Where to Start with Erin Lowry: A Reading Guide
Where to start with Erin Lowry — whether to begin with Broke Millennial or Broke Millennial Takes on Investing. A complete reading guide to the personal finance author.
By Marcus Webb
Erin Lowry is the American personal finance writer and founder of the Broke Millennial brand, whose debut Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together (2017) became one of the most accessible and widely recommended personal finance books for younger adults — praised for its conversational tone, its absence of judgment, and its comprehensive coverage of the basics that many people enter adulthood without. The Broke Millennial series has expanded to cover investing and financial conversations with others.
Where to Start: Broke Millennial (2017)
The essential Lowry — and one of the most genuinely useful personal finance books for readers at the beginning of their financial lives. The book’s premise is that most young adults are confused about money not because they are irresponsible but because they were never taught the basics: how budgeting actually works, what debt really costs, how credit scores are calculated and why they matter, and how to talk about money with the people in their lives.
Lowry covers budgeting frameworks (including her own approach, which she calls the “latte factor” alternative — tracking spending to understand actual habits before imposing a budget), student loan management, credit cards and how to avoid their traps, credit score mechanics, and the financial conversations most people avoid — negotiating salary, discussing money with a partner, navigating family financial dynamics.
The book’s distinctive quality is its voice: frank, occasionally funny, and consistently non-judgmental about the financial mistakes most readers have already made. Lowry writes with the assumption that her readers are capable adults who simply haven’t been given the information they need — a more useful posture than the moralistic tone of some personal finance books.
Broke Millennial Takes on Investing (2019)
The sequel — the basics of investing for readers who have their financial foundation in place. Index funds, retirement accounts, how to choose between brokerage options, and when to use a financial adviser. Read after Broke Millennial.
Reading Erin Lowry
Begin with Broke Millennial — it is the foundational text and the right starting point. Read Broke Millennial Takes on Investing after, when you’re ready to move from managing money to growing it.
For the full Erin Lowry bibliography, reviews, and biography, visit the Erin Lowry author page on Editors Reads.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where should I start with Erin Lowry?
Broke Millennial (2017) is the essential starting point — Lowry's guide to basic financial literacy for readers who are confused or intimidated by personal finance. The book covers budgeting, debt, credit scores, and financial behaviour with a voice that is conversational and non-judgmental. Written specifically for younger adults starting their financial lives; the most accessible personal finance book of its kind.
What is Broke Millennial about?
Broke Millennial is a comprehensive financial foundation book covering the basics that many people were never taught: how to create and stick to a budget, understanding debt (student loans, credit cards), how credit scores work and why they matter, navigating financial conversations with partners and family, and beginning to save. The tone is frank and relatable — Lowry addresses the emotional and behavioural aspects of money management alongside the mechanical ones.
What is Broke Millennial Takes on Investing about?
Broke Millennial Takes on Investing (2019) is the second book in the series — a beginner's guide to investing, covering the basics of the stock market, index funds, retirement accounts (401k, IRA, Roth IRA), and how to select a financial adviser. Designed as a natural follow-on for readers who completed the foundational steps in the first book. More specific and technical than the original but written with the same accessible voice.
Are the Broke Millennial books suitable for readers outside the US?
The books are written with a US financial system in mind — the account types (401k, IRA), tax rules, and specific institutions are American. International readers will find the behavioural and mindset content applicable, but the structural advice about specific account types and tax advantages requires adaptation for other countries' systems.
