The Best Personal Finance Books That You Need to Read

I looked over the article from Kiplinger’s about the Five Best Money Books for Young People. I was pleasantly surprised to see five very quality books. I have not read all of them, but I have heard good things about the ones I haven’t read. You should definitely read, “Debt free by 30″ and “Saving For Retirement (Living Like a Pauper or Winning the Lottery)”.

I am big propronent of becoming well-read about something that you want to become a bigger part of your life. If you have decided to make better personal finance habits a part of your life, then I strongly believe that you need to start reading more about it.

Here are a few more books that I recommend for debt management, small business, career and investing:

Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
Financial Peace by Dave Ramsey
Guerilla Marketing by Jay Levinson
40 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller
Debt Free Living by Larry Burkett
Complete Financial Guide for Young Couples: A Lifetime Approach to Spending, Saving, and Investing by Larry Burkett
The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley

Do you have any great financial, career, or small business books to recommend to other readers? Post it in a comment.

Erik Folgate
Erik and his wife, Lindzee, live in Orlando, Florida with a baby boy on the way. Erik works as an account manager for a marketing company, and considers counseling friends, family and the readers of Money Crashers his personal ministry to others. Erik became passionate about personal finance and helping others make wise financial decisions after racking up over $20k in credit card and student loan debt within the first two years of college. Another one of Erik's projects is the site, Stuff We Google.

Learn more About Money Crashers - including co-founders Andrew Schrage and Gyutae Park.

http://chieffamilyofficer.blogspot.com Chief Family Officer

The Millionaire Next Door really helped me internalize the concept of living below my means and using the difference to build wealth. I don’t know if it would have the same impact on everyone, but I read it in my mid-20′s and have applied the LBYM principle ever since.
author

good one CFO! I meant to put that on my list, but it slipped my mind. Actually, I think i’m going to edit the post to include that one. it is a great book to help people figure out to start thinking and acting like millionaires.
moneymonk

I also agree, Millionaire is my favorite, It taught me that the rich take it slow when it comes to wealth building
Minimum Wage

Sorry to be a naysayer, but I find PF books often flunk the “reality test” for people with low incomes.

For example, Dave Ramsey’s budget allocates 38 percent of income to housing. Sorry, Dave, but in my state, 20 percent of all renters are paying at least 50% of income just for rent (not incl utilities). Thus, Ramsey as a PF author flunks the reality test.

Similarly, The Millionaire Next Door is hardly relevant to a hamburger flipper.

p.s. isn’t “40 Days…” really 48 Days?
http://www.dillahacpa.com Jan D

I like the list!

I would add for small business owners these titles.

“Good to Great” by Collins -Learn how companies became industry leaders

“QBQ The Question Behind the Question” by Miller – Learn how to deal with complaining, procrastinating and take action

“The World is Flat” by Friedman – Learn how we created a global market.

“Getting Things Done” by Allen – Learn how to be more productive.
http://www.entrepreneur-blog.com Entrepreneur Blog

I absolutely loved the analysis that Thomas Stanley went into in his book the millionaire next door. It gives a great overview into the standard american millionaire.
Minimum Wage

I’m looking for a book that gives a great overview into the standard american proletarian.
Rick W

I appreciate all that I have read in these blogs and although I am new to actually researching pf “methods” I have always heard that the will power required to keep a personal budget is greater than trying to stick to a diet, because you still have control of your money and can cheat. This was reaffirmed when I read David Bach’s “Automatic Millionaire”. I found this to be very informative in traditional money managment as well as the “Automatic” system that is laid out.

Are any of the above books geared away from traditional budgeting? I am not a strong willed person when it comes to money or dieting.

Thanks!
author

Rick,

I am not sure what you are looking for in a non-traditional budgeting method. I think if there was a way to budget your money without it taking a level of will power and personal responsibility, that would be one of the best-selling finance books of all time.

I would try to look at this way: Dieting and budgetng are very similar in the sense that it will always be tough at first, because you have no formed a habit of eating turkey instead of pork, or spending $100 a month on entertainment rather than doing whatever you want for entertainment in a month. It will hurt to change your eating habits or spending habitst at first, but once it starts becom, ing second nature to you, the level of will power it takes to maintain a budget is much less significant.

I would challenge you to write out a budget and stick to it as best as possible for the next 3 months. If it’s still really tough for you to stick to it after you see all of the money you are saving, then I dont know what to tell ya. Thanks for reading!
naveen taylor

hi.. i have been reading a book by napolean hill.. it seems to be the best one… and also rich dad poor dad by kiyosaki…. both books take an indirect approach in explaining the required mindset and attitude towards money ….. i difinitely recommend these two.

The Best Personal Finance Books That You Need to Read

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