Comments on: Nine Reasons I Keep Reading Personal Finance Books

By: tammy

tammy — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 21:53:10 +0000

Education, no matter if it’s personal finance or cooking, keeps the brain active and engaged. I have to confess the only PF book I read again and again is Your Money or Your Life. It totally changed my outlook. I now buy copies to pass around to friends and family. Of course, I buy them at my local thrift mart for a buck!

By: Chris @ BuildMyBudget

Chris @ BuildMyBudget — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 22:10:20 +0000

It could be a strange addiction..but I agree that you never know who might have a good idea or strategy you haven’t seen before. And it keeps you fresh and up to date too.

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:50:49 +0000

I’m with Scott. There’s only so many times I can read the same advice over and over again. Although it’s worthwhile to come here for some great frugal cooking tips!

By: Oskar

Oskar — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 08:16:32 +0000

Thanks Trent for another great post.

I think it is great to read PF books & blogs not because they teach you anthing new (it’s after all basically the same…spend less than you make, pay of debt and invest wisely for passive income). However it keeps me motivated as well as puts words to my own thoughts which is very useful when explaining the way of thinking to friends and relatives.

By: Caroline

Caroline — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 20:07:09 +0000

It’s true – you get really get a good idea of something from only a few sources. I find myself reading tons of personal finance stuff, and I think it’s mainly because it keeps me motivated.

By: Kristin @ klingtocash

Kristin @ klingtocash — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 17:38:10 +0000

I get the same question from a lot of people. I’m a Certified Public Accountant and read lots of financial books. Each book gives me a new perspective and helps me help my clients. I also love the success stories and use them with my clients to show them there is a way out.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:04:36 +0000

I just love re-affirming that what I’m doing is GOOD. Being plugged into the pf blogging world helps w/ that as well, but seeing it on paper makes it even better ;)

By: Carole

Carole — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:13:19 +0000

I like to read “thrift” books although I could probably write one. I bought your book 365 TO LIVE CHEAP. I must confess I bought it used.

By: frugalscholar

frugalscholar — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:05:05 +0000

I read the same ones over and over–Your Money or Your Life, Millionaire Next Door, The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need. I think it’s because–as Amy Dacyzsyn notes (in another book I read over and over)– you need to know you’re not the only frugal one out there. At least I do.

By: guinness416

guinness416 — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 12:55:52 +0000

I’ve read a lot of them too and find that once you get past the big name personal finance books that have endured over the years so many of them are sooooo poorly written. The ones with the enormous typeface, 9-year old level english and two paragraph chapters in particular are hard to get through.

The commenter up above is right – it’s all mostly the same advice just packaged differently (and really, single female professionals aren’t airheads, they don’t need a book with the “hook” of $3000 designer bags in the content, they need one of the better general interest books or blogs).

By: Ken

Ken — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 12:07:29 +0000

Hats off to you for being able to block off time for reading so much AND writing a great blog as well. I wish I could read just 1 a month. Thanks for delivering good information.

By: Matt @ Ratoinal Imperative

Matt @ Ratoinal Imperative — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 04:44:53 +0000

Trent, I’ve been reading your blog for a while now and appreciate the time and effort you put into your posts. It is great to see someone look at finance rationally, as so many seem to spend emotionally rather than think their actions through.

Keep up the great work!

By: KC

KC — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 01:43:25 +0000

Once I got burned out on personal finance books I moved on to books about money and economics. There are some good things out there about the current situation and the housing fiasco, etc. There are also good books about general economics like the Naked Economist, wish I’d have had something like that in high school econ instead of that boring textbook.

By: DB Cooper

DB Cooper — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 01:30:13 +0000

Since my financial epiphany last March (which was actually brought about in part due to a PF book – John Furhrman’s *Credit Diet*), I have read dozens of personal finance books. I read them for many of the same reasons Trent does – but primarily reason #1 – it keeps me focused on my pursuit of financial freedom,

By: Joey

Joey — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:11:37 +0000

I skim PF blogs, but have little interest in the books, although I enjoy reading people’s reviews of them. There are only so many ways to spell out, “spend less than you earn.”

By: Joey

Joey — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:10:15 +0000

I skim PF blogs, but have little interest in the books, although I enjoy reading people’s reviews of them. I still find your index card post covers what one needs to know as well as anything else out there:

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/11/29/everything-you-ever-really-needed-to-know-about-personal-finance-on-the-back-of-five-business-cards/

By: karyn

karyn — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:58:54 +0000

That’s really impressive. How many kids do you have? I feel like all I ever get to read are picture books and kids’ chapter books!

By: SpendingIt

SpendingIt — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:56:14 +0000

Trent,

What a great post!! I am a huge reader, but don’t have the discipline to read more than one book a month. I wish that I could read one book a week.

I always wanted to know how you could read one personal finance book a week. And, after you explained the nine reasons why, it all makes sense.

By: chris

chris — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:54:25 +0000

I, too, have read many personal finance books over time and have realized that they all boil down to the same thing. I stopped reading PF books and have started applying what I haven’t already. For me it’s now optimizing things and learning from my own mistakes. Trent is a writer/ reviewer and I understand why it makes sense for him to read/ review those books. For a lot of us it doesn’t make any sense and a great waste of time.

By: JerryB

JerryB — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:41:42 +0000

Hi. My name is Jerry and I’m a personal finance blog addict. ;)