Comments on: This Is the Right Personal Finance Book for You!

By: Lynn

Lynn — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 12:45:21 +0000

This is a great list. My favorites have been the Tightwad Gazette and The Millionaire Next Door. I’d add to the list The Ten Differences Between Millionaires and the Middle Class, just for the philosophy it takes toward asking empowering questions about one’s life situation.

By: Fisher Outreach

Fisher Outreach — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 07:30:40 +0000

Interesting book review. I’m with Fisher Investments, and another must-read investment book is by Philip Fisher’s son, Ken Fisher, called The Only Three Questions that Count. In it, Ken outlines the important questions investors should be asking themselves prior to investing in the market. It was well received by both independent investors and people in the financial services trade.

By: RRPF

RRPF — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 23:07:52 +0000

I have to say that while I loved YMOYL the one book that really lit my fire was All Your Worth. The 50/30/20 ratios of after-tax income flat out work. For my friends who just want to try to get their finances under control, it’s the first book i recommend THEN i recommend YMOYL.

By: Sarah G

Sarah G — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 20:16:46 +0000

Loved this post. I checked out from the library Smart and Simple Financial Strategies and found the first four chapters really clicked for me – this was exactly what I needed – get things in place and then let them be. Thanks for the rec! I am still waiting on Tightwad Gazette and TMMO from the library as well.

By: Until Debt Do Us Part

Until Debt Do Us Part — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:31:48 +0000

For me Your Money or Your Life is a great personal finance book. I like the whole emphasis that is placed on doing the work/career that you want. Its not all about the pure facts and figures of how to manage your finances – it covers a lot of the “soft” stuff.

I agree with Shevy’s comments that a lot of personal finance books make the misplaced assumptions that you can earn somewhere between 10 – 12% a year. If you can tell me where I can get that rate of return then please do! :-)

Best of luck

Mike

By: Touched by an Angel

Touched by an Angel — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 04:09:50 +0000

My interest in personal finance started about a year ago. The book I bought, and recommend, is The Wall Street Journal’s Complete Personal Finance Guidebook. It explained the basics about things I didn’t fully understand (savings accounts versus money market accounts versus money market funds versus mutual funds).

By: Uncommonadvice

Uncommonadvice — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:58:00 +0000

With all Financial books the true worth is in making you sit up and take action.

My personal favourite has got to be “The Richest Man in Babylon”

By: Chris

Chris — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 04:35:22 +0000

I second Janzer’s comments regarding PF for Dummies… as I’ve noted previously here, I think it’s one of the best PF books out there… Ramsey may have given me motivation & a concrete plan, but Tyson laid a solid foundation.

By: Jenzer

Jenzer — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:44:55 +0000

Back in the mid 1990’s, when I was fresh out of college and dealing with a pile of expenses I’d never managed myself (like health insurance and car payments), Eric Tyson’s book -Personal Finance for Dummies- came to my rescue. He covered all the PF basics in bite-sized pieces (spending less than you earn, how insurance policies work, building a cash emergency fund, etc.) AND he explained a lot of terminology I didn’t understand. It was tough to shop wisely for health insurance when I didn’t know the difference between a premium and a deductible.

That’s my big complaint with a lot of “basic” personal finance books: they assume you already have a lot of knowledge that you may not have. Andrew Tobias’s best-known book comes to mind. If you don’t have a basic understanding of what a stock or bond is, then his book definitely *won’t* be The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need.

By: Darla - UltraBeautyBoutique

Darla - UltraBeautyBoutique — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:13:58 +0000

My journey of saving money started with Your Money or Your Life. LOVE that book.

By: Susan

Susan — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:49:24 +0000

I’ve noticed the best personal finance book tends to be the first one you read. Perhaps it has to do with attitude, as soon as you are ready to change financial habits, you grab the book that fits your life best at the time (one on debt, for women, for college grads, etc.). After that, like you said, all of the advice tends to be the same.

By: Susan

Susan — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:49:01 +0000

I’ve tended to notice the best personal finance book tends to be the first one you read. Perhaps it has to do with attitude, as soon as you are ready to change financial habits, you grab the book that fits your life best at the time (one on debt, for women, for college grads, etc.). After that, like you said, all of the advice tends to be the same.

By: Ro

Ro — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:27:35 +0000

Intersting post! I havae tried to get through YMOYL several times, both with the current edition and with a past one, but it doesn’t speak to me that much for whatever reason. TMMO has been very helpful and The Tightwad Gazette is the one that started me into the mindset of living a more frugal life many years ago. I just finished reading You’re Broke Because You Want To Be a few days ago and am considering adding it to my personal library. I’m definitely not the type you described as the target audience but for it but I loved it for some reason.

I enjoy your reviews quite a bit and have checked out many books after reading your thoughts on them. Keep up the great work!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:12:41 +0000

How to Invest $50-$5,000 by Nancy Dunnan. If you’re wondering how to go from being a saver to being an investor, this book will tell you how to do it. Make sure you get the most recent copy, as the author keeps updating in order to tell you about all the new ways available online as well. This book is a step-by-step guide on how to start getting interest when you’re stymied by minimum investment requirements.

PS: I wasn’t sure if this book had been reviewed or not, and didn’t want to look through all 344 “Book” posts to find out. I think you should break down that category beyond a few specific books and top 10 lists, Trent, in order to make it easier to find things that aren’t your personal favorite.

By: Mark Nelson

Mark Nelson — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:51:04 +0000

There are a ton of good financial books out there. They key is to read them. Or how do you get people to follow the ideas and strategies?

People need help with finances and we need to start teaching basic principles in school.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:54:52 +0000

Trent,

Are you into the voluntary simplicity movement? I’ve been looking at how to get more involved, and seem to be doing a lot of similar things that you do.

By: Kelli

Kelli — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:18:46 +0000

I agree with Chris – different books have been right for me at different times. First, it was YMOYL, because it shifted my thinking about money and *stuff*. Now, it’s TMMO because I am sick of the debt hovering around and it gave me, as one other poster said, the kick in the pants to take a different kind of action. Whereas in YMOYL they advise you to be really cognizant of whether x job is worth your life energy, in TMMO he basically says “Do what it takes!” to get rid of debt. I’m in the process of reconciling those kinds of discrepancies now to find the best answer for me.

By: reulte

reulte — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 09:21:58 +0000

Bill (#15) and Jess (#22) — TMMO isn’t just for Christians as you say, but if I hadn’t known of its very Christian bias before I started reading it, I probably would have flung it against the wall before page 30 and tossed. Having said that, I WAS aware of the bias, I did read it and I agree that it is an excellent book.

My personal favorites are Your Money or Your Life, The Millionnaire Next Door and The Complete Tightwad Gazette (compilation of TG 1, 2 and 3). I can’t wait to read The 1st National Bank of Dad.

By: Jess

Jess — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 06:59:49 +0000

I’m with Bill, the TMMO isn’t just for Christians, but it’s for people who like to have logical steps to follow, who need a kick in the pants to get moving and want to get fired up and wired about to go out and KILL their debt, SAVE up an emergency fund and LIVE their lives.

TMMO inspired me to cut out my overdraft protection (which I was using every week) and really get gazelle intense about KILLING my debt. I’m almost there too!

By: Shevy

Shevy — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 05:19:54 +0000

You said: Start Late, Finish Rich This book is for you if you’re nearing retirement age and you’ve suddenly had a huge epiphany that you’re not ready for it.

Except that I`m really not a fan of Bach`s. And it doesn`t deal with my situation of being close to retirement with a 5 year old, but then I don`t think there`s a book written that deals with that. But really, the idea that I can just stop going to Starbucks and therefore I`ll be able to put away $10 per day and then I`ll be fine is pretty ridiculous.

I ran some numbers today, trying to see what I`d end up with if I put the maximum 18% into my RRSP every year. I am allowed to put a little less than the $300 he`s talking about away for the next 15 years but if I`m only getting about 3% (which is about what I`ve been getting in GICs), I`m only going to have just a hair under $62,000. Somehow I don`t think that, combined with what I`ve already saved and a $100 per month annuity from a former employer is really going to cut it (especially since my family members seem to either die quite young or keep going strong until their late 90`s). What if I end up having 30 years after retirement and only have 3 years worth of retirement savings. (Sorry, my keyboard is acting up and the question mark and apostrophe are not working, arrrgh.) Or I could try to live out those 30 years with only $230 or so per month over my Canada Pension. Better hope CPP stays solvent!

Really, my big complaint is authors who prove their point by assuming you can make 10 or 12% per annum on your investments. Then you hit a period of time like now where people are having negative growth in their mutual funds or on stocks, never mind earning 10% and secure investments are earning under 5%. If you have 30 years to retirement, no problem, but if you turn 65 soon you could be in a major mess.