Whether you’re just starting out in your freelance career or looking to level up your financial literacy, these books cover a range of topics such as budgeting, investing, saving, and managing taxes. By investing in your financial education, you can set yourself up for long-term success and stability in your freelance career.
Imagine being able to confidently navigate your finances, set and achieve financial goals, and ultimately build wealth as a freelance writer. With the knowledge and insight gained from these top personal finance books, you can take control of your financial future and create the life you desire.
Ready to take the first step towards financial empowerment? Keep reading to discover the 15 best personal finance books that will help you achieve your financial goals as a freelance writer.
Why is Personal Finance Important for Freelance Writers?
Earning money as a freelance writer is often known as the cycle of feast or famine. What this means is, that in some months you could be making more than you make in other months.
Even if you do have a steady stream of client work, you must pay attention to your finances as a freelance writer to ensure that you don’t run into money problems.
From managing your personal finances, budgeting, deciphering the stock market, insurance, investments, and retirement planning to getting out of debt and estate planning, books incorporate everything. Reading the right personal finance books can bring you one step closer to the brutal realities of the world, and educate you on the benefits of utilizing finances wisely, along with the disadvantages of wasting wealth and the associated aftermaths that could eventually put your very existence and future at risk.
Here are a few reasons why you need personal finance books as a tool to help you manage your money better as a freelancer:
- Understanding Income Fluctuation: Freelancing often means irregular income. These books can help you develop strategies for budgeting, saving, and building an emergency fund to handle the inevitable feast-or-famine cycles.
- Tax Planning: Freelancers are responsible for their own taxes, unlike salaried employees. These books can guide you through tax basics, deductions specific to freelancers, and estimated tax payments, helping you avoid tax penalties and make informed decisions about tax year-end strategies.
- Financial Goal Setting: Do you dream of financial independence or a specific retirement plan? These books offer frameworks for setting financial goals and building a roadmap to achieve them considering your fluctuating income.
- Saving for Benefits: Freelancers typically don’t have employer-sponsored benefits like health insurance or paid time off. These books can outline strategies for saving for these necessities and help you compare different options.
- Developing a Healthy Money Mindset: Freelancing can be both exciting and stressful. These books can help you develop a healthy relationship with money, including overcoming common freelancer money-related anxieties and building habits for long-term financial security.pen_spark
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15 Best Personal Finance Books For Freelance Writers
Here’s a list of our 15 best personal finance books for freelance writers.
1. More Money Than God By Sebastian Mallaby
More Money Than God critically looks at hedge funds, the powerful and often mysterious organizations that have a huge impact on global finance and our day-to-day lives. Looking back at the history of this influential investment practice reveals how hedge funds developed and how they operate today.
2. Achieving Financial Independence as a Freelance Writer by Raymond Dreyfack
The book, Achieving Financial Independence as a Freelance Writer teaches how to take your writing career through a financial lens by using practical business sense to survive in the freelance market.
This complete guide plan will help you break into the market and find financial success.
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3. Personal Finance for Dummies by Eric Tyson
This personal finance book explores financial tips and advice to help you improve your financial well-being and will help you look at your financial situation from a different dimension as a freelance writer.
The book provides a no-nonsense look at how to achieve your goals, such as organizing your personal finances.
4. Gig Boss Money: How to Manage Irregular Income Like A Boss by Katie McCarthy
Freelance writing can be so much more than a side hustle for extra money, and Gig Boss Money addresses how to approach a freelance writing career from a financial viewpoint.
It’ll help you create a financial cushion for the unexpected and understand the importance of diversifying your income sources.
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5. Investing With Impact by Jeremy K. Balkin
This personal finance book explores how people have harnessed the power of capitalism to do good and improve society at large. As several ethical and philanthropic investors have shown, you must not be greedy to amass wealth. Find out why the frequently demonized capitalist system may well be the secret to saving the world.
6. How to Be Good With Money by Eoin McGee
Eoin McGee’s book How to Be Good With Money explores the best ways to spend the money you have, start saving, and get out of debt as a freelance writer.
It goes over the rules of spending and saving, so you can feel safe about your financial future and know that the money you make will support the life you want.
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7. The Wisdom of Finance by Mihir A. Desai
Desai’s wisdom and the principles of finance also provide answers to critical questions in our lives. Among many surprising parallels, bankruptcy teaches us how to react to failure, the lessons of mergers apply to marriages, and the Capital Asset Pricing Model demonstrates the true value of relationships.
This book is a good read for freelance writers looking to learn the morals of finance and make more money.
8. The Money Book for Freelancers by Joseph D’Agnese & Denise Kiernan
The Money Book for Freelancers addresses the feast and famine cycle and how to live on an irregular income.
In this book, you’ll find an easy-to-follow system that will guide you through building financial security without sacrificing your career as a freelance writer.
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9. Makers and Takers by Rana Foroohar
This is a must-read for every freelance writer. Makers and Takers (2016) investigates the role of finance in the 2008 crisis and subsequent recession. From the Great Depression onward, the book traces the history of loose regulation and blurred boundaries between commercial and investment banking, while highlighting the role of banks, businesses, and politicians in the crisis.
They also suggest actions the powerful can take to kickstart reform.
10. Real Life Money: An Honest Guide to Taking Control of Your Finances by Clara Seal
Real Life Money takes the reader on a journey that can be practiced at their own pace and circumstances. The book covers everything from how to negotiate repayment terms with creditors and set realistic budgets without hurting nishing yourself, down to dealing with money anxiety.
The goal is to gain an understanding of why we feel the way we do about money, and how you can use that to change your mindset and your finances for good.
11. The Breakfast Club for 40-Somethings by Vanessa Stoykov
The Breakfast Club for 40-Somethings published in 2018 shines a light on the mistaken beliefs, assumptions, and attitudes about money that are standing between you and financial freedom. Making use of a colorful cast of fictional characters, this book presents invaluable financial life lessons with a narrative twist.
12. Clever Girl Finance by Bola Sokunbi
Clever Girl Finance encourages women to talk about money and financial wellness and shows them how to navigate their own murky financial waters and come out afloat on the other side.
This personal finance book teaches how to monitor your expenses, build a budget, and stick with it. Make the unstable freelance income and still have money to spare. Feel the power of real-world stories from other “clever girls.”
13. Save Money and Work from Home During and After the Economic Crisis by Dana Wise
If you find yourself losing regular income for certain and uncertain reasons, this book is for you. This finance book focuses on how to save money while working from home as a freelancer. It will show you how to scout for freelancing jobs, as well as how to save money and improve your financial health.
This book goes far beyond what other texts on personal finance offer. Following the advice clearly spelled, you will also experience a dramatic improvement in every area of your life. This book is a life-changer!
14. Meltdown by Thomas E. Woods, Jr.
Meltdown gives you a guide to understanding the government regulations which in effect caused the 2008 global financial crisis. This book explains how government spending has and always will worsen economic recessions, and importantly, what needs to be done to save the world economy.
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15. How to Make Money in Stocks by William J. O’Neil
William J. O’Neil’s national bestseller, How to Make Money in Stocks, has shown over 2 million investors the secrets to building wealth. O’Neil’s powerful CAN SLIM® Investing System―a proven 7-step process for minimizing risk and maximizing gains―has influenced generations of investors.
This book is a guide to building wealth in the stock market, with proven tips for finding winning stocks and avoiding losers. By learning from the past, How to Make Money in Stocks will show you how to spot telltale patterns in unpredictable markets and profit from them.
Tips To Manage Your Finances As A Freelance Writer
In addition to the valuable advice you’ll learn in these best personal finance books, here are some other tips to help you out:
- Invest in building your clientele and workload so that you can expect more income from your freelance work. Focus on marketing yourself as a writer and connecting with long-term clients.
- Enter a signed contract with your clients that outlines when and how you will be paid. This will help you avoid those situations where you’re waiting on a client’s payments.
- Always send invoices after the work is done. Don’t be afraid to send the bill along with the finished content.
- If you’re having problems with cash flow, start tracking your expenses to see where you’re money is going. You’d be surprised to see where money is being wasted!
FAQs On Personal Finance Books for Freelance Writers
Yes, the books listed offer strategies for managing taxes, such as setting aside a portion of income for taxes, keeping detailed records of expenses, understanding deductible business expenses, and working with accountants or tax professionals to maximize deductions and minimize tax liabilities.
Financial books cover topics such as budgeting, managing irregular income, setting aside taxes, pricing services, negotiating contracts, and managing client relationships. They also provide teaching on retirement planning, healthcare options, and building a financial safety net.
Freelance writers often have unique financial challenges due to the instability of their income and the responsibilities of self-employment. They offer practical advice that will help writers to better manage their finances, plan for the future, and achieve financial stability.
Conclusion
With these 15 best personal finance books specifically curated for you, you are sure on the right path to financial freedom. Cheers!
References
- elnacain.com – 12 Best Personal Finance Books for Freelance Writers
- blinkist.com – The Best 82 Personal Finances Books
