Money books
My friend is looking at his money situation, seeing if he can afford all his planned spending (he’ll probably be able to do most of it).
He asked me for advice on motivational books, so here was my reply to him:
Well boss,
to get into the money mentality instantly, I recommend reading Mr. Money Mustache. Here’s a list of his classic posts. It’s a principles-based opinionated blog about calculating the true cost of money. Some of the articles I like were:
On the same thread, there’s the book Your Money or Your Life. It’s a way to reconsider the value of money – and realising how much of your life energy goes into making it.
Then there’s the book The Millionaire Next Door. I don’t remember if this is very actionable advice, but it does paint the picture of real wealth based on some research: that it’s not about having the big monthly car payment, but living modestly and watching your spending (as Warren Buffet seems to do).
I do recommend YNAB for budgeting. It’s probably worth reading some of their blog for their approach (to only budget money you actually have, plus it helps you set goals for different categories). It’s worth doing it quite often when getting started (weekly or even daily) until you know you’ve got a handle on it.