Your budget is a roadmap to reaching new and old financial goals. Saving up for a down payment on a home, retiring more comfortably or ensuring your bills all require planning. The benefits of budgeting are pretty clear, but the habits and skills you need to cultivate might be.
The following eight audiobooks can help you learn all the basics of budgeting and set yourself up for success. They’re all beginner-friendly, with clear plans of action and steps toward reaching your financial goals. It’s never too late, or too soon, to increase your financial literacy.
“Budget Like a Pro” by Zoe McKey
Budget Like a Pro is a fantastic audiobook for anyone who’s new to budgeting. If one of your primary goals in learning how to budget better is to make sure you still have some money left at the end of every pay period, this is the audiobook for you. Budget Like a Pro is all about financial awareness and investing in your future. McKey shares personal life stories, including how she became independent at the age of 14 and quickly learned to budget. This book is not only helpful and motivating, but it’s also inspiring to hear McKey’s personal story of budgeting success.
“The Budgeting Habit” by S.J. Scott
The Budgeting Habit is aimed at listeners who are looking to pay off credit cards and free up more money. It’s all about making budgeting a habit — a process the audiobook delves into in great detail. This is a beginner-friendly book that explains a step-by-step process to help you develop your own budgeting habits and reach your savings goals. It guides you through a variety of topics, including the very first step you have to take to get the ball rolling. It also notes five budgeting approaches and addresses the process of staying motivated instead of quitting. Want to reach your financial goals with approachable, simple habits instead of a complete lifestyle overhaul? This audiobook is for you.
“You Need a Budget” by Jesse Mecham
Like many of us, you might not realize exactly how well a budget can help you manage your day-to-day life. In “You Need a Budget”, Jesse Mecham sets up a clear, beginner-friendly plan that’ll help you understand the valuable role of a budget and get you on track to following one. The book’s four rules, which are easy to follow and thoroughly explained, will help you develop money-management skills and turn them into powerful tools you can use to gain control over your finances.
To give you a sneak peek, here’s the number-one rule: Give every dollar you have a job. Know what you’re doing with that money before you have an opportunity to spend it. Repeat it after every single salary deposit, and soon enough, you’ll notice you’re saving more money than before.
“Get Good With Money” by Tiffany Aliche
Does it feel like your spending might be outpacing your earnings? In Get Good With Money, award-winning finance educator Tiffany Aliche proposes a clear, concise 10-step process for managing your money and building your wealth. What makes this audiobook beginner-friendly is all the extra content — you can get checklists, worksheets and plenty of other resources to put the concepts into practice. Learn how to cultivate a healthy relationship with your money and reach your goal, whether it’s earning more, making more, saving more or more comfortably affording your bills.
“The Recovering Spender” by Lauren Greutman
If you’ve come to terms that you’re spending more money than you’re comfortable with — or more than you can afford to — The Recovering Spender is the audiobook that can teach you how to shift your current spending habits. The author, Lauren Greutman, found herself drowning in debt. That’s when she knew she had to take a chance and take control of her extreme spending habits. Her story is touching, and it’s one that may be familiar to many people.
Greutman’s book offers a clear plan on eliminating debt while staying within your budget. The content about defining your values encompasses some of the best advice in the book and asks you to carefully consider what you find valuable, what you can forgo and how to find alternatives. This action plan can help you take control of your spending as you develop a clear inventory of your needs and habits.
“Living Well, Spending Less” by Ruth Soukup
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by debt and aren’t sure of the way out, this is the audiobook to listen to. It’ll help you create a plan and feel inspired and motivated to make it all happen. What really elevates Living Well, Spending Less is that the advice doesn’t stop there. Ruth Soukup created a whole business that tackles challenges related to budgeting. You can listen to seminars, download worksheets, attend workshops and much more. If you’re serious about changing your financial life, this book can thoroughly boost your budgeting literacy.
“Your New Money Story” by David Krueger
Your New Money Story focuses on addressing the psychology behind our spending behavior. Over 90% of our behaviors emerge and are carried out on an unconscious level. This book discusses ways to make essential, brain-rewiring changes that can set you up for long-term financial success.
This audiobook is a result of 25 years of psychiatric and psychoanalytic research into how our brains influence our spending decisions. However, it’s still suitable for beginners who are looking to understand why their budgeting decisions haven’t been successful so far. By understanding the psychology behind the whys of your budgeting, you’ll be able to make conscious decisions to develop brand new spending habits that stick.
“The One-Week Budget” by Tiffany Aliche
If Get Good With Money doesn’t feel up to speed with your needs and you’re interested in a direct action plan you can start right now, The One-Week Budget is a perfect audiobook for you. Tiffany Aliche is considered a master of budgeting and reaching financial goals — she’s called The Budgetnista for a reason — and her experience can help you get on track quickly. Each chapter comes with an inspiring story that presents a challenge and a solution to help you better understand what the action plan is all about. You’ll also see clear examples of the ways you can make the plan work for your own personal goals. The best part? You can start doing all of it as you listen!
