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Building a Personal Finance Library: 25 of the Best Books About Money
getrichslowly.org — A great collection of essential books on personal finance topics. This person really separated the wheat from the chaff.
devolver42- 847 diggs
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- zpchrish, on 10/12/2007, -14/+11No Rich Dad Poor Dad? That was my first and still my favorite book on personal finance.
- diggerhater, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12This article probably won't get a ton of diggs, but its a really important topic. America is out of control with its spending habits, and its going to hurt us in the long run if we keep racking up all this debt.
- ngmcs8203, on 10/12/2007, -2/+18A buzz book written by a man who does not show any proof of how his own follies and successes represent his credibility? You didn't find that Kiyosaki contradicted himself in the book? Maybe it was more obvious in the tapes that accompanied the Rat Race board game (that can also be found through iTunes podcast search). Sadly, people bought into this Rich Dad/Poor Dad series (I being one of them) and gave Kiyosaki false credibility by word of mouth.
- scispaz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Real Estate speculation isn't really personal finance.
Just ask everyone who got caught over leveraged and holding the ball in the housing deflation. - wuori, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8I think the only thing we really need to know from 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' is the different definitions of an 'asset'. Poor dad considered an asset to be anything that was owned. Rich dad considered an asset to be anything that generates revenue. Too many of us consider being free-from-debt as being financially 'secure'. Just my two cents.
- imthe1, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3The important thing to take away from kiyosaki is the paradigm shift. He doesn't tell you to do x,y,z and then you'll be rich. You have to change your thought and invest. He doesn't say any one investment is right. It's all about learning and finding whats right for you.
- bacon_skoda, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6the one thing i got from rich dad poor dad is to write a fictional book about personal finance and sell lots of it to make money.
a board game for $200? oh yeah! - diggumjonez, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Rich Dad, Poor Dad was one of the first personal finance books/audiobooks I picked up and at first, it was fascinating. In hindsight and with more experience and knowledge under my belt, I can see it for what it is: a good guide to get inspired and think about money, but not a great guide to getting it and keeping it.
What it does is narrow down some basic concepts: being rich is not how much stuff you have, being poor is spending more than you make, the rich get richer by making money from the things they buy, using credit to their benefit, etc. These are basic concepts that most people just don't think about because they're too busy trying to stay afloat and because our educational system does very little to emphasize personal finance.
There are significantly better books and authors, ones who didn't apparently make up a fictional setting in which to share their advice. The best thing RDPD does is make you take an objective look at what you have, what you want, and how you can get there.
The best advice: Spend less. Save more. Invest what you save. Pay less taxes.
That can seem like impossible advice when you're struggling to make ends meet at the end of every month, but it is a philosophy that can start small and grow gradually. Saving $20 a month doesn't seem like much, but if you can make a point to do it regularly, your mindset changes about money in general. - SanTe, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Some well detailed and researched criticism of Robert Kiyosaki:
http://www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html - ngmcs8203, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I agree that it is a good inspiration to go get more education on the subject, but as I recall, Kiyosaki mentions a lot about how being rich is not about what you have, or how you show it off, it's about y. But two or three pages (or minutes) later he will say, "I drive a porsche, have 3 houses, and still want more because I want to be rich." He's the epitome of a hypocrite. Treed is who opened my eyes also. At least he has the balls to say he has critics himself, but he doesn't shy away from them.
- brundlefly76, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I loved 'The Millionaire Next Door'.
It totally shatters a lot of misconceptions about American wealth.
The snippets talks about the frugality of the wealthy, which isnt even the most interesting part of the book.
The real eye-opener is that alot of people see doctors, lawyers, financial workers, CEOs and the like as America's wealthy, which isnt the case at all - an extremely small percentage of these groups actually earn $1M+/yr and many live overextended because of the traditional perceived status of their position.
By far the largest headcount of American millionaire is the small business owner, and yes his habits are relatively frugal. - HaltingPoint, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2Sorry for the threadjack but DO NOT BUY FROM THESE LINKS. The whole purpose of this site is to generate affiliate revenue from referral links to the books. Buried as SPAM.
- jdroth, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Oh brother. The whole purpose of my site is to help people save money. I don't give a hoot if people buy from my links or not. In fact, I quite clearly encourage readers to use their public library.
- HaltingPoint, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1If that is the case then why do you use referral links? And why do you not disclose your financial incentive?
- jdroth, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I use affiliate links so that regular readers who do care to support the site may do so. I'm fairly upfront about the few affiliate programs I'm involved in. I've disclosed my financial incentive often in the past, and my regular readers -- for whom I am writing -- are well aware of the few areas from which I make money. I trust that most new readers are smart enough to detect an affiliate link and to work around it if it bothers them.
There's no way that I can predict an article is going to make Digg. It's a rare, unexpected thing. I'm not going to go back through and remove all the affiliate links by hand just so I don't offend somebody's sensibilities. I can understand why it looks tacky, and if my site really were a spam site, I'd say you had a valid point. But a quick look around should be enough to demonstrate that over the past eleven months, I've been posting daily advice about investing, frugality, and so on.
I'm trying to help people, not scam them.
- DoesYouDigg, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4I think some people have problems with Rich Dad Poor Dad because there was some controversy about it being fact or fiction. I thought it was a good book though.
- d3c0yn4m3l355, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Anybody who studied something regarding Business like an MBa should know that this entire list is filled with *****. Sorry to say but these books are just popular business books and the only cause they were written is to sponsor the writers pocket. Sorry but these books are an absolutely no-go. They are full with common sense stories and even more with plain crap.
If you want to read something nice try "the five principles" of Tsjenge or something, and so there are way more interesting books out there with some serious value. They do require some basic knowledge and some actual brains, but atleast you won't support somebody for a load of crap - optigon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@d3c0yn4m3l355:
It's apparent you haven't read Your Money -- Or Your Life, because all the profits from the book, which don't go to Penguin, go to a charity organization.
This is stated, up front, in the forward. Additionally, it makes no sense for a profit-driven author to tell you to borrow the book from the library, or find a more frugal way of getting the book beyond purchasing it new.
- d3c0yn4m3l355, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Anybody who studied something regarding Business like an MBa should know that this entire list is filled with *****. Sorry to say but these books are just popular business books and the only cause they were written is to sponsor the writers pocket. Sorry but these books are an absolutely no-go. They are full with common sense stories and even more with plain crap.
- tinker123, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4There are two books I would like to add to that list.
1. Get A Financial Life: Personal Finance In Your Twenties And Thirties by Beth Kobliner
This is basic money and investment management for people just starting off, like a college graduate in her/his first job with a real pay check.
2. How To Get Control Of Your Time And Your Life by Alan Lakein. One of the first time management books, one of the shortest without loss of content, and still one of the best. Many contemporary time management books are nothing but concepts recyled from this book, but not as well written or complete.
I'm including # 2 even though it isn't a money management book as the article isn't about just money management either. The original article is only partly about money management books. The original article has a mix of "secrect to success", time management, and investing books. - spartan789, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Some good books on that list. I like "Random Walk Down Wall Street" and "Millionaire Next Door". I was reading a book called "From the sandbox to the corner office", and a lot of the CEOs interviewed mentioned "Intelligent Investor" as one of their favorites, FWIW. Never read it myself.
Also, anything by Jeremy Siegel's pretty good, but tends to be a bit more technical.- scispaz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The Intelligent Investor is the original personal finance book, but it is a bit dense to absorb everything in one read. Most personal finance books hit it's easiest bullet points (if you are lazy, index funds can be your friends) and add more about debt management (wasn't really the problem back then that it is now). I highly recommend it, but expect to do a couple iterations of read, apply, and learn by doing.
- jj2me, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I second "Millionaire Next Door," and like that he lists it first. Gets across the point that real Millionaires are thrifty, the ones that look like Millionaires are not and do not have a secure financial future. I got out of it that it's ok to be thrifty, as opposed to making spending decisions based on what everyone else is doing.
Another starter book is "Personal Finance for Dummies," a good reference book for starting out, has been well reviewed. One takeaway I can recall was that insurance was for disasters, otherwise self-insure (though there may be behavioral/environmental exceptions to this rule, like if you drop your cell phone daily, then maybe cellphone insurance makes sense.)
Funny no one mentioned any of Jim Cramer's books, which are kinda good in the stock-picking guidelines they teach--you'll learn your lessons the hard way, but quickly figure out what you did wrong by recalling what he says. Also Rule #1 by Phil Towns if you're going this route into stock picking. I think this list avoided any stock-picking books, leaning more towards mutual funds, which is prudent. - SanTe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I hated "The Millionaire Next Door." Felt it made its point in the first 50 pages and then repeated it for the rest of the book with case history after case history, all with the same results.
"Your Money or Your Life" was the one that did it for me. Its sequel, "Getting a Life: Strategies for Simple Living Based on the Revolutionary Program for Financial Freedom, Your Money or Your Life," is good too. - biologic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"Your Money or Your Life" literally changed my life. This book was a logical extension of my own beliefs about simplicity, and the fact that money flows from time spent, and you should spend time on what you truly value in life rather than working until you die for worthless material gain. Money is useful as a way to gain more time - earn more so you can retire earlier, spend less so you can have more savings, more investments, and earn more interest income.
YMOYL even has its own forums dedicated to exploring simple living and frugality, and I've taken a lot of inspiration from it: http://www.simpleliving.net/forums/default.asp
There's also another awesome forum for investors, going along with the Boglehead's Guide (Vanguard): http://www.diehards.org/
They've got a reading list with several more excellent books on personal finance, and they're willing to help anyone out with their current investments and financial plans. - brundlefly76, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@SanTea
I totally agree with you that Millionaire was stretched out to a book to make 2 simple points, but the 2 points are unique, important, and astonishing, which is why I liked the book. But its true, its quite redundant.
Within 5 years of reading that book I quadrupuled my annual income and cut my work hours in half by switching from employment to self-employment doing the *exact same job*.
No lie.
My #1 takeaway from that book is that self-employment is so much more lucrative then employment that statistically it actually carries *less* risk then being employed - i.e. on average you will statistically make $x00,000 less/yr by working for someone else.
It makes stockbrokers on Wall St who pay $70,000/yr on housing, 2 hours commuting/day in a suit, and 70/hr work weeks to make $250,000 look like complete morons compared to some dude in the burbs who is making $500k/yr off a well-placed gas station he doesnt even work in.
- adyacker, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Rich Dad, Poor Dad is okay. Most of the info in the book is based on basic economic principles.
- raynar, on 10/12/2007, -3/+17Also, "Strippers, and why they're bad for your wallet" was a great book.
My personal favorite though, is "You're the reason Daddy drinks". - drworthless, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0I gotta agree on rich dad poor dad, but still a great list.
- Destroytoy, on 10/12/2007, -5/+0This link is already toasted. Now I'll never know how to stop being a typical American consumer.
- Kallius, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10Another book I would add to the list:
Pick A Decent Server That Can Handle More Than A Few Hundred Hits- stardustwd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Don't you guys get it, number of diggs != number of hits, a small proportion of the people that will visit this site will actually digg it. Also, this is just a guy with a blog, why should he have to pay $100+ a month for a dedicated server just so you can look at his site when it hits digg? Not to mention that the site appears fine to me.
- jdroth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I had wp-cache off for a while because I was tinkering with the site. I didn't know it was being dugg. Or digged. Or whatever you say. I turned it on as soon as I knew there was a problem.
- johnhummel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9After my bankruptcy (and shame in that, but after being laid off, a cross country move, and my wife not working after the move because of the birth of our final child), I've been using "The Richest Man in Babylon" as my financial bible. I wasn't in a position to start at 10% saving like the book stresses over and over, but over the last 4 years I've gotten up to almost 6% saving, and next year I should be able to hit 8%.
Luckily I noticed through the mirror that this book is on the list. I'll have to check out the others some time.
Long story short from the book told in a rather entertaining style: save 10% of your income (even if you think you can't, you eventually can), don't buy things on credit you don't need, and invest your money with experts rather than playing the market yourselves.
Great book.- grinding, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I'm not saying I endorse random investing, but have you ever heard of the Wall Street Journal Dart Board Contest?
http://www.investorhome.com/darts.htm - johnhummel, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@grinding: Heh - I hadn't. My investments stick to very conservative things anyway - I'm saving for my kids college and my retirement, really - but that's funny.
- HamiltonFamily, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I agree. "The Richest Man in Babylon" is a very good book filled with many short entertaining stories. I recommend this to anyone that needs a little motivation to save. After you read the book open an online saving account at Emigrant Direct ( https://www.emigrantdirect.com/EmigrantDirectWeb/index.jsp ) and start making 5.05% interest. Good luck!
- grinding, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I'm not saying I endorse random investing, but have you ever heard of the Wall Street Journal Dart Board Contest?
- 3tcp, on 10/12/2007, -1/+27The first rule of personal finance that the authors will never tell you - GET THE BOOKS AT THE LIBRARY
- Ub3rg33k, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11If you would have read the article, that's exactly what they say at the end.
- ELWmusic1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14Dave ramsey, one of the authors on the list regulary tells people to get his book at the library, if he hasn't given them a free book.
- tinker123, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3First rule of commenting on Digg: Read the article you are commenting on before you comment on it.
Heh, Digg, site with techies, aren't the three basic ideas of programming
*SEQUENCE*
Selection
Iteration
- kisong, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I would also recommend "The Truth About Money" by Ric Edelman.
http://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-Money-3rd/dp/0060566582/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_k2a_2_img/104-4145340-3038354
Great resource. - ELWmusic1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Dave Ramsey's books are a great way to learn how to get out of debt. Also look for his dialy radio show on your local radio station.
http://www.daveramsey.com- Square47, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10My wife and I payed off all of our student loans and car debt in one year (approx. 28k) using Dave's simple plan. Now we save almost as much as we make each month (double income no kids). I seriously would recommend The Total Money Makeover book as well as Dave's radio show (you can listen to it free online everyday) to anyone that wants to get control of their money. You have two choices with money....you can do what rich people do or you can do what poor people do. Nearly every business runs on a budget...why don't you?
- hiPpymIck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6is Dave Ramsey the guy who sounds like Jimmy Stewart in Its A Wonderful Life
ive heard his radio show..hes very homespun - simple but good - for those that prefer that - debtblitzkrieg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I've blogged on this post at http : // debtblitzkrieg.com/2007/03/09/building-a-personal-finance-library-25-of-the-best-books-about-money/
- edstate, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The Boggleheads' guide to investing is my fav... a really good overview of everything, plus sound, simple advice.
- binarysemaphore, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I will add
"Four Pillars of Investing" by William J. Bernstein
"Stocks For The Long Run" by Jeremy Siegel (Though little technical, but explains lot of stuff about stocks)
I didn't like Rich Dad, Poor Dad book. - imthe1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"The Automatic Millionaire" by David Bach is a good no-brainer for saving money
- CedEx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I went to his seminar and found that some of his stories didn't make any sense. He talked a lot about his Grandmother's penny pinching ways that taught him the value of money and the value of saving. He said that it was because of this upbringing that he has been successful in finances. However, he later says that when he got a job/promotion that he would spend all his money away.
I didn't know what to make of his stories, how one side he's a saver, and the other he's a spendthrift. No one called him out on that though.
Though, having sat through his speech, he did make some valid points to help people find missing money. For instance, if you buy a coffee everyday for a month, you'll end up spending >$40 each month, but if you just made your own coffee, you probably would save $30 each month over buying coffee. With that savings, which can be found in all your discretionary spending, if invested wisely, can make you a "millionaire" eventually.
His book makes sense to the majority of people, considering a recent statistic says that approximately half the population has some form of debt or will not have enough savings when they retire. But if you already have a good head on your shoulders about how to penny pinch and save, go read another book.
- CedEx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I went to his seminar and found that some of his stories didn't make any sense. He talked a lot about his Grandmother's penny pinching ways that taught him the value of money and the value of saving. He said that it was because of this upbringing that he has been successful in finances. However, he later says that when he got a job/promotion that he would spend all his money away.
- chetanw, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I like Kiplinger's "A Guide to Personal Finance"
It covers everything in life from how much to save, how to save each paycheck, investments (stocks, bonds, MFs), real estate, auto and life insurance, funeral expense planning etc. - bcringer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Is there a book on how to become rich but writing books on how to become rich. Doesn't the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad fall into that category. If the cost of his Cash-flow games is anything to go by I suspect he is onto a nice litter earner. :-)
See also :
http://www.johntreed.com/Reedgururating.html#anchor529971- bacon_skoda, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3from the audiobook of his rich dad poor dad, 50% of it was gibberish about his situation and demeaning the education system (perfect for his no-degree audience) and 40% of it was selling his board game and books. 10% was redefining the meaning of asset.
- Barbarino, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Saw Dave Ramsey on 60 Minutes, he woke me up!
- Comatose51, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"Two other classics on investing are The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham and A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel. I have both, but have read neither. They’re both quite technical."
Are you ***** serious? This guy claims to help you build a "personal finance library", has one of the classics on investing by Graham, Warren Buffet's mentor, yet doesn't read it because he claims it's "quite technical". There is nothing technical about that book assuming the reader has slightly more than a high school education. If you don't, then forget about becoming an "automatic millionaire". This man has zero credibility. His entire list consists of buzz books.- jdroth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I haven't read Graham yet because I haven't made the time. Believe me, it's on my list, and I know it's going to be a great read. That's why I included it in the list. (I'm a huge Warren Buffet fan, and well-aware that he learned from Graham.) My comment about it being technical -- which has been corrected by people who've read the book -- is based simply on leafing through it. Most of my readers are average joes. I want them to be aware of possible drawbacks to the books I mentioned.
It wasn't my intention to list "buzz books". I've read dozens of personal finance books, both popular and obscure. This was merely a list of the books in my own personal library that I liked best. It doesn't pretend to be a list of the best of *all* the personal finance books. It would be crazy to attempt such a list. It would be different for each person.
These are the books I refer to often, the books that were good for *me*. - jdroth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I've had a chance to leaf through Intelligent Investor, and I stand by my statement that it's too technical for most people. Could they understand it? Certainly. Is it an excellent book? Most probably. Will I read it in the near future? Absolutely. But it's not geared at the average person. It's geared toward investment professionals and serious amateurs.
- jdroth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I haven't read Graham yet because I haven't made the time. Believe me, it's on my list, and I know it's going to be a great read. That's why I included it in the list. (I'm a huge Warren Buffet fan, and well-aware that he learned from Graham.) My comment about it being technical -- which has been corrected by people who've read the book -- is based simply on leafing through it. Most of my readers are average joes. I want them to be aware of possible drawbacks to the books I mentioned.
- ascott9, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Some digger's might appreciate this. I fixed Dave Ramsey's daughters computer. Spyware it was.
- ChelseaPE, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I do find it interesting that the investment books are mostly tilted towards publicly listed securities and passive investing. Not books where investing is closer to running a business. The debate about real estate reflects the bias. Investing in RE can be very profitable even if we completely exclude speculation. It does tend to be more hands on.
As to speculation? Is it not true that all investments where you expect to buy low and sell higher could be called speculation? If we did not have such a view of the future what would be the point of investing? I suspect some see investing in RE as speculation as they think the people investing are taking risks that are not prudent. Such a view can be more based on a lack of understanding as to how to successfully invest in RE than it is from a flawed execution by the investor.
In the spirit for full disclosure I have been investing in RE and almost nothing else since 1983. Multiple states and countries.- jdroth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I wanted to include books about entrepeneurship, but the truth is that the ones I've read so far are kind of sketchy. They're more "get rich quick" type books, and not appropriate for such a list. I think small-business owners come from all walks of life, so it's hard to say "this is the way to do it" like you can with simple "save 10% in mutual funds" advice that works for everyone. I would *love* some recommendations of good books about running a business. (I'd especially like recommendations of web sites about this subject.)
- greeseless, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I wonder if all those books have the same publisher?
- jdroth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Hardly. I don't even think that any two of the books have the same publisher. (Though I could be wrong.)
- jojada95, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0some people have problems with Rich Dad Poor Dad because there was some controversy about it being fact or fiction. but after you read it, its a good book.
Mark - Training Home Inspection Service - http://AccurateInspections.com - xronik, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0this is great list. THX
- nkthen, on 02/26/2008, -0/+1Great set of recommendations!
http://www.easypersonalfinance.com
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