Episode #27: Read THIS Book To Learn About Money Mindset (and NOT This Book!)

Today we’re going to talk about my least favourite money mindset book that I still see recommended all the time, as well as the newer more up to date book I think we should all be reading, and sharing, and recommending instead.

To be clear at the How To Adult Show I’m not a huge advocate of much ‘money mindset’ stuff in general, because often I feel like it glosses over the hard skills of managing your finances like an actual adult.  Yes, it’s important to make sure you don’t have a messed up relationship with money, but without actually putting the time and work into understanding things like budgeting, or interest rates, or investing, money mindset won’t actually carry you too far on its’ own.  That being said, it is an important piece of the overall puzzle (and people love it) and I wanted to make this video because I absolutely cannot stand the book that I always see recommended to people as the #1 money mindset book to read, and that book is ‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill.

When you google ‘best money mindset book’ this book is the top product that appears, and if you start clicking on the web pages below, you’ll see Think and Grow Rich appear on every list, and you’ll see it called ‘a must read classic’ everywhere.  Now this isn’t a bad book, no hate for the wisdom of Napoleon Hill, how could I, even his name sounds qualified to teach finance. But, I’ve gone through this book twice, and while the overall message in the book is tried and true, I find it to be getting increasingly dated for most audiences. 

It basically says, over and over again, that to succeed you need to create a burning desire to achieve what you want, back it up with some unwavering faith that you will achieve this, and then go at achieving it relentlessly and without ever stopping with a niagara-falls-in-a-barrel hell bent for glory kind of attitude.  I can’t argue with that, in my experience that is generally a good formula for succeeding with things.  My issue with the book arises from the fact that it was first circulated in 1937, and while that might make it a classic, it also makes it dated as all get-the-heck-out.  It’s not a bad book, but in my opinion there are so many other fantastic money mindset books that say the exact same thing but in a more modern day way that’s much more inclusive, and easier to read, and that don’t in the process offend everybody other than straight white men. 

This is clearly a book that made waves in it’s time, but there’s a reason that value villages everywhere are filled with copies of it that nobody buys anymore, it’s old, it’s dated, and there are better books to learn from now.

So, what IS the best money mindset book then?

And so, getting to the good stuff, the book that I vote we should all start reading and sharing and recommending instead of ‘Think and Grow Rich’, is this one, ‘You are a Badass At Making Money’, by Jen Sincero. 

Jen Sincero is hilarious.  She’s been making waves in the self help world for a while with her writing, and I was so thrilled when she came out with you are a badass at making money, my best friend actually knew this and got me a copy of this book right away, and I devoured it.  I read it cover to cover more than once, and I’m a giant nerd so I actually did all the exercises at the end of each chapter, so as someone who got the ‘whole’ book experience, I can categorically say I loved it. 

Jen definitely talks about the importance of pursuing your dreams and goals and aspirations with a hell-bent-for-glory kind of attitude, but then there’s so much more in this book.  For one, she actually talks about how she achieved success by putting in the work and learning about finances. Her writing is peppy, her tone is personable and down to earth, it’s a finance books that actually makes you laugh (which is like a friggin unicorn) and she takes a new and original approach to some of the classic messages and the stories that back them up.  Instead of telling the story of Henry Ford and his single minded determination for his engineers to create a new engine, she tells the story of some goats she babysat, and how she envied and modeled her life after their single minded determination to break out of their pasture and rampage through the town, joyfully, every day.  

She shares so many inspiring stories and lessons from her own life, and is just endlessly positive, inspiring, practical. Most importantly for this kind of book, it doesn’t come across as too ‘woo woo’, which is always a major turn off for me. Plus, it’s short, it’s easy to pick up again and just read a random chapter when you need to be re-inspired again later. It’s great!

Interested in picking up a copy? Check out the How To Adult School Resources Library to find a copy!

Linked Resources

Want to learn the first steps you should take you start managing your money? Take the quick quiz on the How To Adult School home page!

Want to learn more about managing your finances like an adult?  Sign up for the free back to basics beginner finance course.  

Join The How To Adult School on Instagram

Follow The How To Adult School on Tiktok

NOTE: This page contains affiliate links that allow you to find the items mentioned in this episode and support the show at no cost to you. While this show may earn minimal sums when the viewer uses the links, the viewer is in NO WAY obligated to use these links. Thank you for your support!