Top Personal Finance Books: Expert Reviews & Recommendations

I’ve had the opportunity to read dozens of personal finance books through the years. Some of which had a profound impact on how I view topics such as saving, investing, and managing money. I started this website over 10 years ago, and have received numerous books from publishers. I reviewed several of these books on our site. They all lived on their own page, but in order to clean up the site, I moved them all to this page so they can be viewed in one location. Over time, I will consolidate further and add and remove books as appropriate. I hope you find this useful.

Increase Your Financial IQ – Robert Kiyosaki

“One of the greatest failures of the educational system is the failure to provide financial education to students.”

Those are strong words, and words I believe to be true. This is a quote from Robert Kiyosaki’s book, Increase Your Financial IQ, and I believe it sets the pace for what this book stands for: Financial education.

Just so we’re clear, this book is not how to get rich, or make money, although Kiyosaki does throw out a few ideas on these matters. No, this book is about increasing your financial knowledge. There is a big difference between the two, and it is important not to purchase this book thinking you will get rich from reading it.

However, there are some great observations Kiyosaki makes about how wealthy people deal with money vs. how middle class people deal with money. He outlines his thoughts in what he calls, the Five Financial IQs –

The Five Financial IQs

• Financial IQ #1: Make More Money: According to RK, making money is all about how you leverage your time and talents. RK is a big fan of business owners working to create alternative and passive income streams instead of trading your time for money.
• Financial IQ #2: Protecting Your Money: Pay fewer taxes. Kiyosaki is referring to legal ways of reducing your taxes! Mainly, he is referring to the types of income and investments you have – for example, owning your own business and using legal business deductions.
• Financial IQ #3: Budgeting Your Money: The key here is to spend less than you earn. If you budget for a surplus, it will be much easier for you to have extra money for the next step…
• Financial IQ #4: Leveraging Your Money: Here, we are talking about investing. Kiyosaki recommends investing in real estate, precious metals, or other things you have control over.
• Financial IQ #5: Improving Your Financial Information: Increasing your financial mindset is one of the most important things you can do for yourself.

What I Like About This Book

Kiyosaki is a contrarian, which at times is a good thing. He believes more people should work for themselves to create wealth and alternative income streams instead of relying on trading your time for a paycheck. This is contrary to what many people believe – go to school, get a good job, and save. Not everyone should run their own business, in my opinion, but everyone can do little things to increase their income.

What I Don’t Like About This Book

Kiyosaki is extremely harsh on the stock markets, which in itself is not a bad thing. But it is a bad thing when you make incorrect blanket statements about them. Case in point: “You can train a monkey to save money and invest in mutual funds. That is why the returns on those investment vehicles are historically low.”

Obviously, this is a horrible statement. Many funds have high historic returns, as does the market as a whole. However, there are no guarantees with the market, and the US market is based on the US dollar, which has been steadily losing value for years. I believe this is Kiyosaki’s main contention with the markets.

Buy Or Don’t Buy

There are a lot of people who do not agree with Kiyosaki’s view points concerning financial matters, and in some cases, I agree. But this book is not about how to make money, it is a different way to think about money. I don’t think this is a great investment for those with an advanced understanding of personal finance, investing, or business, but if you read it you may pick up a few things. I do think this is a good book for people with an entrepreneurial spirit, or those who don’t handle money well. You can buy Increase Your Financial IQ.

You’re Broke Because You Want To Be – Larry Winget

You’re Broke Because You Want to Be. What a bold statement to make – and it doesn’t stop there! For those of you who have not seen his reality television show, Big Spender, Larry Winget is just as bold as that statement. He is the self-proclaimed Pitbull of Personal Development, and he is direct, in your face, and brutally honest. But he is also humorous and caring. He wants to help, and in many cases, his interaction with people is the wakeup call they need to make life altering financial changes.

What This Book Is

The full title of this book is You’re Broke Because you Want to Be: How to Stop Getting By and Start Getting Ahead. This is a self improvement book designed to make you take a hard look at your spending habits and your financial goals.

This is a book that you not only read, but use. There are several worksheets spread throughout the book to fill out as you read along. This is designed to make you think about your dreams, needs, expenses, feelings, goals, budget, etc. By the time you finish this book you should have a good idea of how much money you earn, what your expenses are, you should have defined your financial goals, and designed a plan to reach them.

What This Book Is Not

This book is not a get rich quick book. This book will not solve all of your money problems and Larry tells you this upfront. This book will only serve to motivate and guide you, but it will not change your life. You must change your life.

In addition, Larry makes a clear distinction between being poor and being broke. He acknowledges there is a difference between the two, the main difference is that being poor is a sad, but inevitable part of society; being broke is controllable. This book is not designed to fix the world. It was written to help people who have the power to change their situation by changing their priorities.

Buy Or Don’t Buy?

You’re Broke Because You Want to Be was entertaining for me to read, but I do not feel like I am the target audience. But that is because my wife and I are not broke. We have done a good job at reigning in our expenses and we spend less than we earn. However, if you are just starting to think about getting rid of your debt and don’t know where to start, or you have been working on getting out of debt and need a different perspective, You’re Broke Because You Want to Be is a worthy book to buy.

If you don’t want to spend money because you are trying to get out of debt, then use the library (just use a separate piece of paper for the worksheets so others can use this resource!).

The Maui Millionaires For Business – Finkel & Kennedy

This book was written for entrepreneurs and is organized into Five “secrets” to help you grow your business into what the book refers to as a Level 3 business – One that makes money for you with little to no input on your part – unless you want it that way.

The information is generally top-level, but valuable. The co-authors have qualified business backgrounds: David Finkel, a real-estate investor, and Diane Kennedy, a CPA. Their success has led them to begin the Maui Millionaires.

The Five Secrets are:

1. Build a Level Three Business and Get on the Millionaire Fast-Track
2. Leverage Your Business Assets and Triple Your Cash Flow
3. Become Financially Fluent and Guarantee Your Future!
4. Create Your Wealth Map and Build your Passive Residual Income
5. Invest in the Greater Good and Reap Enduring Rewards!

What I Like About This Book

This book has a lot of great tips and if you have a business model where you can apply them, you can stand to improve your business tremendously. The tips cover many important things that some entrepreneurs don’t think about when they first start their business. Things such as taxes, payroll, inventory, accounts receivable, hiring employees vs. contractors, cash flow, licensing, incorportating, and more. The book is straightforward and easy to read.

What I Don’t Like About This Book

There are two things I did not like about this book:

1. The Maui Millionaires for Business has a lot of great ideas and top level information, but is not a stand alone product. It makes a good companion piece.
2. This book reads like an infomercial. I thought about counting how many times there were phrases ending with the symbol (™) or something similar, but they were so prevalent it would have taken too long. I also liken it to an infomercial because the book is an upsell to their web based educational products.

Buy Or Don’t Buy

This book has a lot of great information for someone looking to increase their business’s profits and efficiency. I would recommend buying it only if you have a good sense of business and if you have other resources readily available – including their previous book The Maui Millionaires, which is frequently mentioned, and access to the Maui Millionaires website, which is heavily mentioned.

Fast Profits in Hard Times – Jordan E. Goodman

In this book, Fast Profits in Hard Times: 10 Secret Strategies to Make You Rich in an Up or Down Economy, Goodman discusses 10 different investment venues that have the potential to bring you good returns regardless of the overall economy.

In his discussion about these ten financial topics, Goodman explains how these strategies work, gives information on how much time and effort are involved, reasonable start-up costs, realistic earnings expectations, investment liquidity, and how to minimize risks.

So, without further ado, here are the 10 strategies:

1. Investing in Tax Liens and Deeds
2. Build Wealth Fast with Below-Market-Value Real Estate
3. Income Trusts and Master Limited Partnerships
4. High-Yield Equities
5. DRIPs (Dividend Reinvestment Programs)
6. Bonds and More Bonds
7. Options
8. Foreign Exchange
9. Tapping Into Cash Flow
10. Passive Income Strategies

What I Like About This Book

My favorite strategies in this book are the DRIPs (Dividend Reinvestment Programs) and Passive Income Strategies. Both of these topics involve having your money work for you instead of the other way around.

The other aspect of the book I enjoyed was the reading lists at the end of each section. This book is a high-level overview of these investment strategies, and not designed to be a stand alone investment guide. The listed resources offer more detailed information about the respective investment strategy.

My Thoughts

This book is not for the beginning investor. Most of these topics are complex and risky. Yes, you can make a lot of money with them, but you can also lose a lot more – particularly if you don’t know what you are doing. I think Goodman does a good job of explaining the principles of each of the topics. But just because I understand the principles of flight doesn’t mean I should sit down behind the controls of a passenger plane.

Buy Or Don’t Buy

This book is good for a high level understanding of different investment topics, how they work, what it takes to get into them, realistic earnings, etc. But it is by no means a detailed how-to investment book. If you are looking for a book that can give you investment ideas, this can be a good place to start. However, if you plan on investing in any of these areas, I would recommend learning more about them than this book offers. The additional reading lists at the end of each chapter would be a good place to start.

The Little Book That Makes You Rich – Louis Navellier

I think this book is very straightforward and well written. The book simplifies selecting growth stocks down to 8 simplified criteria, and gives them to you right up front. Translation – the book isn’t trying to sell anything extra or make you work to find the answers. They are there, you just need to read and apply them.

One of the most important investment principles in this book is Navellier’s belief that one shouldn’t allow human emotions to become involved in investment decisions. You should not fall in love with stocks or believe “hot stock market tips” you hear from an acquaintance – or anyone else for that matter.

Will this book make you rich? No. No book will make you rich! But I think that after examining Navellier’s track record and reading these investment principles, there is opportunity here. As with every other investment decision, do your research and make your own decisions based on what you think is the right thing to do.

Buy Or Don’t Buy

If you plan on buying individual growth stocks, I think this book can be a beneficial addition to your investment library, and at $13, it is a great investment! (pun intended).  😉

How To Win Friends And Influence People – Dale Carnegie

Though the title may seem to suggest it, there is nothing conniving, subversive, or tricky about any of the recommendations in the book. In fact, Carnegie teaches listening, talking, sincerity, being calm, and many other great character traits.

How to Win Friends is about more than just being popular.

How to Win Friends and Influence People focuses on interpersonal relationships and is an important book to read for people in all stages of life. It is good for people in relationships, college students, new professionals, managers at all levels, salesmen, anyone in a leadership position, and anyone who ever deals with other people on a regular basis. In short, just about everyone can gain from reading this book and applying its principles.

Applying the principles in this book can help you make personal connections with people in just a few moments, and increase your skills in negotiation, leadership, diffusing tough situations, remembering people’s names, and dealing with people’s emotions and egos.

My experience reading How to Win Friends and Influence People:

I first read How to Win Friends and Influence People when I became a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) in the US Air Force. I was assuming a leadership role in my squadron, and I was put in the position to become a mentor and supervisor to several young troops. Applying the principles in this book was a great help in me becoming a better leader and NCO.

Buy Or Don’t Buy

I recommend everyone read this book. Every public library should have a copy or two, or you should be able to find it at any bookstore. How to Win Friends and Influence People has been in paperback print for many years, so you can likely find it at a used bookstore for a very nice price. I would offer to send you my copy, but I gave it to one of my troops when I was in the USAF. He is now an NCO, and is leading troops of his own. 🙂

Generation Earn: The Young Professional’s Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back – Kimberly Palmer

There are three aspects of this book I love – the target audience, the outline, and the execution. This book is aimed at people who are building their personal and financial lives from the ground up, as is evidenced by the outline – Building Your Life, Creating a Home, and Changing the World. And this isn’t your typical dry personal finance book – it is written for a young audience and interspersed with anecdotes and examples that directly apply to this generation. Here are a few notes about the book:

Part 1: Building Your Life

The first section covers the basics everyone needs when starting out: Understanding how your earning, spending, and saving affects your ability to reach your financial goals. This chapter gives the reader the basics of setting up their finances so they can set and achieve their goals. other topics include managing your career, dealing with debt, staring an investing program, and planning for retirement.

Part 2: Creating A Home

Creating a home is one of the biggest challenges most people face. For example, most young adults have grown accustomed to a certain standard of living when they were growing up and many people try to maintain that same standard of living as soon as they enter the real world. But what many people don’t realize is that it took their parents decades to reach that level, and it will probably take younger generations a few years as well. This section focuses on paying attention to the difference between wants vs. needs, and making frugal choices to create the home of your dreams.

Part 3: Changing The World

This section of the book differentiates it from most other personal finance books. And I love it. This section discusses how anyone can make a positive impact on the world – either locally or on a large scale. Some of the topics include volunteering, philanthropy, non-profit work, and living green. There are a lot of ways we can make small changes in our lives that have an amplified impact.

Buy Or Don’t Buy

This is a book I will gladly recommend for any high school or college student, any recent graduate, or anyone who is looking to find their personal or professional identity. This book is a great gift for anyone in these demographics, and my copy will be going to my younger sister who is currently in college. I hope she uses it and enjoys it. 🙂

Make Money, Not Excuses – Jean Chatzky

The book’s goal is too help people get over their fear of money. In my opinion, this book is designed to help people who may be intimidated by money get over their fears. This is aimed more toward people new to money management, but there are some solid tips within it’s pages that are applicable to everyone.

What I Like About This Book

Jean Chatzky has a no nonsense approach to money matters. I would classify her writing as a female version of a mix between Dave Ramsey and Larry Winget, who wrote You’re Broke Because You Want to Be. The tagline on the back of the book is “Get Rich, Don’t Bitch.” I like that phrase, because it reiterates that you hold the keys to your financial future.

Each chapter starts off subtitle highlighting a common complaint many people have regarding handling money. It is titled: “Don’t Bitch.” Then Chatzky discusses common ways to deal with these situations under the heading “Get Rich.” Whining about the situation won’t fix anything, but action will. And this book is a call to action.

I also like how this book deals with the psychology of money instead of just cold, hard numbers. There are other great tidbits of information including how to reduce loans, pay off debt, make saving automatic, and a great glossary of financial terms used throughout the book.

What I Don’t Like About This Book

There is not much bad to be said about this book. However, it is written as an entry level financial book. That doesn’t mean there isn’t value there, because there is a lot of value – it just depends on the audience. This book is directed toward women, so some men may not appreciate it as well as women might, but I still think they would gain a lot from reading it. This is also not an investing book and won’t tell you where to put your money to make millions. But in many ways it is more important than an investing book, because it helps people change their money habits whichcan be infinitely more rewarding.

Buy Or Don’t Buy?

Make Money, Not Excuses is targeted toward women, so definitely take that into account when making the decision to buy it. However, I think there is a lot of good information that can be learned from this book. This book is a very good introduction for someone looking to turn around their finances and I would recommend it for anyone who needs to change their money habits. If the audience is a man who wouldn’t be caught dead reading a book with a pink cover, then I would recommend You’re Broke Because You Want to Be, by Larry Winget.

Never Fly Solo – Lt. Col. Rob “Waldo” Waldman

I  had the pleasure of speaking with Lt. Col. Waldman about his book, his mission, and about what it takes to succeed in the military, in the civilian world, as an entrepreneur, and as a motivational speaker. He has a lot of tips and advice to impart upon the reader, and I won’t attempt to replicate that in this overview – the book does it best. But I did want to share some high points of the interview and his book.

Be Wingman before you need a Wingman. People love to help other people, and are usually more than willing to give a lending hand when asked. But it’s always better to give selflessly before you need help. By giving your time and talents to others, you will meet more people and be recognized as someone who is willing and able to help – and that is exactly the kind of person people want to work and be associated with.

Never stop Wingworking. Waldo defines wingworking as, “networking with a focus on serving others.” Waldo lists wingworking as the #1 way to land a job interview, and speaking from personal experience, I agree. The easiest way to land an interview is through your professional network. A positive personal recommendation will move your resume to the top of the stack and get you an interview much more quickly than simply submitting your resume.

Chairflying – preparing for battle. Chairflying is a military term used by pilots who are doing mission planning. Chairflying includes not only going over the mission points, but also examining what could go wrong and planning for contingencies. This skill can be utilized in almost any aspect of your life, both personal and professional.

Buy or Don’t Buy?

This book is for anyone looking improve their personal life or professional career. That sounds broad, and it is, but this is a high level book that can be applied to a variety of personal and professional situations. This book uses a multitude of military terms and situations, but you don’t need to have a military background to understand it, appreciate it, or gain value from reading it and applying its message (and there is a nifty glossary at the end, so have no fear!).

For more information about Lt. Col. Waldman or his books, please visit YourWingman.com and Never Fly Solo.

The Engine Of America – Hector V. Barreto

This book differs from many books of its type because it offers both tips and resources, and motivating stories and anecdotes from people who have succeeded. In my opinion, Barreto is both an optimist and a realist, and including both perspectives adds depth and value to the book. The Engine of America is very easy to read, and is well organized. It is divided into the following 3 parts:

Part 1 – The Journey Begins: This is Barreto’s background. As I mentioned earlier, he is well qualified to write this book! However, his background is interesting and I recommend reading it.

Part 2 – The Principles of Success: The second section covers the principles of success and gives applicable examples from both successful and unsuccessful start ups. The chapters are broken down by the following principles:

• Plan – Don’t Just Wing It.
• You Must Know What You Don’t Know.
• Challenge the Conventional Wisdom.
• No Guts, No Glory – Mistakes, Risk and Change.
• Seek an Edge by Finding Your Niche.
• The Key is the People Around You.
• Disaster Always Looms – Survive the Potholes.

Part 3 – The Tools For Success: The third section of the book has many great references for finding necessary information vital to the success of a small business startup.

• Where to Get the Critical Answers and Help.
• Government and Big Business Want to Help.
• Overcoming the Intimidation Hurdle.
• Demystifying Capital and Getting Financial Help.
• Summing Up.
• The ABC’s of Success.
• You Can and Will Succeed.

Who Should Read The Engine Of America?

I think everyone who is thinking about starting their own business should read this book. Barreto’s insight and knowledge to the process of starting, maintaining, and growing a small business will be very helpful to anyone who is considering starting their own company. You may even read this book and decide that starting your own company is not for you. If so, then Barreto accomplished something, and probably saved you thousands of dollars by convincing you not to start a venture that was destined to fail.

Buy Or Don’t Buy?

I thought the book was very insightful as both a starting manual and as a motivational resource. If this book was built solely on the principle of motivation, I would recommend borrowing a copy from the library. But, in my opinion, the tips and resources alone make this a valuable book to own if you are considering starting a small business.