Essential Reads for 2026: 4 Financial Books Worth Your Time This Year

In my career, I spend a lot of time talking about the numbers: investment strategies, tax planning, retirement projections, and what it takes to keep a plan on track through real life. That often includes the pieces that are easy to overlook until they matter most, like insurance planning and estate planning.

But there’s another side of planning that doesn’t always show up in the analysis:

How do you actually want to live?

For many business owners, pre-retirees, and retirees, money becomes less about “Can I?” and more about “Should I?” and “What now?”

That’s why I love books that support the bigger picture. The best ones don’t just talk about building wealth. They talk about using wealth wisely, while you still have the time and health to enjoy it.

So for 2026, here are four books I think are worth your time.

1) “Die with Zero” by Bill Perkins

If you’ve ever caught yourself saying, “We’ll do it later,” this book will hit home.

Die with Zero is built around a simple (and admittedly provocative) idea: The goal isn’t to die rich; it’s to live fully. Perkins pushes readers to think about the timing of spending, giving, and experiences, and he introduces the concept of “memory dividends,” meaning experiences can keep paying you back emotionally for years.

This is where the health side of the “health, wealth, and time” triangle shows up in a real way.

Because the truth is that many experiences have a “best before” date. The trip you can take easily at 55 might feel very different at 75. The family tradition you want to start may be easier when everyone’s schedules and energy levels can actually support it.

My two cents (and an important caveat): Some of the ideas in Die with Zero won’t fit everyone’s situation.

For example:

• Not every family wants to reduce what they leave behind.
• Some clients have healthcare uncertainty, longevity concerns, or family responsibilities that require more conservatism.
• Business owners may have lumpy income years where flexibility matters.

Bottom line: This book is less about “spend it all” and more about being intentional, while your health still allows you to say yes to the things you care about.

If you liked the tone of my blog “Why Creating Memories May Matter More Than Growing Inheritance,” Die with Zero lives in that same neighborhood.

2) “From Strength to Strength” by Arthur C. Brooks

This book is for anyone who has built something, especially business owners and high achievers who quietly wonder what life looks like after the peak grind years.

Brooks’ core message is that many people experience a shift in midlife and beyond. The strengths that created early success may not be the same strengths that create deep fulfillment later. The goal isn’t to cling to the old identity. It’s to build the second half on purpose.

From a planning perspective, I like this book because it speaks to something I see often.

You can do everything “right” financially and still feel unsure about what you want retirement to look like on a day-to-day basis.

This is a time book. Not “time management,” but real time: seasons of life, what matters now, and how you want your days to feel. For pre-retirees, it can be a great nudge to start thinking beyond the financial finish line.

3) “Your Money and Your Brain” by Jason Zweig

Most people don’t make financial decisions in a calm, logical state.

They make them when markets are volatile, headlines are loud, a friend is bragging about a hot investment, or a scary “what if” is playing on repeat in the back of their mind.

That’s why Your Money and Your Brain is such a useful read. Zweig explains how investing triggers real biological responses, including fear, reward-seeking, and overconfidence. He also explains how those reactions can lead to decisions that feel right in the moment, but don’t hold up over time.

This book ties to health in a way people don’t always expect. It’s about stress, emotional regulation, and a decision-making process that doesn’t depend on willpower.

For families with more complexity, the stakes can feel higher because the dollar amounts are bigger. Even so, the psychology is the same.

If you’ve ever said, “I know better, but I still feel tempted,” this book does a great job explaining why.

4) “The Psychology of Money” by Morgan Housel

We’ve all seen it: Two people can earn the same income, inherit the same amount, or own similar businesses and still end up with wildly different outcomes.

Not because one is smarter.

Because their relationship with money is different.

That’s why The Psychology of Money is still one of the most recommended behavioral finance reads in wealth management circles. It focuses on how people actually behave with money, including risk, patience, expectations, envy, and the stories we tell ourselves about what “enough” means.

I like it as the wealth anchor among these four books. Not wealth in the sense of chasing more, but wealth as in staying power, good decision habits, and a plan that is realistic for your personality, not someone else’s.

Why These Four Work Well Together

If you zoom out, these books touch the full triangle:

• Health: Recognizing that your ability to travel, be active, and fully enjoy experiences changes over time (Die with Zero) and that mental stress can lead to costly financial choices if you do not have a decision process (Your Money and Your Brain).
• Time: The reality that seasons change and that “later” isn’t guaranteed (Die with Zero, From Strength to Strength).
• Wealth: The behaviors and frameworks that protect what you’ve built (The Psychology of Money, Your Money and Your Brain).

And for many people, that’s the real goal. Not just accumulating, but aligning.

Final Thoughts

If you read any of these this year, my hope is that it helps you ask better questions.

Not just:

• “What’s my rate of return?”

But also:

• “What am I optimizing for?”
• “What season am I in?”
• “What’s worth doing while I still have the health and energy to enjoy it?”

That’s the kind of planning I believe in: building the structure so your wealth supports a life that feels meaningful.

And if you’re already in the retirement spending stage, this reading list pairs well with the same theme I often come back to in planning conversations. The goal is to use money intentionally, not fearfully.