Do you want to improve your life and finances this year – pay off debt, save more money, become a savvy investor, make more money, live healthier, and balance your priorities?
No matter what your New Year’s resolutions are, an excellent book can provide lots of valuable insight and tips that point you in the right direction.
In the area of personal finances, this list of some of the best personal finance books is a great place to start if you have plans to master your money!
1. The Millionaire Teacher
By Andrew Hallam
This book will get your attention from the get-go, with your blood probably running hot from the realization that you, even you, can become a millionaire.
Millionaire Teacher: The nine rules of wealth you should have learned in school was written by a school teacher, Andrew Hallam. In the book, Hallam shows how you can build a 7-figure portfolio on a modest salary. He also introduced nine rules of wealth, including:
- Spend like you want to grow rich
- Use the greatest investment ally you have – compound interest
- Avoid paying unnecessary fees
- Conquer the enemy in the mirror
- Build mountains of money with a responsible portfolio and more!
A second edition of The Millionaire Teacher was released in 2017. The book has garnered a 4.3/5 rating on Goodreads and is a must-read for those who want to join the millionaire club even when they are not earning the big bucks.
Purchase Book on Indigo.
2. The Little Book Of Common Sense Investing
By John C. Bogle
This book was written by the man popularly referred to as the “Father of Index Investing,” John Bogle, who also founded The Vanguard Group.
In line with what the stats say time and time again, Bogle shows us that low-cost broad-based index funds are almost guaranteed to serve you well in the long run than actively managed mutual funds.
Keep things simple, quit trying to beat the market, minimize your investment fees, and focus on the long term. The Little Book of Common Sense Investing is a goldmine of actionable tips from one of the greatest investors ever.
This book’s wide acclaim is shown by its healthy rating of 4.5/5 on Amazon and 4.1/5 on Goodreads. It is a must-have for any investor’s library – whether you are a beginner or have been in the investing business for a while!
Purchase Book on Indigo.
3. I Will Teach You To Be Rich
By Ramit Sethi
This personal finance book has been liberating twenty-somethings since 2009. It is a practical guide telling you exactly how to improve your finances – budgeting, saving, investing, banking, and entrepreneurship.
I Will Teach You To Be Rich includes a 6-week personal finance program filled with step-by-step actions for 20 to 35-year-olds. The book has an average rating of 4.05/5 on Goodreads based on over 15,000 reviews.
Purchase Book on Indigo.
4. The Millionaire Next Door
By Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko
Want to join the millionaire club? Consider reading this book! Packed with research results conducted over a 20-year period, The Millionaire Next Door breaks down how most millionaire folks in America did not get there by earning high salaries or receiving inheritances (aka economic subsidies).
In this book, you will learn about the seven traits of self-made millionaires, including:
- They live well below their means
- They allocate their time, energy, and money efficiently in ways that build wealth
- They are mostly self-made
- They are more interested in financial independence than on displaying social status
- They bring up their children to be financially self-sufficient
- They choose occupations where they have the flexibility to be self-employed
Other great reads by Dr. Thomas Stanley include: Stop Acting Rich and The Millionaire Mind.
Purchase Book on Indigo.
5. A Random Walk Down Wall Street
By Burton Malkiel
This is one of the best investing books you will ever read!
A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The time-tested strategy for successful investing dives into investing strategies and the popular frameworks for analyzing stocks, i.e. both fundamental and technical analysis.
In the characteristic candour apparent throughout the book, Malkiel shows why technical analysis is mostly a farce. He states that:
It turns out that the correlation of past price movements with present and future price movements is very close to zero.
Technicians are often seen with holes in their shoes and frayed shirt collars. I have personally never known a successful technician, but I have seen the wrecks of several unsuccessful ones.
You will learn about the right approaches to market analysis and why investing in low-cost index funds is the way to go. The eleventh edition of this book adds new insights into ETFs, emerging markets, derivatives, and more.
If you are interested in another book highlighting the role of randomness in the financial markets, check out Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb.
Purchase Book on Indigo.
6. The Richest Man in Babylon
By George S. Clason
This personal finance book is a timeless classic and one of the best of all time! Initially written in 1926, the lessons remain as fresh as though they were written yesterday. Both old and young, beginner and experienced investors will find its contents attention-riveting.
Some basic principles fleshed out in the Richest Man in Babylon include:
- Pay yourself first
- Live below your means
- Put your money to work and earn returns
- Diversify your investment portfolio
- Use compound interest
- Invest in yourself and more.
If you want to go back to the basics of wealth accumulation and financial success, this book is for you. You can read my full review of the Richest Man in Babylon here.
Purchase Book on Indigo.
7. The Total Money Makeover
By Dave Ramsey
This list will not be complete without adding this book by one of the most popular financial coaches in the world, Dave Ramsey.
The Total Money Makeover: A proven plan for financial fitness is a down-to-earth, easy-to-read guide for getting out of debt, dumping money myths, and taking control of your finances.
If you want to see your finances take a quick turn for the better, this book can help you get started.
Purchase Book on Indigo.
8. Your Money Or Your Life
By Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez
This book digs deep into our relationship with money. Originally published in 1992, Your Money Or Your Life was updated in 2018.
The book’s subtitle clearly states its intent: 9 steps to transforming your relationship with money and achieving financial independence. You will learn about:
- The basics of money
- How to pay off debt and increase savings
- Decluttering, frugal living, and the dangers of consumerism
- How to free up your time, re-focus, and start seeing the bigger picture
Your Money Or Your Life has garnered a rating of 4.1/5 on Goodreads (from over 11,600 votes). This book belongs in the must-read section of your library, so go get it!
Purchase Book on Indigo.
9. The Automatic Millionaire
By David Bach
The Automatic Millionaire: A powerful one-step plan to live and finish rich starts off by letting you know the single most important key to becoming wealthy – paying yourself first.
David Bach lays out a 7-step plan for you to reach your financial goals, including automating your savings, investing, bills, and debt payments.
The Automatic Millionaire shares the story of a couple earning very average wages who reach financial independence at 55 with more than $1 million in savings, by following the time-tested strategies for wealth-building that are contained in the book.
This is a book that you can totally relate to!
Purchase Book on Indigo.
10. Thinking, Fast and Slow
By Daniel Kahneman
If you have always wanted to read an everyday book written by a Nobel Laureate, this is your chance.
Thinking, Fast and Slow is a mix of psychology and economics and is not your average personal finance book. However, if you are interested in understanding how you think, make financial decisions, and reach your other life choices, this book offers some great insights.
Purchase Book on Indigo.
Bonus: How Much Money Do I Need To Retire?
By Todd Tresidder
Planning for your retirement income? You should add this book to your reading list.
How Much Money Do I Need to Retire?: Uncommon Financial Planning Wisdom For a Stress-Free Retirement is the culmination of a series of five books written by Tresidder.
The book digs into how to accurately estimate your retirement number and plan your way to reach your goals.
What assumptions can you make for investment returns? How does retirement investing work alongside your pensions? Which retirement calculators are worth looking at? Todd breaks it all down.
It is safe to say that you will feel a bit more informed about how to plan for retirement when you are done with this book!
Wrapping Up
A good book can make the difference between doing the same things and expecting different results or doing things differently and improving your finances this year!
PIN For Later!
Thank you, Enoch for this list. Have you read “The Common Sense Guidebook to Mastering Your Money: Critical Skills You Should Have Been Taught As a Kid…But Never Were? In our latest personal finance podcast episode, we talk with Robin Da Vinci, author of “The Common Sense Guidebook to Mastering Your Money: Critical Skills You Should Have Been Taught As a Kid…But Never Were.” Robin explains how EQ + IQ = FQ, and how we can use both emotional and logical intelligence to achieve financial health.
The Common Sense Guidebook to Mastering Your Money is on Kindle here: https://amzn.to/3ESuLRE
and in Paperback here: https://amzn.to/3ZqnZdU
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Glad to see I’ve read a few of these, I personally liked a lot Common Sense Investing from John C Bogle, I mean he’s a legend and he basically created the index fund industry and he knows a lot about financial markets. If you liked a Random Walk Down Wall Street I would recommend you to read Adaptive Markets by Andrew Lo, he’s an MIT professor who’s done extensive research on financial markets and is proposing an alternative theory to the Efficient Markets Hypothesis that I believe is more complete, it’s a dense book but if you’re interested in financial markets it’s a must-read.
@MG: I haven’t heard about Adaptive Markets…will definitely look it up. Thanks for stopping by!
My husband loves to read finance books and though he has read a few on this list, I know he will be interested in the other. I will have to show him this list so that he can add these books to his pile.
@Sarah: Awesome – I am glad you found the list useful. Thanks for stopping by!
Happy to have read half of these books! I’m now reading “The Next Millionaire Next Door” by Dr. Stanley & his daughter, Sarah Stanley Fallaw. After that, I plan to read “Everyday Millionaires” by Chris Hogan.
@BabyBoomerSuperSaver: I have not read “Everyday Millionaire.” I will look it up. Thanks for stopping by!