Ever wonder where all your money is going? Personal finance books can help you learn healthy financial habits to better manage your money. The best personal finance books can help teach you how to be financially responsible and to develop a discipline for yourself. In short, they can help assist you in building your own financial wealth.
Quicklook: the Best Personal Finance Books
- Rich Dad Poor Dad – by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
- The Psychology of Money – by Morgan Housel
- The Total Money Makeover – by Dave Ramsey
- Why Didn’t They Teach Me This in School? – by Cary Siegel
- Think and Grow Rich – by Dr. Arthur R. Pell
- Your Money or Your Life – by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin
- The Millionaire Next Door – by Thomas J. Stanley
- The Simple Path to Wealth – by J.L. Collins
- Money Honey – by Rachel Richards
- Get Good With Money – by Tiffany Aliche
- Thinking, Fast and Slow – by Daniel Kahneman
Table of Contents:
- Best Personal Finance Books
- What Is a Personal Finance Book?
- How Do I Learn About Personal Finance?
- What to Consider With Personal Finance Books
- Which Personal Finance Book is Best for Me?
- FAQ
11 Best Personal Finance Books
Here are some of our top recommendations for personal finance books. We analyze who these books may be best suited for in order for you to find your perfect fit.
Rich Dad Poor Dad
Rich Dad Poor Dad is one of the most well accredited personal finance books. It synthesizes key financial topics that the upper class uses in order to maintain their wealth. Even if the book is repetitive in its key concepts, it is a worthwhile read.
Author(s): Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. Robert Kiyosaki is an American businessman whose net worth is roughly around $100 million. He owns a private financial education company that educates individuals on personal finance and business related topics. Sharon Lechter is a certified public accountant and financial literacy advocate, worth around $1 – $5 million.
Pricing:
- Audio book is $0 with free Audible trial
- In new condition it is $83.94
- A used copy is around $4.99.
Best For: Those who wish to understand the “rich” mindset and how to adopt financial tendencies that can grow their capital.
What You’ll Learn:
- How to make money work for you
- Spending habit tips
- How to reinvest
What This Covers:
- How to reduce spending habits
- Difference of assets and liabilities in daily life
- How to make your money work for you
The Psychology of Money
The Psychology of Money is an award-winning book about personal finance. This book shares 19 short stories explaining different viewpoints of money and how to make healthier financial decisions. Since this book is less cut and dry this is a great read for those who favor fiction.
Author(s): Morgan Housel is an award-winning author and has written for the Wall Street Journal and the Motley Fool.
Pricing:
- $10.99 on the Kindle
- $17.09 for a paperback copy
Best For: Those who want to relearn how they behave towards money
What You’ll Learn:
- How to deal with “never having enough money”
- Man in the car paradox
- How to plan for the unexpected
- How to deal with one’s ego
What This Covers:
- Compounding & investing
- Personal finance spending habits
- Business decisions
The Total Money Makeover
This New York’s Times best seller, Dave Ramsey: The Total Money Makeover, takes a fitness mindset and guides you to whip yourself into shape regarding your financial health. In this book Dave Ramsey summarizes 7 financial plans he has learned over the past 20 years to share with those who wish to conquer their current financial state.
Author(s): Dave Ramsey is a personal finance personality, the host of a radio show, author, and first and foremost, a businessman.
Pricing:
- $11.49 on the Kindle
- Hardcover for $11.88
Best For: Those who want a concrete plan on how to pay off their debt
What You’ll Learn:
- How to control impulse spending
- Having a healthier relationship with money
What This Covers:
- Overcome self-denial
- Conquer social pressure
- Debunking debt and money myths
Why Didn’t They Teach Me This in School?
This book, Why Didn’t They Teach Me This in School, goes over 99 personal finance management tips to live by. This 172 page book is directed for college and high school students on how to manage their money. It has been recommended by Forbes and Elite as a great resource for young adults to use to ensure they know the 8 important financial lessons.
Author(s): Cary Siegel is a retired business executive who led a multitude of marketing and sales organizations. He initially wrote this book for 5 of his teenage children to reinforce healthy habits when it came to money management.
Pricing:
- $0 with KindleUnlimited
- $11.99 for a paperback copy
Best For: Those who just graduated from high school or college
What You’ll Learn:
- How to manage the “little costs”
- How/why to invest 50% of every salary increase
What This Covers:
- Developing a Budget
- Maintaining a good credit score
- How to pick the “right” stocks
Think and Grow Rich
The Landmark’s Bestseller, Think and Grow Rich, expands on the stories of some of the richest men from America and their personal relationships with money. It includes Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and other millionaires during this generation explaining how they built their wealth.
It has been reupdated since its initial publication of 1937 from Napoleon Hill to an updated version by Arthur R. Pell. In this updated version, Pell connects these old millionaires to Bill Gates, Dave Thomas, and Mary Kay Ash.
Author(s): Dr. Arthur R. Pell is nationally known lecturer, author, and consultant in human resource management. He has worked in a plethora of industries such as universities, government agencies, and not-for-profit organizations.
Pricing:
- $0.45 on Kindle
- $7.45 for a paperback
Best For: Those who wish to learn from the habits of some of the wealthiest people in the world
What You’ll Learn: 13 most common habits wealthy and successful people have
What This Covers:
- Build a definite budgeting plan
- How to get an accountable support system for this plan
- How to build persistence
Your Money or Your Life
Your Money or Your Life elaborates on how to transform your relationship with money by building financial independence. Having sold more than one million copies, it explains a 9 step process on how to achieve this status of financial stability. Additionally, this book has been recently updated in 2018.
Author(s): Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin. Joe Dominguez was a successful Wall Street financial analyst who retired at age 31. While Vicki Robin graduated from Brown University with honors and recognized the value of Joe’s financial roadmap. Robin is best known as an author and speaker.
Pricing:
- $13.99 on the Kindle
- $12.47 for a paperback
Best For: Those who are struggling with their financial awareness and aiming towards financial freedom
What You’ll Learn: Relearning their financial literacy and how to find your real wage
What This Covers:
- How to reject “more”
- Explains how savings equals freedom
- How to look back on your financial life without scrutiny
The Millionaire Next Door
The Millionaire Next Door identifies 7 of the most common key traits successful people have. Originally written in 1998, the 2010 version elaborates on how millionaires don’t live far away in Beverly Hills or historically rich neighborhoods, they live just next door. This book is a guide on how to adopt these 7 characteristics to have a successful mindset.
Author(s): Thomas J. Stanley was an award winning author and chief advisor to Data Points. This company formed due to his research and data. He additionally was a professor at University of Tennessee, University of Georgia, and Georgia State University.
Pricing:
- $0 on Audible with free trial
- $9.79 for paperback
Best For: Those who wish to adopt millionaire habits
What You’ll Learn:
- How to evaluate your net worth and build it
- How to be frugal
What This Covers:
- Do you have millionaire habits?
- Wealth distribution
- How to use time and money efficiently
The Simple Path to Wealth
The Simple Path to Wealth is inspired by JL Collins’ daughter’s spending habits. The book covers complex financial topics in a simplified and effective way. Covering topics such as why traditional investing doesn’t work to asset allocation.
Author(s): JL Collins is a financial expert, author, and businessman. He shares his financial knowledge and travel advice with his readers through The Simple Path to Wealth.
Pricing: $9.99 on Kindle and $15.99 for a paperback
Best For: Young adults who wish to learn more about the stock market, 401(k)s, and investment advisors
What You’ll Learn: How to think about money, when to be cautious, and what investments you should avoid
What This Covers:
- Wealth Preservation and How to Build Wealth
- Retirement Plans (Roth IRAs, 401(k)s, and 403(b))
- How to Invest in Different Markets (Bull or Bear)
Money Honey
Money Honey is a 7 step guide on how to get your finances together. This humorously sassy book brings light to a usually dry subject such as personal finances. It elaborates on how to achieve financial freedom in a realistic way.
Author(s): Best seller author, Rachel Richards, is an entrepreneur, businesswoman, investor, and professional speaker.
Pricing:
- $0 on Kindle
- $0 on Audible
- $22 for a paperback book
Best For: Beginners in personal finance
What You’ll Learn:
- 4-bucket saving strategies
- How to double your income while halving your expenses
What This Covers:
- The 4 golden tules for investing
- Retirement plans
- Addresses 12 of the most frequently asked finance questions
- Debt payoff
- Short term savings
Get Good with Money
This New York Times and Wall Street Journal best seller, Get Good with Money, shows 10 simple steps you can take to become financially sound. This book focuses on financial wholeness; which is building a realistic and achievable financial management plan. It combines both short and long term plan goals on how to get ahead.
Author(s): Tiffany Aliche was a preschool teacher who was unemployed due to an economic recession. Due to this, she had to look for financial strategies to pull herself out of her financial struggles. From her own advice she went from a net worth of negative $300,000 to over seven figures in less than six years.
Pricing:
- $13.99 on Kindle
- $14.71 for a hardcover book
Best For: Those who wish to build a realistic plan towards financial wholeness
What You’ll Learn:
- How to determine your baseline budget
- How to prepare for unexpected events
What This Covers:
- Action steps for controlling your credit score
- How to protect your beneficiary’s future
- Assessment to understand whether your mindset is “you don’t make enough” or “you spend too much”
Thinking, Fast and Slow
This New York Times Bestseller, Thinking, Fast and Slow, sold over two million copies imparting on its personal finance tips. This world-famous book is set up into two systems. System 1 is talking about fast, intuitive, and emotional actions. System 2 is about deliberative, logical, and slower approaches to decision making. This book shows how to shift and be aware of your “system” to make more financially responsible decisions.
Author(s): Daniel Kahneman is an Israeli psychologist and notable economist. Additionally, he won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2002 for his prospect theory.
Pricing:
- $0 on KindleUnlimited
- $11.54 for paperback
Best For: Those who want to relearn their decision making skills
What You’ll Learn:
- Prospect theory
- Fourfold pattern of preferences
- The impact heuristics have on your judgement and decision making
What This Covers:
- How you make snap judgments and conclusions
- How to have control over your behavior, actions, and instinctive decisions
- Over-optimism, overconfidence in expertise, and overconfidence in perspectives
What Is a Personal Finance Book?
A personal finance book helps evaluate your own spending habits and what could be cut down or redirected. The main components of these books consist of income, tax relief or deductions, insurance options, what debt is, savings, investments, and retirement options.
These books help others better understand their underlying financial state and how they can improve their financial health.
How Do I Learn About Personal Finance?
With the internet, there is a vast amount of resources available at your fingertips. It can be overwhelming to know what information is useful due to the contradictory nature of some resources.
However, there are a multitude of resources available online through courses, youtube channels, and books.
What to Consider With Personal Finance Books
Before purchasing a personal finance book there are some key components you need to consider. This consists of the following and some questions you should ask yourself:
- Author(s): Is this author reputable? How long have they been specializing in personal finance? Are they well adapted to the modern market?
- Reviews & Acclaims: How well-known is this book? How long has it been out and what are the reviews regarding the book?
- Personal Finance Aspects Covered: What topics is the book covering? Is it just budgeting and saving? How in-depth do they go regarding these topics?
- Book length: How long is this book? Is it an easy read or does it use advanced financial terminology? Will I be able to finish this book in a timely manner regarding my schedule?
- Price: How expensive is this book? Is it a worthwhile investment? Are there places where I can buy the book second-hand?
Which Personal Finance Book Is Best For Me?
In this article we overviewed the top 11 personal finance books breaking it down to your specific needs. Improving your personal finance is a strength you grow overtime and is vital to financial success, freedom, and independence.
Educating yourself on healthy budgeting, investments, and mindset towards money is extremely important. A financial advisor can additionally help you through your financial journey to reach your financial goals. Learn more about how to choose a financial advisor here.
FAQ
People who seek to improve their financial health and wish to gain financial freedom.
Yes, millionaires read self-improvement books such as personal finance books. These resources are invaluable and crucial to reaching your financial goals.
The 5 most important aspects of personal finance is saving, investing, financial protection, planning, and retirement planning.
Investment Firms is a ready supported website. Our content is free to consume and most of the time we do not earn revenue from publishing articles. In some instances, clicking on links in articles may earn us a commission if you are to purchase something.
