Finance book. Just seeing those two words together can make you feel like you just took two Benadryl. But before you nod off, check out this list… because there are some finance books that can teach you interesting things to help you build strong financial habits. And—here’s the real surprise—some of them are actually interesting, even fun, to read.
Here are 8 books that we promise are worth your time.
1. The Psychology of Money, by Morgan Housel
If you’re interested in psychology and you want to figure out the why behind your spending habits, The Psychology of Money is the book for you. The author believes financial behavior isn’t based on what you know—it’s more about your natural behavior; it’s rooted in things like your personality and life experiences. That includes everything from how your family treated money when you were growing up to your own pride and ego.
This book is easy to read because it uses stories about real people, their experiences, and the different ways they think about money. It gives advice in a way that doesn’t feel lecture-y, and it even uses humor—so it’s not likely to put you to sleep right away. It’s a great starting point for anyone who wants to change their financial habits for the better.
2. How to Adult: Personal Finance for the Real World, by Jake Cousineau
Nothing says ‘adulting’ like having to be financially responsible. It’s one of the most grown-up things most of us ever have to do. It can feel like a total drag, but it doesn’t have to be. How to Adult: Personal Finance for the Real World is great at making this adulting stuff easy to understand.
You’ll learn about basics, like how taxes and insurance work, and also common money mistakes to avoid. It has everything you need to know when you’re getting a credit card, buying a car, or buying a house.
You’ll wonder how we all learned about polynomials in high school yet never got any background in useful everyday stuff like this! Which brings us to our next book…
3. Why Didn’t They Teach Me This In School? 99 Personal Money Management Principles to Live By, by Cary Siegel
That’s right—we take math, science, economics… but most of us get no education in managing our money.
This book is a little bit financial how-to, and a little bit autobiography. It’s written from the author’s perspective as he learns (usually the hard way) the lessons he writes about. That makes it relatable and easy to remember the takeaways that can help you in your own financial life.
4. Rich Dad Poor Dad, by Robert T. Kiyosaki
You may have heard of Rich Dad Poor Dad; it was written over 25 years ago and has always been one of the most popular finance books. (And it still holds up—everything in it is as relevant today as it was when it first came out.)
This book is really interesting in the way it covers finance—the two dads in the title refer to the author’s actual dad and his best friend’s dad (the ‘rich dad’), who was also like a father to him. Both of them were strong influences in defining the way he thought about money and his financial life.
He shares those perspectives here, along with some solid financial advice on investing and managing money. Oh, and some of his thoughts are pretty controversial—like arguing that a house maybe isn’t an asset—which makes it even more interesting.
5. The One-Page Financial Plan: A Simple Way to Be Smart About Your Money, by Carl Richards
Do you have a short attention span? Are you a visual learner? You’ll probably appreciate this book from New York Times Sketch Guy columnist Carl Richards.
The book itself is 226 pages, so there’s definitely more than one page involved here. But once you read it, you’ll be able to map out your financial plan on—you guessed it—one page. It includes some creative twists, like ways to make a game out of reaching your goals.
This book is unique and fun to read, and the author also treats you to some humorous sketches throughout.
6. The Barefoot Investor, by Scott Pape
No, this isn’t a book of recipes for brunch in the Hamptons… unlike the Barefoot Contessa, the shoeless author of this book is an Australian who grew up on a farm, and he probably has very little use for extravagant things like brunch.
What he does have experience with is living simply and practically. He takes a tough-love approach to finances, like recommending you shred your credit cards before you start paying off debt. (That style can be a really good fit for a lot of people!) This book is full of straightforward advice for managing your finances, and also interesting stories of people who overcame major debt and achieved financial stability.
7. Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together, by Erin Lowry
The average millennial has almost $28,000 in debt. If you’re a millennial (or even if you’re not), this book has some helpful strategies to help you get, as the title suggests, your financial life together.
The best part about this book is the very entertaining stories of millennial money misadventures—they’re relatable and hilarious, and also filled with teachable moments. Plus, it’s written in a dialect that’s familiar to millennials (for example, do you treat your money like a Tinder date or marriage material?).
8. The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy, by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko
This has been one of the most popular personal finance books since it was published in 1996. And there’s a reason—it’s fascinating. First, because who doesn’t want to know millionaires’ secrets, and second, because… their secrets will surprise you. Like the fact that the secret to their wealth, in many cases, is not having a massive income—it’s being extraordinarily frugal. Sometimes shockingly cheap, even.
Aside from frugality, the book covers six other traits that are also very common among millionaires. The main takeaway is that you don’t necessarily need to have a huge salary to amass wealth, you just need to be careful in your spending. Just how careful you’re willing to be is a very personal choice, but just about everyone will find some useful ideas for saving in this book.
And there they are—our top 8 personal finance books. We hope you find at least one that fits your style and that it helps you manage your money and build a strong financial future.
