Few of us have the time to learn how to set up an emergency fund, plan for retirement, or invest some money. All the while our student loans keep piling up, and we keep juggling our everyday expenses.
To stay afloat, we resort to books to teach us the best ways to earn money and how to save it. If you’ve seen the vast assortment of personal finance books on the market, but don’t know where to start, you’ve come to the right place.
We asked the top financial experts for their choices of the best finance books. According to them, these are the finest selection of books on personal finance.
These books are designed to help you learn the building blocks of finance, such as how to design a budget, make smart investments, and get out of debt.
In other words, how to have financial freedom, and live to enjoy it.
The 10 Best Finance Books
A study was carried out by the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance. It found out that there are certain characteristics that affect our financial behavior. Around 65% of women and 52% of men said that money was the number one stress factor in their lives.
Since one of the best ways to learn how to do anything is to read about it, let’s take a look at these 10 top books in the world of finance.
The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous, and Broke: Best for Millennials
This bestseller is one of the most popular finance books written for millennials. It’s aimed at what the media refers to as the ‘Generation Debt’ and ‘Generation Broke’.
This includes 20 and 30-year old recent graduates with a huge sum of student loan debt. Because the economy is weak and the job market is quickly declining, managing finance can be a challenge.
The author, Suze Orman, offers millennials the chance to fix their money problems. It’s full of great advice to help you get your life back on track.
Through this book, she presents real, pragmatic solutions. Her advice is honest because she has a clear understanding of the financial world we’re living in.
She often presents advice that goes against conventional wisdom. Yet she has an uncanny ability to anticipate the needs of her readers.
It’s one of the reasons why she’s one of the most trusted financial experts of her day. And this is why this book is one of the most popular finance books for millennials.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad: Best Memoir
This book, written by Robert T. Kiyosaki, is considered by many to be an investment classic. It’s full of sage advice for anyone who’s trying to find a firm footing when it comes to money and finances.
It’s mainly based on Kiyosaki’s real-life experiences growing up. He explains the difference between having to work to get money and knowing how to get your money work for you. His advice is honest and thought-provoking.
Even though his views on money are unorthodox at times, you can’t help but trust everything he has to say. He makes the finance world simple and easy to understand. That’s one reason that has made this book the longest-running bestseller on all four lists; The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and BusinessWeek.
The Millionaire Next Door: Best for Inspiration
If you’re just starting out in the game of personal financing, this bestseller should be your number one read. Its easy-to-follow style and consistent instructions teach all there is about the basics of personal finance.
The author, Thomas J. Stanley, recognizes seven common characteristics of everyone who has amassed a fair amount of wealth. He explains that being an average millionaire is within reach. Anyone can do it.
This is an insightful book. It’ll help you develop good money habits that will last with you your entire life.
Being wealthy has nothing to do with luck. It has everything to do with living below your means, investing wisely, and having a budget.
The Simple Path to Wealth: Best for Early Retirement
Understanding the complex world of finance can be difficult. There are investments, retirement funds, savings accounts, and so much more. We need someone who can make it accessible and simplified. It’s the best way for us to understand it, learn it, and then go out and put it into real use.
J.L. Collins is that person. He gives practical advice in a tone that’s approachable and simple. Collins’ style is filled with humor and visual examples. This book makes boring money concepts interesting and easy to follow.
It’s a perfect book for beginners, intermediates, as well as seasoned investors. It discusses tax-deferred retirement plans and low-cost index fund investments. There’s also a checklist that explains the best way to draw up a budget that has you living below your means.
This book is saying that we can reach a point in our lives where we don’t have to do a day’s work ever again. With some hard work and wise planning, we can enjoy early retirement. That’s financial freedom!
I Will Teach You to Be Rich: Best for Money Strategizing
This book is a fully laid-out comprehensive 6-week financial plan. It speaks to millennials who are materially driven, yet clueless when it comes to their finances. Yet, it’s also an eye-opener to everyone who’s searching for a clearer understanding of the world of personal finance.
One topic that the author, Ramit Sethi, discusses is the difference between being frugal and being cheap. It’s essential to understand the two and how they’re different. That’s his first key lesson.
Sethi’s style is nonjudgmental and uplifting. He knows the struggles of this generation. Plus, he approaches complex topics with a simple, refreshing voice.
Through his smart and pragmatic advice in this book, Sethi has proven himself to be trustworthy and reliable.
You’re Badass at Making Money: Best Self-help
Jen Sincero wrote this book as a guide. Her aim is to show you how to get rid of any obstacles in the way of achieving the income of your dreams. These obstacles may be psychological, emotional, or material.
Sincero uses her own life experiences to give the readers practical and smart advice. It’s this advice that turned this book into a New York Times bestseller.
Her first key lesson is that financial freedom is an inside job. It all begins with your relationship with money and your day-to-day habits.
She says you should all stop laying blame on your circumstances or on other people. It’s how you can stay in control of your reality. That’s the essence of Sincero’s advice.
This book offers innovative concepts to help you unlock your true earning potential. It’s a great way to learn how to become a money-making pro.
The Total Money Makeover: Best for Debt Management
Dave Ramsey is known as America’s favorite finance coach. His trustworthy advice will show the best ways to increase your savings, kill off all your debt, and start investing wisely. Ramsey wants your money to work for you, and not the other way around.
He delves deeper into the 10 most dangerous money myths. They’re the ones that slowly drain your bank account, and kill your dreams of securing a reliable nest egg for your retirement.
To avoid them, Ramsey introduces a checklist. You go down the list and cross off one-by-one. You’ll quickly find that your payment size increases with each step.
This book’s main message is how to live debt-free. His tried-and-tested methods have proved time and again that a sure-fire plan to get rid of your debt is achievable. His game plan is simple. It cuts to the chase and gets directly to the point.
The Automatic Millionaire: Best for Building Your Wealth
The Automatic Millionaire answers the question people have been asking David Bach, the bestselling author, for years. They want to know the secret to becoming a millionaire.
His secret? Come up with a financial plan that secures your future and pays for your present.
Bach’s plan consists of a step-by-step practical system. He includes websites, apps, and phone numbers that can support your plan, and put its gears in motion.
With the help of this book, you can be an expert at managing your money. Then, you’ll be able to secure your financial future.
Written in a friendly, relatable tone, this book covers all the basic financial pointers you need. Having spent 31 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, this is one of the most sought-after and popular financial books you’ll ever read.
Secrets of Six-Figure Women: Best Inspiration for Women
Women earn a fraction less than men. Yet that didn’t stop the number of women making six figures or more to skyrocket in recent years. There are over 15 million women worldwide who are currently making over $100,000.
The bestselling author, Barbara Stanny, went on a fact-finding mission. Stanny wanted to learn more about these high-earning prosperous women. She says that her hope for this book is to offer “insight, hope, and guidance to any of you who aspire to earn more.”
This book is based on multiple interviews with more than 150 high-earning women. Through her interviews, Stanny found that all of the women had diverse work experiences and came from different backgrounds, both on a personal and professional level.
At the same time, they have certain traits in common.
It’s these traits that turned them into successful professionals. The most important of these traits is perseverance.
Another trait is that they don’t let their failures dictate their lives. They turn them, instead, into valuable lessons.
There aren’t many books out there that focus only on how women can be successful and prosper when it comes to their personal finance management skills.
It’s a book that has a motivational tone. It gives you that boost you need so you can go out and turn your financial dreams into a reality. It also offers guidance and inspiration and a sense of camaraderie.
Why Didn’t They Teach Me This in School?: Best Overall
Cary Siegel asks the question that many people tend to take for granted, ‘why are there no school requirements for students to learn about personal money management?’.
It was a question that had bothered Siegel for years. Then, as his five children were leaving school and entering the workforce, he decided to tackle the subject once again.
As he delved further and further into the topic, he found very few reliable sources on finance. In addition, he saw that many people didn’t have a clear understanding of finances. They also didn’t have a clue on the best ways to manage their personal finances.
Siegel succeeds in listing all the ways to wisely manage your money. He breaks it down into eight main lessons. Even though he focuses on 99 basic principles, his book is easy to understand.
It’s a great read for high school and college students, as well as adults of all generations.
A Final Note
Most of us don’t know how to keep track of our spending, draw up a fool-proof budget, or make sound investments. It’s true that we all want more money. But that can be difficult to achieve if we don’t know where or how to start.
After reading these 10 best finance books, we now know that having savvy personal finance management skills is possible. It requires a bit of planning and some sacrifice. But it’s achievable.
Use these books as your guide. Start with the one that speaks most to you and your current financial state.
Then go through the list, one by one. Use the information to boost your financial know-how. Each book has valuable advice to help you achieve a solid financial footing so that you can live a rich, debt-free, and happy life.