One of the best ways to improve your finances is to educate yourself about personal finances, business, entrepreneurship, and behavioral economics. When I was at my highest point in debt and completely depressed and discouraged about my financial future, I went to the library in search for some answers and guidance.
That one visit to the library changed my life. I found easy-to-understand books that not only informed me, but also motivated and inspired me to make significant shifts in how I viewed money and how I viewed my financial legacy.
In the two years that I spent “studying” personal finance, I read dozens of books. Here are but a few of the titles.
Believe me, after reading any of the following books, you will be inspired to stage your financial comeback– shift your money mindset, understand and internalize the habits of pentamilionaires and decamillionaires, and release doubt and financial paranoia.
1. Thomas J. Stanley’s and William D. Danko’s The Millionaire Next Door
If we left it up to reality TV, you would think that all millionaires spend lavishly, make their money over night, and make their fortune in the fields of sports, music, fashion, and entertainment. Definitely, not true! This book opened my eyes to the many preconceptions I held about the habits of the rich. Among the many things that this book taught me, I left clearly understanding that the decision to live frugally, marry a partner more frugal than I am, and sell not-so-sexy goods such as spoons and straws will get you closer to being a millionaire than you think.
Read this book if you are a black woman that wants to make that transition from being employed to being self-employed. Ms. Seals Allers inspires black women to think big and strategically through sharing her personal story of leaving a prestigious, comfy corporate job at Essence to starting The Mocha Manual empire. What is also great is that each chapter opens highlighting the story of a “little black woman that could and DID.” I believe this book is partly responsible for me deciding to start my blog, conduct financial literacy workshops, and work as a personal finance coach.
If you want a holistic approach to financial recovery, then this book is for you. Glinda Bridgforth speaks to how the unique cultural, economic, and racial experience of Africans brought to America to work as chattel impacted our collective financial consciousness. In a very comforting way, she teaches the readers how to eliminate debt, identify their emotional triggers, and set financial foundations such as savings funds and retirement goals. You may need some Kleenex when reading this book.
Do you want someone to give it to you straight and raw? Michelle Singletary, financial columnist at the Washington Post, speaks to the reader with the same straight and real talk that her financial guru and grandmother, Big Mama, used with her when imparting financial wisdom. My favorite Michelle Singletary money mantra is “If it’s on your ass, then it’s not an asset.”
Don’t let the copyright date or the simple cover of his books fool you. The late lecturer Subira discusses the strengths and shortcomings of the political and cultural movement of the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Pride Movement in their ability to improve the collective economic positioning of blacks in America. In addition to critiquing these movements and corporate systems, he ultimately provides an action plan for African-Americans to follow if they want financial liberty and freedom.
BMWK: What other titles should we add to this list?