Personal Finance Books I Love
Although my typical genres include psychological thrillers, fluffy celebrity autobiographies and cookbooks, I find myself occasionally gravitating toward self-help books centered around personal finance. I don’t blame you if personal finance is at the very bottom of your reading list, but here are some of my favorites that were easy to read and entertaining. Some of these books are solely about finance and others contain just a few chapters, but I recommend them to ease yourself into the personal finance genre*. If you would like to borrow these, you’re free to raid my bookshelf any time!
The Total Money Makeover – Dave Ramsey
Why I liked this book: I enjoy laid out instructions because I find it easier to follow steps than look at a final bigger picture. Dave Ramsey’s 7-step program is something that my family and I live by that has dramatically helped our financial health. The steps are attainable and easy to tailor to an individual’s financial situation or a family unit.
Description from www.daveramsey.com
The Total Money Makeover is Dave’s all-time bestselling book. It has helped millions of families get rid of debt and change their lives forever with its simple, practical seven-step plan. How does it work? By getting to the heart of your money problems: You.
Dave condenses his 20 years of financial teaching and counseling into 7 organized, easy-to-follow steps that will lead you out of debt and into a Total Money Makeover. Plus, you'll read over 50 real-life stories from people just like you who have followed these principles and are now winning with their money. It is a plan designed for everyone, regardless of income or age.
With The Total Money Makeover, you'll be able to:
Design a sure-fire plan for paying off ALL debt.
Recognize the 10 most dangerous money myths.
Secure a healthy emergency fund and save for retirement.
Positively change your life and your family tree!
Love Your Life, Not Theirs – Rachel Cruze
Why I liked this book: I admit, I have tried to “keep up with the Joneses” once or twice in my life and it feels overwhelming and frustrating. Throughout this book, Rachel Cruze encourages you to focus on what you have and not what you may see on the surface of someone else’s life. A large part of this book addresses social media and the impact it can have on our personal financial and mental health.
Description from www.goodreads.com
In Love Your Life, Not Theirs, Rachel Cruze shines a spotlight on the most damaging money habit we have: comparing ourselves to others. Then she unpacks seven essential money habits for living the life we really want—a life in line with our values, where we can afford the things we want to buy without being buried under debt, stress, and worry.
Retire Inspired – Chris Hogan
Why I liked this book: It might be tempting to look at what our parents have now and try to live up to those goals right at this moment. We forget to think about the fact that they were once where we are now – just starting to figure out what our financial goals should be. Chris Hogan provides useful guidelines on the retirement planning process and doesn’t just write to the ready-to-retire group. This is a good read for any life stage.
Description from www.daveramsey.com
This is your retirement wake-up call. In Retire Inspired Chris Hogan will transform the way you think about your future. Learn how to make smart decisions now to help you live your retirement dreams.
You don’t have to retire broke, stressed, and working long after you want to. Whether you’re twenty-five or fifty-five, Retire Inspired will equip you with a plan to:
Evaluate and change your current money situation
Make wise investing decisions
Set reasonable retirement expectations
Build a dream team of experts to help you succeed
Get Your Shit Together – Sarah Knight
Why I liked this book: Although this is not strictly a personal finance book, per se, it did help me with one of my financial goals a few years ago and I have continued to reference this book since. Sarah Knight provides real-life experience on how she identified her dreams and the ways she went about achieving them. If you love checking things off your to-do list like me, you’ll love this quick read.
Description from www.goodreads.com
Do you ever find yourself snowed under at the office, or even just glued to the couch, when you really want to leave on time (for once), get to the gym (at last), and finally start that fun project you're always putting off?
You've really got to Get Your Sh*t Together.
*I’m not getting paid to recommend these books, I genuinely enjoyed them and think you will too!