10 Must-Read Books On How To Save Money And Build Wealth

Want to spend less and grow your money? Most people do. But only 57% of adults in America understand basic money rules, according to Standard & Poor’s Global Financial Literacy Survey. Good news: getting smart about money doesn’t have to be confusing or hard. This article will look at the top 10 books on how to save money – some easy reads for beginners, and some detailed ones for money pros.

How we chose these books

We selected the books on this list using simple and specific criteria so you get the best money advice without hassle. Here’s what we looked for:

• Easy to read. Books are written in everyday language so anyone can understand them, even with limited financial knowledge;
• Practical. Each book provides real steps and useful tips that readers can apply right away to save more and build wealth;
• Popular. Titles are recommended often, backed by strong reviews from everyday readers who got real results;
• Expert-endorsed. Approved or highly rated by trusted financial experts who have tested and used the methods themselves.

All these books to read if you want to save more money are available on the Headway app as short summaries. Reading on Headway saves time by offering quick, concise versions of each book. You don’t need hours – just minutes – to grasp key points and smart money ideas. This way, you can quickly learn useful tips without tackling entire books, perfect for busy schedules or when you need a refresher.

The 10 must-reads – categorized by goals

Everyone has different money goals. Some people want easy tips to spend less each month; others need smart plans to grow savings or build wealth long-term. Below are the top books grouped by common money goals, so you can quickly pick the titles most helpful for you.

Category 1: Budget like a boss

Good budgeting puts you in control of your cash. The following books teach practical ways to manage spending, set clear money plans, and use easy strategies to stretch each dollar:

#1 “Your Money or Your Life” – Vicki Robin

This isn’t your typical budgeting book that tells you to cut out coffee and avocados. Robin gets to the heart of why most people struggle with money – they’ve never actually thought about what their time is worth. The book walks you through calculating your real hourly wage (hint: it’s probably less than you think once you factor in commuting, work clothes, and stress-related costs).

The genius part is how Robin connects spending to life energy. When you realize that £50 dinner out cost you 4 hours of actual work time, suddenly that impulse purchase doesn’t seem so appealing. She provides a straightforward system for tracking where your money actually goes versus where you think it goes. Most people are shocked by the difference.

The book doesn’t just focus on cutting expenses though. Robin shows you how to build wealth systematically without feeling deprived. Her approach has helped thousands of people retire early or at least gain financial independence. The methods work whether you’re earning £20k or £200k.

#2 “Get Good with Money” – Tiffany Aliche:

The author breaks down effective plans for money management into simple steps. Readers learn methods to track spending, organize money better, and avoid debt problems.

Aliche wrote this book because she was tired of financial advice that assumed everyone starts from the same place. Her “Live Richer Challenge” breaks down money management into bite-sized pieces that actually make sense for real people with real problems.

What sets this apart from other money books is Aliche’s background as a teacher. She knows how to explain complex stuff simply without being condescending. Her debt payoff strategies are particularly good – she doesn’t just tell you to “pay more,” she shows you exactly how to find that extra money in your existing budget.

Her friendly style makes budgeting seem easy, even if you’ve never tried before. This book helps readers feel relaxed and confident about their cash decisions.

The book covers everything from emergency funds to investing, but it’s not overwhelming. Aliche gives you permission to focus on one thing at a time instead of trying to fix your entire financial life overnight. Her writing feels like getting advice from a smart friend who actually wants you to succeed.

Save smarter, not harder

Saving money does not mean giving up things you love. The following picks offer smart methods to boost your savings without painful sacrifice:

#3 “The Automatic Millionaire” – David Bach:

It explains that becoming wealthy doesn’t depend on big paychecks or difficult change. Bach figured out something most financial advisors miss completely – willpower is rubbish when it comes to saving money. You can have the best intentions in the world, but when that end-of-month shopping urge hits, your savings plan goes out the window. His solution is brilliantly simple: remove yourself from the equation entirely.

The “pay yourself first” concept isn’t revolutionary, but Bach’s execution is what makes it work. He shows you how to set up automatic transfers that happen before you even see your paycheck. Can’t spend what you never had access to, right? Start with just £50 per month if that’s all you can manage – the amount matters less than building the habit.

What’s clever about Bach’s approach is how he addresses the psychology behind spending. Most people budget by planning to save whatever’s left after expenses, which predictably leaves nothing. Bach flips this backwards. Pay your future self first, then figure out how to live on what remains. It sounds restrictive, but most readers find they don’t even notice the missing money after a few months.

The book includes specific instructions for setting up these systems with UK banks and ISAs. No complicated spreadsheets or apps to maintain – just simple automation that builds wealth while you sleep. Bach proves that boring beats exciting when it comes to long-term financial success.

#4 “Just Keep Buying” – Nick Maggiulli:

Maggiulli tackles the biggest obstacle to building wealth: our own brains. He knows that most people avoid investing because it feels too risky or complicated, so they end up keeping everything in savings accounts that barely keep up with inflation. His book strips away the mystique and shows investing for what it really is – regular people buying pieces of successful companies.

The title says it all. While everyone else panics about market crashes or tries to time the perfect entry point, Maggiulli advocates for the most boring strategy possible: buy consistently, regardless of what’s happening in the news. His data shows that people who invest the same amount every month for decades almost always outperform those who try to be clever about timing.

What makes this book practical is how Maggiulli addresses real-world concerns. Worried about buying just before a crash? He shows you the math on how even terrible timing usually works out fine over 10+ years. Confused about which investments to choose? He breaks down simple index fund strategies that require about five minutes of maintenance per year.

The book doesn’t promise get-rich-quick schemes or secret trading strategies. Instead, Maggiulli proves that steady, consistent investing beats flashy tactics every single time. His approach works whether you’re starting with £20 per month or £2,000. The key is starting now and staying consistent, not waiting for the perfect moment that never comes.

Escape the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle

Always counting down days until payday is tiring. These recommended reads help break the cycle by offering clear steps and simple habits, so you say goodbye to endless money stress for good:

#5 “I Will Teach You To Be Rich” – Ramit Sethi:

Sethi wrote this book because he was fed up with financial advice that made people feel guilty about everything they enjoyed. His approach is refreshingly different – instead of cutting out all fun, he shows you how to spend freely on things you actually care about while ruthlessly cutting costs on stuff that doesn’t matter to you.

The book’s strength lies in its practical systems. Sethi walks you through setting up automatic transfers, negotiating better rates on everything from credit cards to insurance, and building an investment portfolio that doesn’t require constant tinkering. His scripts for calling banks and service providers are particularly useful – most people save hundreds just by following his phone conversation templates.

What sets Sethi apart is his focus on the big wins rather than penny-pinching. He’d rather you negotiate a £2,000 salary increase than spend months clipping coupons to save £50. The book teaches you to think like wealthy people do – focus your energy on decisions that move the needle, not on whether to buy name-brand or generic pasta.

The investment section cuts through the jargon beautifully. Sethi explains index funds and asset allocation in plain English, showing you how to build a portfolio that beats most professional managers with about an hour of setup time. His six-week program gives you a complete financial system that actually works in the real world.

#6 “Broke Millennial” – Erin Lowry:

Lowry tackles the money conversations nobody else wants to have. How do you split dinner bills when one friend orders champagne and you’re drinking tap water? What happens when your partner has completely different spending habits? She addresses these awkward situations with practical solutions that don’t ruin relationships.

The book shines when dealing with student loan anxiety. Lowry doesn’t sugarcoat how overwhelming debt can feel, but she breaks repayment strategies into manageable chunks. Her debt avalanche versus snowball explanations help you choose the right approach for your personality, not just what looks best on paper.

What makes this book different is Lowry’s honesty about financial mistakes. She shares her own money disasters, from overspending on credit cards to making poor investment choices. This vulnerability makes her advice feel genuine rather than preachy. You get the sense she’s been exactly where you are now.

The budgeting section is particularly strong for people who hate traditional budgets. Lowry shows you how to track spending without obsessing over every purchase, and her “conscious spending” approach lets you enjoy money without guilt. Her methods work whether you’re earning £18k straight out of university or £40k in your first proper job.

Start building real wealth

Real wealth is possible no matter where you start or how much you earn. The books here give powerful advice and proven methods to steadily grow your money over time:

#7 “The Millionaire Next Door” – Thomas J. Stanley:

Stanley spent decades researching actual millionaires, and his findings destroy most assumptions about wealth. The flashy lifestyle you see on social media? That’s usually people spending everything they earn. Real millionaires drive older cars, live in modest homes, and shop at discount stores. They just happen to have seven-figure investment accounts.

The book reveals that most millionaires are business owners or professionals who live well below their means. They buy used cars with cash, avoid luxury purchases that depreciate, and invest the difference consistently over decades. It’s not glamorous, but it works reliably.

What’s eye-opening is how Stanley shows the difference between looking rich and being rich. Many high earners live paycheck to paycheck because they spend everything on status symbols. Meanwhile, the couple next door with the 10-year-old Honda might have £800k invested across various accounts.

The research backs up strategies that feel almost too simple to work. Wealthy people read more, spend less time watching television, and make financial decisions based on long-term thinking rather than immediate gratification. Stanley proves that building wealth is more about consistent habits than earning a massive salary. His data shows that discipline beats income when it comes to accumulating real wealth.

#8 “Rich Dad Poor Dad” – Robert Kiyosaki:

Kiyosaki’s book sparked more dinner table arguments about money than probably any other finance book ever written. His central idea – that traditional advice about getting good grades, finding a secure job, and saving money is actually keeping people poor – challenges everything most of us learned growing up.

The “Rich Dad Poor Dad” summary compares two viewpoints about money – one “poor dad” who works hard but struggles financially, and one “rich dad” who puts money to work for him through smart investing and business thinking.

What makes the book controversial is Kiyosaki’s blunt assessment of traditional career paths. He argues that climbing the corporate ladder often means trading away your best years for someone else’s wealth. Instead, he pushes readers toward building assets – rental properties, businesses, investments – that pay you whether you show up to work or not.

The book’s weakness is its lack of specific actionable steps, but its strength is shifting how you think about money entirely. Kiyosaki shows you why your primary residence isn’t really an asset (it costs you money every month) and why understanding financial statements matters more than your credit score. Once you see money through his lens, traditional financial advice starts looking pretty limited.

For the financial freedom seekers

Dream about money freedom? These selections inspire and guide readers toward a life free from daily money stress, offering fresh views, solid ideas, and paths to make financial independence a reality:

#9 “Think and Grow Rich” – Napoleon Hill:

Hill spent 20 years interviewing the wealthiest people of his era, and his findings remain surprisingly relevant nearly a century later. The book isn’t about quick schemes or investment tricks – it’s about the mental frameworks that separate successful people from everyone else.

The “definite purpose” concept hits differently when you realize most people drift through life without clear financial goals. Hill shows how successful people obsess over specific targets rather than vague wishes like “being comfortable.” They know exactly how much money they want, by what date, and why they want it.

What’s practical about Hill’s approach is his emphasis on surrounding yourself with the right people. His “mastermind” groups are basically what we’d call networking today, but Hill understood that your income tends to match the average of your closest associates. If all your friends are broke, you’re probably going to stay broke too.

The book gets mystical at times with its talk about “thoughts becoming things,” but strip away the philosophy and you’re left with solid principles. Successful people think differently about failure (they see it as feedback), persistence (they keep going when others quit), and opportunity (they act when others hesitate). Hill proves that mindset drives financial outcomes more than most people realize.

#10 “The Barefoot Investor” – Scott Pape:

Pape wrote this book because he was tired of seeing ordinary Australians (and the principles work just as well for Brits) get ripped off by complicated financial products they didn’t need. His approach strips away all the jargon and gives you a simple system that actually works for regular people with regular incomes.

The “bucket” system for organizing your money is brilliant in its simplicity. Blow bucket for fun stuff, Mojo bucket for emergencies, and Grow bucket for long-term wealth. No complicated spreadsheets or apps required – just three different accounts that automatically sort your money based on its purpose.

What sets Pape apart is his focus on reducing fees and charges that eat away at your wealth. He shows you how to avoid expensive managed funds, negotiate better rates on everything from insurance to phone bills, and spot the financial products designed to benefit advisors more than customers. His fee-fighting alone can save most people thousands annually.

The book’s strength is its step-by-step approach. Pape doesn’t just tell you to “invest more” – he walks you through exactly which accounts to open, how much to put in each one, and specific investment options that work for beginners. His superannuation advice (equivalent to UK pensions) is particularly valuable for setting up your retirement properly from the start.

How to apply financial recommendations from these books?

Turning money knowledge into real habits does not need to be hard. Use these practical tips in your daily life:

• Track daily spending. Keep a notebook or use an app to record what you spend each day. Seeing where your dollars go shows which habits you can change or improve;
• Pay debts first. Focus on paying off high-interest debts, like credit cards, as quickly as you can. Paying the debt down fast lowers interest cost and frees up money for savings later;
• Build an emergency fund. Put aside enough money for three to six months of living costs. An emergency fund protects your budget in case of sudden costs like car repairs, medical bills, or job loss;
• Compare costs before big buys. Before you buy expensive items, check different sellers and online reviews. Comparing prices helps you spend less and avoid impulse buys;
• Set clear money goals. Write down exact short-term and long-term targets, such as saving for a vacation or buying a home. Such goals motivate you to stick to good saving habits and avoid unnecessary spending.

Start saving today – pick the right book for your needs

Good money habits start when you take action. These books give tools that work. But don’t stop there: talk to people who make smart money choices, listen to podcasts, or join free classes online. Each step improves your confidence and strengthens your wallet. Choose a book to begin, and start your path right now!

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