Favorite Personal Finance Books

JF. · 04-03-2009, 05:16 PM

What is your favorite personal finance book?

I don't have a favorite right now since most of the books I've read are more business books (4-Hour Workweek).

One personal finance book I've read was Rich by Thirty: A Young Adult's Guide to Financial Success by Lesley Scorgie. Didn't like it. Didn't learn anything. It's all very very basic principles.

So I'm looking for suggestions on what to read.

CanadianCapitalist · 04-03-2009, 07:56 PM

I've read pretty much every personal finance book out there and I agree with your opinion on Rich by Thirty. I wrote about my favourite books sometime back on the blog. If there is one more book I could add to the list, it would be The Richest Man in Babylon. My favourites remain The Wealthy Barber and The Millionaire Next Door.

My Top Ten Money Books

mrcheap · 04-03-2009, 08:26 PM

The Wealthy Barber is the book I recommend to friends who are trying to learn more about personal finance.

fifi · 04-03-2009, 08:34 PM

Your Money or Your Life, no question. Makes you think about what's really important in life. I think a nice consecutive read would be that book, and then The Millionaire Next Door, an interesting read about who the rich really are.

Good post, makes me want to re-read some oldies!

fifi

Northern Engineer · 04-04-2009, 09:19 AM

I second (or third or wherever we are) The Wealthy Barber, and I really like The Richest Man in Babylon, too. I liked several bits of The Total Money Make-Over by Dave Ramsey, though I thought his ideas were a bit more strict than was necessary. He made some good points, and I considered most or all of them before rejecting some.

I imagine this will be an unpopular one, but Rich Dad, Poor Dad was the first finance book I ever read, and while it wasn't really informative, it was accessible to someone with no idea where to start, and it is what inspired me to read more and set the goals I'm aiming for now.

Financial Highway · 04-04-2009, 09:37 AM

I also liked Dave Bach's "Automatic Millionaire" specially for those just starting, I thought it was very simple and straight forward.

The_Number · 04-04-2009, 11:04 AM

My very first one was "When I grow up I'm going to be a millionaire" by Ted and Lora Lea (out of print now). I also read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" when I first started, and I liked their persuasive redefinitions of "asset" as "something that brings in money" and "liability" as "something that takes money out."

But my favorite so far has to be "The Two Income Trap" by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Tyagi. I like personal financing books that are grounded in empirical research and show a lot of data meaningfully to make a point.

I don't know if anyone else is bothered by this, but I found many of the personal financing book writers to be terrible writers, and I could not stand their writing even though they had some good points (Patronizing and condescending tones particularly annoy me.) Some examples are "The Good Debt, Bad Debt" by Jon Hanson (I like his concept of "burn rate"), "Your Money or Your Life" by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez (I like their concept of calculating money in terms of time), and "Automatic Millionaire" by David Bach.

flayto · 04-04-2009, 08:52 PM

Not really a personal finance book, but I recently read "After the Crash" by Garth Turner. It's more of a commentary on the current state of the economy from a Canadian perspective and how to prepare for the worst possible scenario if the real estate market and the banks go the way of the U.S. markets. It's kind of doom and gloom, but there's some good, practical information on protecting your money if things get really bad.

Another one I just read and liked was "The Motley Fool Million Dollar Portfolio" by David and Tom Gardner. Good information on buying quality stocks and building a portfolio using Index ETF's.

Four Pillars · 04-04-2009, 09:34 PM

I really liked "Smoke and Mirrors" - it was the first book I read of that type which is probably why it made the biggest impression.

MoneyEnergy · 04-04-2009, 09:37 PM

...even though I know so many people have a problem with Robert Kiyosaki. I was young when I first picked them up and they were great inspiration. And in fact they do go into some great detail. If you want big picture, conceptual help, this is the way to go.

Cashflow Quadrant, by Robert Kiyosaki

04-03-2009, 05:16 PM	#1
JF. Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Montreal Posts: 4	Favorite Personal Finance Books What is your favorite personal finance book? I don't have a favorite right now since most of the books I've read are more business books (4-Hour Workweek). One personal finance book I've read was Rich by Thirty: A Young Adult's Guide to Financial Success by Lesley Scorgie. Didn't like it. Didn't learn anything. It's all very very basic principles. So I'm looking for suggestions on what to read.

04-03-2009, 07:56 PM	#2
CanadianCapitalist Administrator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ottawa, Ontario Posts: 886	I've read pretty much every personal finance book out there and I agree with your opinion on Rich by Thirty. I wrote about my favourite books sometime back on the blog. If there is one more book I could add to the list, it would be The Richest Man in Babylon. My favourites remain The Wealthy Barber and The Millionaire Next Door. My Top Ten Money Books __________________ Canadian Capitalist -- A Canadian Personal Finance Blog

04-04-2009, 11:04 AM	#7
The_Number Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 82	My very first one was "When I grow up I'm going to be a millionaire" by Ted and Lora Lea (out of print now). I also read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" when I first started, and I liked their persuasive redefinitions of "asset" as "something that brings in money" and "liability" as "something that takes money out." But my favorite so far has to be "The Two Income Trap" by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Tyagi. I like personal financing books that are grounded in empirical research and show a lot of data meaningfully to make a point. I don't know if anyone else is bothered by this, but I found many of the personal financing book writers to be terrible writers, and I could not stand their writing even though they had some good points (Patronizing and condescending tones particularly annoy me.) Some examples are "The Good Debt, Bad Debt" by Jon Hanson (I like his concept of "burn rate"), "Your Money or Your Life" by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez (I like their concept of calculating money in terms of time), and "Automatic Millionaire" by David Bach. Last edited by The_Number; 04-04-2009 at 11:11 AM.

04-04-2009, 09:34 PM	#9
Four Pillars Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Toronto Posts: 349	I really liked "Smoke and Mirrors" - it was the first book I read of that type which is probably why it made the biggest impression. __________________ Mike Money Smarts Blog Investing and Personal Finance

04-04-2009, 09:37 PM	#10
MoneyEnergy Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 35	Kiyosaki's books were great for me ...even though I know so many people have a problem with Robert Kiyosaki. I was young when I first picked them up and they were great inspiration. And in fact they do go into some great detail. If you want big picture, conceptual help, this is the way to go. Cashflow Quadrant, by Robert Kiyosaki __________________ MoneyEnergy - Canadian blog on DRIPs and cashflow On Twitter

04-03-2009, 08:26 PM	#3
mrcheap Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Waterloo, ON Posts: 19	The Wealthy Barber is the book I recommend to friends who are trying to learn more about personal finance.

04-03-2009, 08:34 PM	#4
fifi Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Alberta Posts: 20	Your Money or Your Life, no question. Makes you think about what's really important in life. I think a nice consecutive read would be that book, and then The Millionaire Next Door, an interesting read about who the rich really are. Good post, makes me want to re-read some oldies! fifi

04-04-2009, 09:19 AM	#5
Northern Engineer Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Northern Ontario Posts: 5	I second (or third or wherever we are) The Wealthy Barber, and I really like The Richest Man in Babylon, too. I liked several bits of The Total Money Make-Over by Dave Ramsey, though I thought his ideas were a bit more strict than was necessary. He made some good points, and I considered most or all of them before rejecting some. I imagine this will be an unpopular one, but Rich Dad, Poor Dad was the first finance book I ever read, and while it wasn't really informative, it was accessible to someone with no idea where to start, and it is what inspired me to read more and set the goals I'm aiming for now.

04-04-2009, 09:37 AM	#6
Financial Highway Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 67	I also liked Dave Bach's "Automatic Millionaire" specially for those just starting, I thought it was very simple and straight forward.

04-04-2009, 08:52 PM	#8
flayto Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Toronto, ON Posts: 19	Not really a personal finance book, but I recently read "After the Crash" by Garth Turner. It's more of a commentary on the current state of the economy from a Canadian perspective and how to prepare for the worst possible scenario if the real estate market and the banks go the way of the U.S. markets. It's kind of doom and gloom, but there's some good, practical information on protecting your money if things get really bad. Another one I just read and liked was "The Motley Fool Million Dollar Portfolio" by David and Tom Gardner. Good information on buying quality stocks and building a portfolio using Index ETF's.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode