In today’s world, there is financial information available at your fingertips. Good, bad, or otherwise, there is always another blog, podcast, Tik Tok, or Instagram post sharing some way to get rich or save money. Those quick posts can be helpful, but often only contain a small nugget of information. Here are my recommendations of the ten best personal finance books for beginners.
One thing I love about books is how they give you a complete picture of the topic they are sharing about. With the larger content format, they are able to go deeper into the details and nuances of a topic. Not everything may fit your situation or where you are at, but you can always come back to the information when it is applicable to you. In my brief synopsis of the books, I tried to mention items that would either make the book appealing to you or turn you off from the book.
Not all of these books will fit your current financial situation or where your life is at right now. Some may resonate with you differently than other books do. That’s ok! Start with the one which captures your attention the most and then move on from there! You don’t need to read all 10, start slow and go from there. Other than the first book on the list being my favorite, this list of the ten best personal finance books for beginners is in no particular order.
The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley
This is at the top of my list and was the first personal finance book that captured my attention. Consequently, I have personally bought a dozen copies over the years and shared them with my friends who start asking about money tips or as they graduate from college. It is one of the OG personal finance books and sets you up with the information and tools to become an accumulator of wealth throughout your life.
The author’s goal in the book is to look at the habits and traits of millionaires to help you learn how to earn money, be conscious of how you are spending that money, so you can accumulate a comfortable nest egg for your retirement. The book is based on years of research including statistics and case studies of real millionaires. It is great if you are looking for a book that both educates about saving and investing money, while also shares the motivations and values behind people’s financial decisions.
Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin
Considered one of the early adopters of the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) lifestyles, Your Money or Your Life is a great look at spending money in relation to your future goals. The authors dive deep into the idea that time is money and encourage readers to evaluate priorities, cut expenses and seek passive income to end up financially independent. Even though this book was written years ago, there is a push to be efficient and intentional in your consumption of resources both from a financial perspective and from a “steward of the earth’s resources” perspective. Definitely, a must-read if you are looking for ways to retire early or take some sort of reduced work/flexible work strategy later in life.
The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins
JL is a well-known personal finance blogger and this book takes his great advice from his blog and compiles it into one comprehensive guide to getting to a place of wealth. He focuses on 4 core concepts:
- Avoid debt
- Save 50% of your income
- Invest those savings into low-cost index funds
- Ignore the news, your friends, and all the noise trying to influence you
His goals are ambitious. It is difficult to do (especially ignoring the news… they are annoyingly persistent!) and saving 50% of your income is a challenge. However, the author is a great storyteller and uses stories from his own life as well as metaphors and parables to add color and punch to his technical advice.
The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
This is a non-traditional personal finance book. Instead of providing facts and figures, it lays out personal finance wisdom in the form of parables. Originally, each of these short stories were distributed as pamphlets during the 1920s, and they were collected into book form. It includes many of the modern admonitions like:
- Pay yourself first
- Invest for the future
- Learn the power of compound interest
The format is unusual, but the information is sound and the wisdom is driven home in a very impactful way through relatable stories. This would be a great recommendation for someone who wouldn’t touch a “technical” or “boring” traditional finance book!
Broke Millennial by Erin Lowry
Erin has now come out with a follow-up to this book so there is a series of three books to use. Written in 2017, there is a ton of relevant information for both young and more experienced millennials. She tackles the basics including:
- Budgeting
- Student loan payoffs
- Understanding your relationship with money
- Investing for the future
- Savings and emergency funds
She does it all with some attitude and solid advice. This would be a great book for someone who recently graduated and could use some help navigating the real world!
Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
This book is written by a controversial author. In recent years, Dave Ramsey and his company have come under fire for their conservative stance on gay marriage and other topics. Religion and politics aside, Dave is the guy you want if you need to get out of debt. His patented “baby steps” to paying off debt and building financial freedom are genius when you are intimidated by the mountain of debt you are facing. He also has a radio show that provides tips and strategies, but all of the basic information you need to get started is in the book.
I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
Ramit has a great history of sharing useful financial information on his blog. However, he took a significant amount of time to compile new and expanded information for his book. The premise of the book is based on a six-week process of tangible action steps focused on the basics of personal finance like credit, retirement, spending, and investing. He has a very direct and applicable method for explaining what you need to do and why you need to do it. This book is focused on providing advice for young adults starting out on their financial journey and the information could seem unrelatable to older adults.
The Simple Dollar by Trent Hamm
Trent is the founder of The Simple Dollar blog. This blog has since been purchased by a professional finance group and much of its original content is no longer available. Trent shares tangible tips on how to optimize and streamline the day-to-day cost of living your life. He focuses on motivation and encourages focused spending on hobbies and items that are important to you. Then gives you tips on how to cut the unimportant parts down to the bare bones or eliminate them completely. This is a personal finance book, but Trent spends a lot of time discussing some fringe items like social capital, networking, relationships and encourages personal and professional growth. However, it is a great book if you are looking for self-improvement to go along with your financial growth.
A Random Walk Down Wall Street/A Random Walk Guide to Investing by Burton Malkiel
There are two books recommended here. The first is the original written back in 1973 (updated much more recently though!) and argued against common wisdom that you need a professional investment advisor to make money in the stock market. The result of that revelation is a great basic personal finance book. It is easy to understand and written in plain English.
Ultimately, Malkiel’s advice can be stated in a few short statements:
- Eliminate debt
- Establish an emergency fund
- Begin making regular investments to a diversified portfolio of index funds
- Be patient
The simplicity of his message does not detract from its value. The second book recommended is a deeper look at the investing side of things. I would start with his original Random Walk Down Wall Street, if you enjoy it, then move on to The Random Walk down Wall Street. I would recommend the second book as a more detailed look at how to get started with investing in retirement and non-retirement accounts.
The Boglehead’s Guide to Investing by Taylor Larimore et al.
What started out as a small group chatting about their Vanguard investments on a forum on the Morningstar investment site has grown to a large group sharing ideas and information on their own website. The best of that information and recommendations are shared in this book. This is an excellent book for someone getting started with investing both inside and outside of their retirement accounts. There is a ton of information here, and some of it may seem more complex than needed. When you read it, focus on their basic information about investment products, risk comfort levels, and spending habits. Just a word of caution, this book is a few years old, but the basic information will last through the ages.
I hope you find some use in the books on this list. I included links to the books on Amazon, but I would recommend looking for them at your local library or picking up a used copy at a used bookstore. What is even better than using these books to get rich? Saving money on buying the books in the first place!
What do you think are the ten best personal finance books for beginners? Have you read any of the books I listed? I would love to hear from you in the comments below or our post on Instagram!
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