for them” and “If they can do it I bet I can too”. I replaced “What if something bad happens this year?” with “What’s the best that could happen?” and “Something must be wrong with me since we’re always getting behind” with “What if we could be totally at ease with money this year?” And I adopted this strategy ⤵
Know what you want. Know why you want it. Let yourself want it. Believe you can receive it. Believe there’s enough in this world for everyone. Make a definite plan. Create something valuable. Offer it. Sell it. Be it. Believe you have something valuable to give. Keep at it. Cooperate with others. Lift them up. Bring them up with you. Build a habit of going for it. Refuse to back down against criticism, doubt, anything. Keep keeping at it. Have fun. Do, have, and be the things you love. Bring light wherever you go. Be generous and be willing to receive generosity, too. Be you.
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Here’s how my financial situation drastically changed⤵
On my 30th birthday, I was earning a decent salary as a young professional in the nonprofit sector with a college degree, a couple of years of experience under my belt, and a brand-new promotion and raise I was super grateful for. It was more than I’d ever earned before and it was enough to support my family and get us started on the adventures we wanted to take. But it wasn’t enough for us to be at ease with money by any means. By my 40th birthday, I had worked my way into a few more positions I was grateful for and then left my safe, dependable, stable job (twice actually) and found myself owning my own location-independent business with an annual income quickly doubling and then doubling again what it was just 10 years earlier.
Yes, you read that right — in just 10 years, I doubled my annual income and then doubled it again. And I was owning my own location-independent business, was young, and working in a field where incomes rarely multiply like that. And I didn’t do it by sinking tens of thousands of dollars into something that I’m about to offer you right now for the low, low price of tens of thousands of dollars. I did it by reading books. I did it by acting on the strategy I was telling you about in the section above — Know what you want. Know why you want it. Let yourself want it. Believe you can receive it. Believe there’s enough in this world for everyone. Make a definite plan. Create something valuable. Offer it. Sell it. Be it. Believe you have something valuable to give. Keep at it. Cooperate with others. Lift them up. Bring them up with you. Build a habit of going for it. Refuse to back down against criticism, doubt, anything. Keep keeping at it. Have fun. Do, have, and be the things you love. Bring light wherever you go. Be generous and be willing to receive generosity, too. Be you. (And yes, I realize there was some luck, privilege, and plenty of birthplace/birthrace lottery factors as well. I don’t want to glaze over that.)
I also got to travel a lot and spend a lot of time with my people along the way, too, which I’m extremely grateful for.
Again, I’m not claiming to have the secret to your money issues. I’m not saying I have it all figured out just yet either. I’m just saying a little stack of books changed my thinking about money so drastically and helped transform my financial situation so completely it still blows my mind. And I want to share it with you in case it could help you thrive in your current season.
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Here are the new(ish) books on money I’ve learned from ⤵
One of my favorites, an easy read, and something I shared with everyone in my house. . .
Really specific strategies and ideas for earning different kinds of income. . .
Not exactly about money but the strategies and stories helped me earn a whole lot more of it. . .
A wacky story (especially on audio) but the message sticks. . .
One of my favorites ~ I’ve been reading it every year for 5 years.
A few older books on money I’ve read and learned from ⤵
Clear steps for creating an abundance mindset. . .
The original source book for so many modern-day books about money. . .
More heart work for training yourself to think abundantly. . .
A tiny but mighty primer on the abundance mindset. . .
Other books on money I can’t recommend but I’m glad I read ⤵
Great for folks who want their brand to go viral but not me right now. . .
Full of great research about business logic but not totally me either. . .
Several valuable insights but a few things that didn’t resonate. . .
Valuable concepts but I disagree with the overpromising (also, too many cult vibes in my opinion) . . .
An important closing thought ⤵
To round out this money-talk message, I’d love to offer one more important piece to the money puzzle — the truth that more money isn’t always the answer, money doesn’t solve everything and in fact, can’t even touch some of the deepest needs we have in this life. This is important to remember, especially on days when we feel like we’ve done all we can do and it’s still just never enough. Especially when earning more money doesn’t seem possible in the slightest and books about money make you want to pull your hair out in frustration.
In those times, there’s another way. As if summoned by my decision to write about this today, here’s a quote from a Simple Abundance meditation this week ⤵
“Making peace with the knowledge that you can’t have everything you want exactly when you want it teaches us many creative and spiritual lessons: the mysteries of cycles; the immense fulfillment of delayed gratification; and blessings of unanswered prayers which, in my own life, seem to be messengers of miracles.
Why should this be so?
Because in order to love our lives truly, madly, and deeply, we must separate our wants and our needs: until we learn to notice how they often overlap, seem to merge, or act as an unseen ally in our search for happiness.
That’s because, like infants, we feel contentment when our essential needs are met.
Be courageous.
Ask yourself: What is it I truly need to make me happy? These deeply personal answers will be different for each of us. But trust the loving wisdom of your heart. It is only after we acknoledge our inner needs that we can harness the creative energy necessary to manifest them in our lives.”
~ SBB, Simple Abundance, p. 12
Wherever you are this morning and whatever feelings this message brings up for you, I hope you find encouragement here and leave this page more sure than ever before that anything — ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING — is possible for you. And that you’re not alone in what you’ve been overcoming.
Have you read any good books about money? Please share. I’d love to learn more.
Right there with you,
Celeste