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In this post, you will find my list of the best personal finance books of all time. These books will help you investing, build wealth, and increase your net worth.
There are lots of ways to get rich, including working from home and by selling textbooks. You could also complete surveys for cash. Of course, it will take a lot of time to get rich doing these things, but long-term dedication pays off.
However, most of these books focus on investing strategies and pursuing financial independence. Let’s take a look at some of the best personal finance books of all time.
There are thousands of personal finance books out there. Sure, not as many as there are blog posts on investing, but still. There are a lot of them.
So how do you decide which ones are the best ones to read? In this post, we’ll go through a list of the best personal finance books so you’ll have an easy-to-reference list.
Best Personal Finance Books of All Time
To help answer that question, I’ve put together a list of the top investing books. Adding these books to your collection is sure to set you up for financial success.
Some of these books are a bit more technical and some of them are more philosophical. It’s important to have the complete picture. This allows you to both understand how to “run the numbers” as well as to be in the right mindset to do so.
I hope you enjoy and let me know what your favorites are!
Your Money or Your Life
Your Money or Your Life is somewhat of a foundational investing book. This is easily one of the best personal finance books of all time. The author, Vicki Robin, published it all the way back in 1992.
Yet it is is still around; this book has stood the test of time.
Robin’s concept of “making a dying” is perhaps what makes this book so powerful. We all like to say we “make a living” – but what if it’s the opposite?
Despite “money” being the second words in its title, the book poses more of a philosophical question than one of pure numbers.
Do you want to work for someone else forever? Or do you want to take control of your life?
I highly recommend reading this book to find out how you can do just that.
Order your copy on Amazon.
The Simple Path to Wealth
Unlike Vicki Robin’s book, The Simple Path to Wealth really gets into the nitty-gritty numbers. JL Collins wrote it to lay out a simple, no-nonsense investing strategy that anyone can follow.
Sure, it may be possible to see slightly better results with a more complicated strategy. But with Collins’s approach, you set yourself up for success with little effort.
This book is definitely one of the best personal finance books of all time. When it comes to investing, I was lost before I found this book. However, JL’s simple approach has allowed me to start investing and grow my net worth.
Be sure to check this one out as it is easily one of the best personal finance books of all time.
Order your copy on Amazon.
The Total Money Makeover
Many people in the personal finance community criticize Dave Ramsey. Some call him out of touch or privileged. In spite of this, his book, The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness contains some great advice.
This is the pivotal book in Dave Ramsey’s arsenal. It contains his 7 baby steps plan.
A lot of the bylines around personal finance sound grim nowadays. But the truth is that they don’t have to be. I’m confident that even lower-income people can avoid financial disaster with Dave’s steps.
Total Money Makeover is a great personal finance book for beginners. It helps set the groundwork for financial success. It also has some of the best Dave Ramsey tips all in one place.
No doubt, this is one of the best personal finance books of all time.
Order your copy on Amazon.
Financial Freedom
It might seem bold to put a book that was only released a few months ago on this list. However, Grant Sabatier’s Financial Freedom: A Proven Path to All the Money You Will Ever Need is thoroughly deserving of a place here.
I’ve mentioned Grant’s book several times in the past. And with good reason. The things he has been able to do have been nothing short of remarkable.
He went from having $2.26 in his bank account to being a millionaire in just five years. At the start of his journey, he had lost his job and quite was – quite literally – almost penniless.
But through (extremely) hard work, creativity, and determination, Grant managed to pull himself out of financial ruin. He’s now doing extremely well and has been featured on the many of the big news outlets.
In Financial Freedom, Grant walks you through everything he did to reach a 7-figure net worth in a hurry. You don’t want to miss this one!
Order your copy on Amazon.
I Will Teach You to Be Rich, Second Edition
This book is worthy of a place on the list because of its no-nonsense approach to finances. Not only that but as the name implies, I Will Teach You to Be Rich, Second Edition is a refresh on an old classic.
While this second edition was released in 2019, the book was originally released in 2009.
Ramit Sethi’s book is similar to Dave Ramsey’s in that it gives you a step-by-step approach. However, this book takes it a step further.
It’s not just for beginners who want to gain a foundational understanding of personal finance. This is without a doubt one of the best personal finance books of all time.
I was also able to meet Ramit at FinCon this year, which was really cool:
Ramit’s book gets into the weeds in terms of exactly what you should be doing with your credit cards, investments, and everything needed for financial success.
Order your copy on Amazon.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad
Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad is another personal finance who has come under fire. Much live Dave Ramsey, though, his reputation doesn’t change the value of his book.
I personally like the approach in this book because it focuses on mindset. In addition, it challenges many of the established norms of finance. For example, Kiyosaki asserts that your house is not an asset.
Some of his advice may be unconventional, but this book is sure to get you thinking differently. And sometimes, that is exactly what we need.
Order your copy on Amazon.
Secrets of Six-Figure Women
While I don’t often focus on women’s personal finance, Secrets of Six-Figure Women is undoubtedly worth a mention.
Like it or not (well, I hope you do!), women are earning more these days. While there are certainly still disparities in income and other workplace dynamics, things are changing.
If you’re a female reader, there’s a good chance you would love to join the likes of other six-figure women. This book will break down exactly how to do just that!
And these women are not just in one industry. They are all over spectrum, but what they do have in common are certain characteristics. Do you have what it takes?
Make sure you read this book as it is one of the best personal finance books of all time.
Order your copy on Amazon.
Stack Your Savings
Stack Your Savings is a book by S.J. Scott and it’s a bit of a hybrid of some of the others. It will hit you with facts about personal finance and help you change your money mindset.
It will also tell you about the seven pills of money-saving habits. These are not necessarily sequential like those of Dave Ramsey.
Nevertheless, these habits are sure to help you get your finances in order!
Order your copy on Amazon.
Passive Income Freedom
Passive Income Freedom by Gundi Gabrielle is another important book when it comes to mastering your finances. In fact, creating passive income streams is key to achieving financial independence.
Although the color scheme of this book cover may make it seem women-focused, the reality is that anyone can find value in it. And just like I mentioned, this personal finance book focuses has a financial independence theme.
Creating passive income is one of the principles at the core of investing. That makes this one of the best personal finance books of all time. So if you’re ready to escape the rat race and take control of your finances, be sure to check this one out!
Order your copy on Amazon.
How to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck
Next up on this list of personal finance books is How to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck by Avery Breyer. And that is no coincidence. You may have heard the stats that keep cropping up about how Americans can’t cover a $400 emergency. 40% of us, apparently.
If you aren’t able to cover a $400 emergency, that is the very definition of living paycheck-to-paycheck. It’s mind-boggling to think 40% of Americans are in this position.
By no means do I fault anyone for being there, though. There are a lot of things I could say about this, but the truth is that most of these people are probably not at fault.
That’s why a book like this is so crucial right now. If you are living paycheck-to-paycheck, this is the personal finance book for you!
Order your copy on Amazon.
The Millionaire Next Door
>Rounding out the list of the best personal finance books of all time is The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy. This book by Thomas J. Stanley is beloved by many in the personal finance community
The premise behind this book is a simple, yet powerful one: being wealthy doesn’t necessarily mean looking wealthy. In fact, the constant need to look wealthy is precisely what holds so many of us back. This book is the anti-keeping up with the Joneses.
But looks can be deceiving. That next-door neighbor with the ten year-old (paid off) car and outdated (ugh!) kitchen could secretly be a millionaire. That’s because they used their money to invest rather than constantly keeping up an appearance.
Don’t judge a book by its cover! Ba-dum tsh.
Order your copy on Amazon.
What Are Your Best Personal Finance Books of All Time?
I hope you’ve enjoyed this list and I think you will find these books very helpful. Let me know what you think, and let me know if I missed any must-read books!
Related:
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“The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need” by Andrew Tobias. I am a millionaire today thanks to Andrew mostly and The Wealthy Barber.
Excellent. I”ll have to check it out. And congrats on being a millionaire!
How about the Weathly Gardener or my favorite Richest Man in Babylon.
I’ll have to check those out!
Great list. the relatively new book by Tony Robbins (Money: Master the Game) is a comprehensive (if lengthy) distillation on a lot of personal finance elements. A lot of people have fun criticizing Dave Ramsey but I’ve found his wisdom to be helpful more often than not (even if I think an emergency fund needs to be bigger than $1000). Glad to see Grant Sabatier here too.
Bigger than $1,000 for sure. Of course, it depends on your expenses, but six months is the minimum you should have covered. And I think that’s more than $1,000 for most of us.
I have 6 of these 10 yay me! Also, all great books. My problem is that I know the formula but I’m not consistent implementing it. Still looking for my own fool-proof way to outsmart myself and make me save that money!!! Also, love your posts!
6 out of 10 is pretty good! And thank you! 😀
I love that you did a book list! If you ever think of finance with international books, hit me up for TUL. I’d be glad to have you as a guest; this topic would be something that I could never write about….for now… and would be cool to have.
As a former librarian, I did hear about all of the Ramsey controversy as well as Robert Kiyosaki. I am glad that you pointed out both the problems but the value of their books.
I just got an ARC for Don’t Quit Your Day Job–and I heard her advice applies to bloggers and finances–hoping this adds some value to my new LLC.
Great list!
Finance with international books is interesting! I’ll have to think about that – not sure what those would look like. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Bob, great list! So far I’ve read Rich Dad, Poor Dad which was definitely huge for shifting my perspective on finance and having a job etc. I’m adding Secrets of Six-Figure Women to my wishlist, this sounds like a good read. Thanks for introducing me to it. Can you choose a clear favourite from the list?
Hey Tamika – it’s tough to pick just one favorite because the books can serve different purposes. For simple investing strategy I like The Simple Path to Wealth. For overall life strategy/mindset, my faves are Your Money or Your Life and Financial Freedom. Thanks for stopping by!
You are definitely missing Work Optional on this list 🙂
Maybe true. I haven’t read it yet but I know y’all have been raving. I guess I’ll have to check it out!
Rich Dad, Poor Dad is my favourite!
Every month I listen to the book in audio. And it’s free on Amazon!
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