24 of the Best Personal Finance Books

Personal finance books can be a source of inspiration and guidance. They can help you improve your financial literacy and your life.

If you’re looking for a good read that can impact how you make, save and grow your money, pick up one of these popular personal finance books.

24 of the Best Personal Finance Books

Add these helpful personal finance books to your “to read” list.

1. “The Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey

“The Total Money Makeover” breaks down how to transform your money habits, pay off debt and build up a nest egg for the future.

The most recent iteration of this classic, long regarded as one of the best personal finance books, is a workbook edition for you to apply the teachings to your own financial situation.

2. “Your Money or Your Life” by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez

This personal finance book, which was originally published in 1992 but updated in 2018, is an inspiration for many in the FIRE (financially independent/retire early) community.

Check out “Your Money or Your Life” for a nine-step process to change your relationship with money and perhaps help you reach financial freedom sooner than you thought.

3. “The Millionaire Next Door” by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko

This popular book spills the secrets of how to accumulate wealth in America — which has a lot to do with managing money, not just how much you make.

Read “The Millionaire Next Door” for advice on how to upgrade your net worth.

4. “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki

Kiyosaki shares the lessons he learned from his father and his best friend’s dad in “Rich Dad Poor Dad.”

This personal finance book gives guidance on what you should be teaching your children about money and investing so you can create generational wealth.

5. “The Automatic Millionaire” by David Bach

If you’re looking for a plan for improving your finances that doesn’t involve a bunch of different steps, “The Automatic Millionaire” book promises a one-step solution to becoming rich.

Updated in 2016, Bach explains how seemingly average American families can acquire wealth without even making a budget.

6. “The Richest Man in Babylon” by George Samuel Clason

This 1926 classic financial book uses parables set in ancient Babylon to teach readers how to gain financial prosperity.

“The Richest Man in Babylon” shares many personal financial management gems, such as paying yourself first, controlling your expenses and diversifying your portfolio.

7. “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill

In “Think and Grow Rich,” Hill taps into stories of late 19th century millionaires to lay out how to achieve financial success. Originally published in 1937, this perennial best-selling personal finance book was recently republished in 2020.

8. “Your Playbook for Tough Times” by Donna Freedman

Your personal finance journey may be wrought with highs and lows.

“Your Playbook for Tough Times” helps those struggling financially by offering advice and encouragement to make it through hardship. Learn how to reduce expenses, find temporary assistance and even eke out some savings while navigating difficult times.

9. “The Complete Tightwad Gazette” by Amy Dacyczyn

Do you aim to reduce your spending?

Dacyczyn’s “The Complete Tightwad Gazette” promotes frugal living. This book is compiled from advice from her 1990s newsletter and shares penny-pinching solutions to getting by on a slim budget.

10. “I Will Teach You to Be Rich” by Ramit Sethi

Level up your financial life with this book, which aims to show you the pathway to wealth. “I Will Teach You to Be Rich” first came out in 2009 but an updated version was released in 2019.

This book shares how to get out of debt, automate your finances and save money while still being able to afford what’s important to you. Sethi also runs a website by the same name.

11. “Get Good With Money” by Tiffany Aliche

Aliche is known across the internet by her moniker “The Budgetnista,” but her book “Get Good With Money” is about more than just budgeting.

This book breaks down 10 steps to becoming financially whole, and includes topics such as improving your credit score, increasing your income and getting the right type of insurance.

12. “Napkin Finance” by Tina Hay

If you’re a visual learner who takes in information best when it’s presented as pictures or infographics, check out “Napkin Finance.”

This book offers bite-sized lessons on a variety of topics, including credit scores, investing, taxes and cryptocurrency. Each topic is explained via an illustration drawn out on what looks like the back of a napkin.

13. “You Are a Badass at Making Money” by Jen Sincero

You can only decrease your spending so much. If you’ve whittled down your budget and are still living paycheck to paycheck, your problem is probably due to not bringing in enough income.

Following up on Sincero’s inspirational bestseller, “You Are a Badass,” “You Are a Badass at Making Money”  focuses on how to dump limiting beliefs about wealth building and create an influx of income.

14. “The Psychology of Money” by Morgan Housel

Mastering money is more than just a numbers game. Your emotions, mindsets and habits have a big influence over your financial life. It requires having the right mindset about money.

In “The Psychology of Money,” Housel shines a light on the way people think about money.

15. “Why Didn’t They Teach Me This in School?” by Cary Siegel

Many of us struggle with personal finance matters because we never received any formal education on the topic.

If you can relate, check out “Why Didn’t They Teach Me This in School?” Siegel covers 99 money principles everyone should know.

16. “Broke Millennial Talks Money” by Erin Lowry

Our relationship with others tends to affect our finances — whether that’s shelling out hundreds to be a bridesmaid for your best friend or financially supporting your parents in their old age.

“Broke Millennial Talks Money” aims to help people navigate the sometimes awkward money conversations you’ll have with people in your life. The book is broken up into four parts: talking about money at work, talking about money with friends, talking about money with family and talking about money with your romantic partner.

17. “The One-Page Financial Plan” by Carl Richards

Transforming your financial life doesn’t have to be complicated. Learn to simplify your approach with “The One-Page Financial Plan.”

Richards, a Certified Financial Planner and New York Times columnist, shows you how to reduce the complexity of  financial topics and create a simple financial plan that focuses on your priorities.

18. “Everyday Millionaires” by Chris Hogan

Ever wonder how millionaires built their wealth?

In “Everyday Millionaires,” Hogan shares lessons gleaned from a study of 10,000 millionaires. This book will help you create a blueprint for increasing your net worth.

19. “Stacked: Your Super Serious Guide to Modern Money Management” by Joe Saul-Sehy and Emily Guy Birken

Don’t be fooled by the name of this book. This “super serious guide” is full of humor and relatability while teaching you how to budget, invest and figure out insurance.

Fans of the Stacking Benjamins podcast will enjoy “Stacked” as it’s co-authored by one of the podcast’s hosts.

20. “Happy Money” by Ken Honda

Money is often a source of stress for many people, but it doesn’t have to be.

“Happy Money” takes a Japanese perspective to teach people to find peace in their financial lives.

21. “Get a Financial Life” by Beth Kobliner

This book is geared for folks in their 20s and 30s struggling to get a grip on all the money-related stressors thrown at them.

“Get a Financial Life” covers topics like managing student loans, paying off credit card debt, buying your first home and much more. This book was first published in 1996, but its updated fourth edition was released in 2017.

22. “My Money My Way” by Kumiko Love

Personal finance is, well, personal. That means there’s no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all solution to managing money.

In “My Money My Way,” Love (an Accredited Financial Counselor who is also known as The Budget Mom) helps people reach financial fulfillment by addressing their emotions around spending, and adjusting money mindsets that are holding them back.

Here’s what Love shared with The Penny Hoarder about the path to reaching financial fulfillment.

23. “Financial Freedom” by Grant Sabatier

Sabatier, creator of Millennial Money, illuminates the path to financial independence in his book “Financial Freedom.”

Having reached financial independence by age 30, Sabatier tells others how to determine how much money they need to quit their 9 to 5 and how to invest and build the habits required to reach that goal.

24. “Work Optional” by Tanja Hester

If you’re discouraged over the thought of working for decades to reach retirement, check out “Work Optional.”

Hester focuses on how to retire early without having to pinch pennies — even if you don’t live in a dual-income, no kids household.

Nicole Dow is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.

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