Some of the most important lessons I've learned about money have come from personal finance books. While reading Your Money or Your Life, for example, I realized the money I earned was representative of my life force – and that each time I wasted money, I was wasting my own efforts.

Other books like The Millionaire Next Door reminded me of something I already knew – that people with modest incomes can truly become rich if they avoid consumerism and put their money to work instead.

It's been years since I learned these core lessons on personal finance – long enough that I'm now the author of my own book about money. In early 2017, my husband and I released a book on a subject we're both obsessed with – zero sum budgeting. In Zero Down Your Debt: Reclaim Your Income and Build a Life You'll Love, we highlight the steps anyone can take to start budgeting, pay off debt, and build the life they've always wanted.

Of course, I'm not the only one who wrote a book about money this past year. If you're looking for some financial nourishment to inspire you in the new year, check out these brand new books from accomplished authors all over the world of personal finance.

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The Recovering Spender: How to Live a Happy, Fulfilled, Debt-Free Life (Lauren Greutman)

Years ago, Lauren Greutman hid $40,000 in credit card debt from her husband, Mark. To get out of debt – and to change her life for the better – Greutman came clean to her husband and asked him for help. From there, Greutman embarked on a journey to figure out why she was spending in the first place, then created a solution that would help her family create the debt-free life they craved.

These days, Greutman is a personal finance expert and talk show regular who inspires millions of fans to examine their own spending habits. Check out Lauren's blog or pick up The Recovering Spender for practical advice on becoming a recovering spender in your own right.

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Your Playbook for Tough Times: Living Large on Small Change, for the Short Term or The Long Haul (Donna Freedman)

Most personal finance advice assumes you have extra funds to work with. But what if you don't have that luxury? What if, instead of retirement planning, you're more worried about simply making rent each month? Your Playbook for Tough Times answers that question, providing practical advice on how to scrape by and save up when you're not even making ends meet.

Award-winning author Donna Freedman tells you how to create a bare bones budget, stretch your pennies as far as they can go, and make trade-offs that can help you avoid further financial catastrophe. This is a must-read for anyone struggling with money in the new year.

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Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together (Erin Lowry)

If you're a millennial struggling to get by in the new economy, this book, due out in May 2017, might be the answer to your prayers. In Broke Millennial, you'll learn all about managing student loan and credit card debt, budgeting, negotiating entry-level salary, and splitting the bill with cash-strapped friends.

Lowry explains the intricacies of money from the perspective of a 27-year-old who has learned many lessons the hard way, a perspective you can't really get anywhere else. If you're young and not entirely sure how to get ahead financially, Lowry offers advice you can use today.

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The Millennial Homeowner: A Guide to Successfully Navigating Your First Home Purchase (Lauren Bowling)

Ready to buy your first home? Unsure where to start? Bowling's Millennial Homeowner will give you the low-down. Written from first-hand experience as a young homeowner, Bowling teaches you how to financially prepare for buying a home, begin your search, and determine what you can afford. With Bowling's tips, you'll have a dream home in no time – and one with a price tag that actually works with your budget.

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How to Be a Financial Grown-Up: Proven Advice from High Achievers (Bobbi Rebell)

Award-winning TV anchor and personal finance columnist Bobbi Rebell has some difficult truths to share. In How to Be a Financial Grownup, Rebell uses storytelling and interviews to offer specific, actionable advice on how you can stop being childish with your money – and finally become a financial grownup.

Rebell's book includes stories and advice from inspiring entrepreneurs such as Tony Robbins, Ivanka Trump, Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary, Mad Money's Jim Cramer, Designer Cynthia Rowley, and Macy's CEO Terry Lundgren.

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How to Graduate Debt-Free: The Best Strategies to Pay for College (Kristina Ellis)

If you're a student approaching college age – or a parent with kids in high school – this book is a must-read. Leaning on years of experience as a personal finance expert, Ellis offers real-world tips on escaping college without a mountain of debt.

In this book, you'll learn how to create a personalized plan to overcome obstacles and graduate from college debt-free. As you prepare for college, How to Graduate Debt-Free could easily be the best investment you've ever made.

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Frugality for Depressives (Abigail Perry)

Frugality for Depressives offers real-world money advice for those who don't live the perfect life. Based on a lifetime of personal experience, Abigail Perry shares the realities of trying to save and get ahead financially as someone with depression or bi-polar disorder.

If you're struggling with mental health issues, you already know it's not easy to follow traditional financial advice. Perry's book lets you know you're not alone while offering actionable tips anyone struggling with money can use.

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Small Business Finance for the Busy Entrepreneur (Sylvia Inks)

Small Business Finance for the Busy Entrepreneur offers an array of advice for any entrepreneur struggling to understand the financial side of owning a business. As a financial coach, presenter and author, Inks specializes in helping small business owners save time and money while reducing stress. Learn how to improve processes, performance, and profitability in this new book created specifically for 21st-century entrepreneurs.

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You Only Live Once: The Roadmap to Financial Wellness and a Purposeful Life (Jason Vitug)

In You Only Live Once, Jason Vitug demands we take a look at our lives and where they're headed. Where do you want to be in five, 10, or 20 years? What is your plan to get there?

Through storytelling, Vitug teaches us how to prioritize spending, save efficiently for the future, and utilize simple tools we didn't even know we had. You only live once, so make the time you do have count.

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Dear Debt: A Story About Breaking Up with Debt (Melanie Lockert)

If you're ready to break up with your own debt, Dear Debt might be a painful, yet necessary, read. The author struggled with crushing levels of student loan debt before deciding to "break up" with her financial problems and create a brand new life. Learn strategies for getting out of debt faster, overcoming debt fatigue, and obtaining financial freedom.

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Hustle Away Debt: Eliminate Your Debt by Making More Money (David Carlson)

If you're trying to pay off debt with just your regular paycheck, why not give "hustling" a try? In Hustle Away Debt, David Carlson explains the world of side hustles, offering strategies and tips for anyone who wants to earn money on the side. While a part-time job might help, Carlson suggests alternative ways to make money you probably haven't thought of.

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31 Days to Radically Reduce Your Expenses (Kalyn Brooke)

When you embark on a path to improve your finances, you've got two main strategies to pursue to increase, in your favor, the gap between what you're earning and what you're spending: Earn more money, or cut your expenses. In 31 Days to Radically Reduce Your Expenses, Kalyn Brooke tackles the latter part of that equation.

All of us need to pay for groceries, utility bills, housing payments, and car insurance, but Brooke shows us how to reduce every single one of our bills over time. If you can't earn more, you need to spend less. Let Brooke show you how.

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The Personal Finance Arsenal: Tools to Save Money, Time, and Headaches (Eric Rosenberg)

If you're sick of overcoming one financial hassle after another, Rosenberg's Personal Finance Arsenal may be exactly what you need. Learn how to create a budget that actually works, utilize free tools that are already available, and streamline your finances to create a simpler life. Don't delay setting yourself up for success. Instead, set up your arsenal and get started on the path to financial freedom.

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Final Thoughts

Sometimes, a good book is all we need to change the way we think of ourselves and our situation, then turn our lives around. If your goal is improving your finances in 2017, any of the books on this list can help. With a few hours of reading and a brand-new perspective, you could be on your way to your best financial year ever.

Holly Johnson is an award-winning personal finance writer and the author of Zero Down Your Debt. Johnson shares her obsession with frugality, budgeting, and travel at ClubThrifty.com.

 

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This article was written by Holly Johnson from The Simple Dollar and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.