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Most people would like to improve their finances. People with little spare cash. Those who want to save for a big purchase. Even people with extra money they want to invest.
Our personal finances are based on our habits, and habit can be changed and improved.
This page showcases the best finance books from multiple finance book categories. It details many hours of reading and research. Enjoy.
Best Finance Books
In this collection of finance books will help you find over 100 total books on personal finance, budgeting, frugal living, investing, saving money, debt-free lifestyle, wealth building, economics and more.
Want to keep it simple? Underneath the finance book categories below I have collected the top 5 overall finance books, based on popularity and universal appeal.
Looking for the best finance books? Check out each of the targeted sub-lists below to find the books that fit your needs.
Personal Finance Books
Want to learn how to make a budget? How to get out of debt? How to safely invest your money in your future. Want to learn the basics of money management? Then this collection of 22 books is for you.
This selection of personal finance book contains many of the most popular authors in the personal finance world. Dave Ramsey. Suze Orman. David Bach. Plus a few excellent personal finance authors you may not have heard of before. Check it out.
“Frugal Living” Books to Read when Broke
Many books for managing money focus on what to do when you have money. But what can you do when you are flat broke. Budgeting is part of the equation. But that will only stop the bleeding.
The finance books in this sub-list focus on ways to get by when you have very little income coming in. Creating a financial plan. Couponing. Frugal living. Decreased spending. All the little things that help your dollars stretch a little bit further.
People who live paycheck-to-paycheck or who accumulate large credit card debt should seriously consider taking a hard look at many of these books to help them get out of debt and improve their financial situation.
Make Money Books (Side Hustle, Make Money Online, etc.)
(this section of the finance books is forthcoming)
Making money online is a tricky topic. On one hand it is achievable. I have been making a full-time income online for nearly 15 years. Since well before I wrote my first book or started this website.
It is possible, but it is also a niche full of scams and false information. Like any “gold rush”, it sometimes seems that the people really making money are the ones selling picks and shovels, not the people searching for the gold.
This book list will showcase what I believe, to be honest and reputable books that detail realistic methods for making money online or building a side hustle. None of the spammy MMO deals.
Books on Investing
I find this to be the fun part of personal finance. Budgeting, scrimping and saving and struggling those can be a big pain in the a**. They are the most important part of money management.. but still a pain. Once you get to investing, it is the fun part- making your money grow and work for you.
This collection of 23 of the best finance books has some information that you need to know before you invest your money. Although the idea of investment is fun.
It stops being fun when your money dwindles rather than grows, so research and knowledge of investing is key to getting good results when putting your money into a good investment strategy.
In personal finance, once you have caught up on your credit card bills and settled into a good financial plan it is time to start making your money work for you. It is time to invest.
Real Estate Investing
Real estate investment is one of the single best investment opportunities.
It can make you money in good times and bad. But it is also a higher risk investment. Bad tenants can cost you months without rent or cost you a ton of money by wrecking your property.
Investing in rental property has huge potential. Both in risk and reward.
It is such a big investment you will want to read every single book you can to get a balanced idea of all the pitfalls before you jump in.
Knowledge is power, after all. The more you know about real estate investing before you get started, the greater success you will have.
I currently have invested in three real estate rental properties and I am still constantly trying to learn more. If you are even thinking about investing in real estate you will certainly want to check out these finance books.
Retirement Books
Retirement is not something you want to wait until retirement age to think about. Due to the miracle of compound interest your retirement money will have a much greater impact on your
retirement life the earlier you start saving.
This collection of retirement books includes a wide range of books to help you plan your retirement. This list has books to help you plan (and maximize) your retirement savings that should be read well before your retirement age.
But there this collection also includes books that will help you plan your retirement if it is imminent. These finance books teach you:
- How to get the most from social security.
- How to live frugally on your retirement savings.
- Ideas for retiring overseas.
- Where to live when you retire.
- How to “semi-retire” and keep a part-time income.
- How to make money in retirement from your passions.
Economics Books
(this section of the finance books is forthcoming)
Understanding the intricacies of personal finance is what most of us need. It helps us to budget, save and invest. However, it can also be nice to understand what is happening in the global markets.
I am no economics expert. But that is why I enjoy a good book on economics written for laymen. It can give view of the “big” picture of what is going on in the world, without making you feel like you are lacking the proper background to understand what is being discussed.
These are my picks for great economics books. Written for those of us who do not happen to be economists.
Top 5 Best Finance Books
As stated earlier. Each sub-list has more targeted books for specific areas of finance and money management.
This “top ten” list includes the most popular and enduring books in personal finance (plus a bonus book). These are all books that are general primers to get up to speed on improving your money management.
You may still want more targeted books, but if you know little about finance, these books will teach you a great deal. These books are in no particular order. They are all well worth your time.
Let’s get to it:
1. The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach
What is the secret to getting rich? The automatic millionaire gives us the answer.
The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich starts with an inspiring story of an average american family, with a less than average income, who retired at 55 with over one million in savings. Bach then gives us a simple plan that anyone can use to get rich.
The amazing thing about this plan is its simplicity. It doesn’t take willpower. You don’t need to budget. You don’t need to be a financial guru.
2. The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
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If there is one person who is synonymous with money and finance, that person is Dave Ramsey. With a following of over 8 million listeners on the radio and 5 New York Times best sellers Dave has helped millions to improve their money management.
The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness is a solid finance book that will teach you the basics of money management. It contains a clear plan for making over your money habits.
It contains:
- A plan for paying off all your debts
- How to save money for emergencies
- Setting money aside for retirement
- Myth about finances
- Dealing with college debt
- Money and marriage problems
3. Why Didn't They Teach Me This in School? by Cary Siegel
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Adulting is an increasing popular topic. It is about learning all the life lessons you have somehow missed. This book is the cliff notes version of all those life lessons you should have learned by adulthood.
Most personal finance books are a slow build. Focusing on the basics and building up money management knowledge.
Why Didn't They Teach Me This in School?: 99 Personal Money Management Principles to Live is different.
It dives right into very specific lessons driving home larger principles of financial management by focusing on the 99 individual lessons that everyone should know to get their finances in good order.
This stylistic choice makes this book interest, fresh and makes it a quick and easily digested (and understood) approach to money matters.
Want to learn these lessons?
4. You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero
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Jen Sincero had a blockbuster hit with her debut book, You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth. This book helped people to come to terms with the things that were holding them back in life and keeping them from reaching their potential.
She does the same thing with this version. Except she does it for money.
She helps people to understand the things that are holding them back financially. She helps people reach their money making potential, and shows us the proper mindset to achieve financial success. And she does all this with a unique style and sass that made people love the first book.
5. I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
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I love plans. I like things practical and step-by-step. Getting the right “mindset” has its place but I will always prefer a guide that tells me what to do and when to do it. That is what this book is.
I Will Teach You to Be Rich: No Guilt. No Excuses. No B.S. Just a 6-Week Program That Works is a complete guide to everything you need to know to get ahead in the financial world.
Laid out in a practical and easy to understand manner it lays out an excellent plan for how to improve your finances – without needing to learn all the stuff you don’t need to know.
This is the perfect book to help you develop your own plan to setup a more secure financial future.
Bonus Book: The Budgeting Habit by SJ Scott and Rebecca Livermore
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Full disclosure. I added this book to the list as a “bonus book” because it is one I wrote with my writing partner, Rebecca Livermore.
The Budgeting Habit: How to Make a Budget and Stick to It! is a culmination of both research and personal experience.
Let’s face it. Budgets are boring. This is not a flashy topic, like making money, investing or starting a side hustle. It is drab and boring. Like brushing your teeth.
But what brushing your teeth is to personal hygiene, budgeting is to finance. It may be boring but doing it right is the linchpin on top of which all financial success rests.
In this book, we tried to make budgeting as interesting as it possibly could be. But more importantly, we strive to give a practical step-by-step guide for how to properly create a budget.
Final Thoughts on the Best Finance Books
I hope you have enjoyed this collection of finance books. It covers a wide collection of money management topics. I hope that you have found what you are looking for.
Now, if you're looking for other books to read, take a few minutes to go through our Book Review playlist on Youtube to see if any of these books interests you:
For more self-improvement book topics, check out our massive book post page here: 500+ Best Self Help Books
Similar to this post, this is a collection of many sub-posts dealing with “must-read” book collections on a wide variety of self-improvement topics.
