There are a handful of books and blogs that have made me think, changed my behavior, allowed me to survive layoffs and ultimately helped me to retire early.  If I were talking to a niece or nephew or a young engineer I would beg them to read these (and start their Roth 401K)!

Books

Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez. This book was transformative.  I faithfully did the exercises which changed how I spend my money. I attribute this book to us being able to retire early.  If there is one resource to take from my list, this is it.  I have written a series of articles about the exercises. You can read the first one here.

The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness by Morgan Housel – This book contains 19 small chapters, each focused on one money insight.  Chapter 20 describes the author’s finances. It is consistent with my other favorite resources and aligns with how I think of saving, frugality, wealth and independence.  It is a good place to start.

The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy by Thomas J Stanley, Ph.D. and William D. Danko, Ph.D. – An interesting look at how some very high earners never build net worth because they spend everything they earn.  The truly wealthy are often not whom you expect.  It is another good reminder that trying to keep up with the Joneses is a losing proposition as the Joneses may be living paycheck to paycheck.

Blogs

Mr Money Mustache – Be prepared for some badassery and tongue in cheek chiding.  Mr Money Mustache is funny and pretty hardcore. He is a father and software engineer who retired at 30 and lives in Colorado. When I discovered his site several years ago I loved it so much I read every post.  He has a 52-week series of emails that will introduce you to his top posts.

The Frugalwoods – When I started following this couple they lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts and were saving to buy a homestead in Vermont. They achieved their goal by practicing pretty extreme frugality. The husband is a software engineer and the wife quit her job to write.