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Before going over the list, I think it’s important to define what can be classified as a personal finance book.
I have noticed that other bloggers who have published their own list include books that I would classify more as an investing book or self-help books related to wealth building.
For me a personal finance book goes over wealth-building principles, buying habits, investment planning and budgeting, tactics for getting rid of your debts, and financial independence or retirement.
You will see that some concepts are covered by all the authors because obviously if something works why change it?
But they can all provide you with a few things that take your understanding further.
This book explains good personal finance practices in the form of stories. The fact that it is as such makes the teaching much more enjoyable.
Sometimes some books on personal finance are written in a moralizing tone and I think that doesn’t help people buy into the principles.
Even though the book was written in the 1920s, its principles still apply today.
The book begins with the story of Bansir, a chariot builder who questions himself and his friend Kobbi about why they are not succeeding financially.
At some point, Bansir says to Kobbi “We have been satisfied to work long hours and spend our earnings freely. We have earned many coins in the years that have passed, yet to know the joys that come from wealth, we must dream about them”
Everyone who wants to take charge of their finances has to go over the same thought process. Why aren’t you wealthy if you have the same education and working as hard as the others?
After going over that thought process Bansir and Kobbi decide to seek help from their friend, Arkad, the richest man in Babylon.
That’s how they will finally learn about the principles of handling money.
This book can’t be qualified only as a personal finance book as it is not the only subject that is covered.
You learn also about investing, business development, and much more.
This book goes over the results of a survey done on 733 millionaires having a net worth of 1$ million or more.
How the author classifies millionaires? He says that there are the “wannabes” that he calls Income Statement Affluent. Those who have big incomes, big homes, big debt but little net worth.
On the other hand, there is the Balanced Sheet Affluent who focuses on accumulating wealth. If you want to be successful financially you have to follow their habits.
In this book you learn the different factors that made them rich, here is the list:
- Success factors, some questions that will be discussed are “What are their personality traits”
- School days, some questions that will be discussed are “how they were performing” and “what they learned”
- The Relationship between Courage and Wealth
- Vocation, Vocation, Vocation, some questions that will be discussed are “what they do for a living” and “how their choice was made”
- Choice of Spouse, some questions that will be discussed are “how much influence did their significant other have on their success” and “what are their personality traits”
- The Economically Productive Household, some questions that will be discussed are “where do they shop” and “what they think about DIY”
- Home, some questions that will be discussed are “what is their buying process” and “do they build or buy”
- Lifestyle, some questions that will be discussed are “what activities do they practice” and “what is their interests”
This is another book written by Thomas J. Stanley. The Millionaire Mind was published in 2001 and The Millionaire Next Door in 2010.
You’re probably wondering what’s the difference between the two, well the difference is that it covers aspects of the millionaire’s lifestyle that weren’t covered in the first book.
One of the things that caught my attention was the formula provided which helps you determine if your wealthy compared to other people your age. It tells you what should be your net worth.
Also, their buying habits for their car. Are they more inclined to buy new or used, from the dealership or from an individual?
You are probably curious about why this book is called “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”.
Well, it’s because the author grew up by receiving advice from a mentor who was rich and his biological father who was a teacher.
His real father struggled financially.
To be more precise, his mentor was the dad of his best friend Mike.
The book is written like a biography.
It tells us about 6 main lessons he learned from his mentor throughout his childhood.
The story starts when Robert asks his poor dad about how to be rich.
He raised the question because his friends at school didn’t invite him to a gateway to a beach house because he was poor.
His unskilled biological father told him he should seek advice from his best friend’s father.
The biological father was informed by his banker that Rich Dad was very good at it.
And that’s how his rise to wealth will begin.
The Millionaire teacher
The book is called the Millionaire teacher because the author is an English teacher. He learned about good financial practices as he was moving forward in life.
What I really like about him is that he cites all of his sources at the end of each chapter. Yes, I know, it’s no surprise since it’s coming from a teacher.
An important fact that contributed to his financial success is that he started saving at the age of 19. At that age, I was more interested in hanging out with my friends, money was not one of my concerns.
I was not sure if I should have included this book in the list because this book is primarily about investing in the stock market. The reason I kept it is that there is at least one chapter on personal finance.
In that chapter, he covers his buying method for cars and talks about wealth principles.
This book is written by Dave Ramsey. I didn’t know him until I started my blog.
I saw that there were a lot of bloggers talking about his advice and I got curious so I bought his book.
After reading it I can honestly say that it’s a practical book. Personally, I believe this book is primarily aimed at people who are suffering financially.
His steps take you from the bottom where you are to the top.
Moreover, a peculiarity about him is that he hates debt. I would even say he has a disgust.
For him this is something you should avoid, he can’t even imagine using it as a tool to make money.
This is another book which like The Total Money Makeover has a step by step process of getting rich.
The author is an immigrant, so his outlook on personal finance is distinctive compared to the other authors.
I really liked it because I can relate.
I think that over the years he will gain more and more notoriety in the eye of millennials because he advocates automating your finances.
I think in the era of technology his take on personal finance is a nice fit.
Other than being a 9 step process to getting rich, this personal finance book aims to review our relationship with money.
I find that we are at a time where we ask ourselves more and more questions about our consumption and the impact on the environment.
This makes the book very relevant to our time.
The edition I read was published in 2008, so it was visionary as our awareness has only really grown in the last few years.
According to the authors if you want to reach financial independence, first you have to go over Financial Intelligence and Financial Integrity.
In her own way, Erin Lowry also starts by making us self-conscious about our spending habits.
According to her if you want to reach your objectives, you have to start by identifying what’s holding you back.
What I particularly like about her book is that she doesn’t have a one size fits all plan but more of a pick what fits for you.
In addition, to save you time, it begins with a questionnaire to identify the chapters that will be the most valuable according to your level of knowledge.
Have you read any of those personal finance books? Let me know what you thought of it in the comments below!