I read a lot of books and over the years I’ve compiled a decent reading list of what I think are the best personal finance books.
When you think about it, books are an amazing tool with a really high return on investment. You can usually get them for free at the library, so they cost nothing to read. And if the book is good enough and worth buying, you can usually buy it used for a few bucks. A good personal finance book should have an ROI much higher than the cost of the book.
There are a ton of books out there and many of them are solid books. When someone asks me for a book recommendation, however, I’m a little more selective. My criteria for a book worth recommending is basically one that’s worth buying and keeping forever. It should either change your life or be good enough that it’s worth referencing over and over.
A few readers have asked me about the books I recommend and after writing a few emails listing these books, I thought the best thing might be to just share them in a single post. What follows is a list of what I consider the best personal finance books that are worth having on your bookshelf. There are still a lot of books I haven’t gotten around to reading yet, so consider this a fluid reading list that is subject to change.
The Simple Path To Wealth
Whenever I need to point someone to just one personal finance book, I almost always point them to The Simple Path To Wealth by JL Collins. This book is legitimately a life-changing book and will change how you think about and approach investing. I sometimes wonder how different my investing life might have been if a book like this existed back when I was in college.
What makes this book so valuable is how it takes what can be a complicated and scary subject like investing and breaks it down into a really simple and easy-to-understand format. Most people who are into personal finance and investing often forget that we take a lot of the information we have for granted. JL Collins understands this and as a result, this book is very much written for regular people to be able to read it and understand it without falling asleep.
The bulk of his book is going to explain why investing is such an important tool for wealth building and break down how investing in a simple index fund like VTSAX is the best way to invest. If that’s all you learn, you’ll already be ahead of the game.
Much of the book is derived from JL Collins famous stock series, so if you really don’t want to drop the money to get this book or spend the time getting it for free at the library, then you could also read his blog and get much of the same information.
My recommendation is to get this book and keep it on your shelf. It’s that good.
I Will Teach You To Be Rich
I first read I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi back when I was in college, but sadly, since it was the middle of the recession and I had no money or job, I didn’t really apply much of the stuff that I read in it. His book came out in 2009, right at the bottom of the financial crisis. I’ve heard Ramit say that if you applied what he wrote back then, you’d be a millionaire today. In a way, he’s absolutely right, which makes this book a tremendous investment.
The value in this book comes from the systems that Ramit teaches you how to create. Indeed, a lot of the stuff that I do – things like creating a Stupid Mistakes Fund, saving for long-term goals, and creating multiple sub-savings accounts – came directly from what I learned in this book.
I also like how I Will Teach You To Be Rich focuses on the big-ticket items, rather than the small, daily minutiae that really doesn’t have much impact in the long run. This is pretty different advice compared to a lot of other personal finance writers who will typically tell you to deny yourself a lot of little pleasures. Ramit basically says the opposite – spend on what’s important to you, cut the stuff that’s not important to you, and automate so that you can actually afford to buy the things you want.
This book first came out in 2009 and I still have a copy of that book on my shelf. Ramit recently released a 2019 edition of this book, so if you don’t have this book yet, I’d definitely recommend getting the new edition or at least checking it out at the library.
The Automatic Millionaire
As you can probably tell, I’m a sucker for learning how to automate stuff. The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach is the first personal finance book I ever read and as a result, it has a special place in my heart.
The big value in this book, like in a lot of the stuff I read, is in creating automated systems. David Bach doesn’t exactly give you the step-by-step on how to create systems, but he does show you how valuable these systems can be. And he also does a good job of demonstrating how powerful compound interest is over the long term.
There’s some stuff that people will debate about. David Bach is the guy who coined the term, “the latte factor,” which was basically his idea that cutting out small daily purchases like your daily latte could make you a millionaire. I’m not a huge fan of cutting out small things like that, but try to understand what he’s talking about from a bigger perspective – that automating and creating systems will make you wealthy over the long run.
This is a very basic book, written much more for the masses compared to any other book I have on this list. Still, this is the book that got me started with personal finance, so I have a soft spot for it, and I still think it’s worth having on your shelf.
Your Money Or Your Life
Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin could be called the original financial independence book. This book is less about money as it is how to think about your life, and if you’re looking for a transformative book, this is a book that you should have on your shelf.
I read this book when I first discovered financial independence and it completely changed how I thought about work, its impact on my life, and what I was trading away for my paycheck.
Your Money or Your Life was recently updated, so you’ll want to get the updated 2018 version of this book since some of the information in the original version of this book is pretty out-of-date now. Go find it at the library, but since it’s on this list, I think it’s worth buying and keeping as a reference on your shelf forever.
The Bogleheads’ Guide To Investing
While I wouldn’t call myself a Boglehead per se, I do believe in the power of index investing, especially using Vanguard index funds. The Bogleheads’ Guide To Investing is a really in-depth book about how to invest correctly. This is not a book for beginners but I do think it’s required reading for most people and it’s good enough that most people should own a copy of this book.
When you read this book, you’ll learn why index investing is the best way to invest and how you should go about doing it. You’ll also learn all of the most important things you need to know about investing – keeping costs low, avoiding shady salespeople, and why things like timing the market doesn’t work.
Taylor Larimore, the author of the Boglehead’s Guide to Investing, also wrote another book called The Bogleheads’ Guide to the Three Fund Portfolio. That book is much more of a pamphlet than an actual full-fledged book, but if you don’t have time to read the entire Boglehead’s Guide to Investing, you can at least get by reading The Bogleheads’ Guide to the Three Fund Portfolio.
The White Coat Investor: A Doctor’s Guide to Personal Finance and Investing
The White Coat Investor: A Doctor’s Guide to Personal Finance and Investing is written by Dr. Jim Dahle, who is the doctor behind White Coat Investor, one of the best personal finance sites out there. Even though this book is geared towards high-income medical professionals, the information outlined in this book will work for anyone, hence why I regularly recommend it to everyone who asks for books about personal finance.
This book is written in the White Coat Investor’s no-nonsense style, which makes it an easy read since it cuts right to the chase and avoids fluff. If you read this book and follow the White Coat Investor’s philosophy, you will do very well with your money.
Note that The White Coat Investor is a self-published book and doesn’t have a mass-market release, so you won’t find this book at the library. You’ll probably need to buy it on Amazon, but it’s well worth the investment.
Quit Like A Millionaire
Quit Like A Millionaire is a new book that I recently read written by Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung from Millennial Revolution. I really enjoyed this book and thought it did a great job breaking down the financial independence roadmap and how it works. Unlike a lot of other personal finance books, this book is definitely written for the non-traditional personal finance crowd that is willing to live a lot different compared to the majority of the population.
Kristy challenges a lot of the assumptions a lot of people have – like why your house is not a good investment. She also talks about advanced financial independence strategies such as making use of geoarbitrage, massively reducing your tax bill with clever tax planning, and how you can strive for other forms of financial independence (like how I talk about Barista FIRE).
This is definitely a book I resonated with a lot and it’s why it has earned a permanent spot on my shelf.
Takeaways
There are a lot of books out there and my hope is that this reading list of what I think are the best personal finance books gives you a good starting point to help you improve your relationship with money. I think all of these books will dramatically improve your life and help you think about money differently. At a minimum, any book I list here is worth getting at the library just to see if it resonates with you.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, books change, so consider this a fluid reading list that is subject to change. There are also a lot of books out there that I haven’t gotten around to reading yet, so if I missed anything that is really life-changing or worth buying, I’ll add it to this list once I get around to reading it.
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes/scooters I've had the chance to do a review for:
- GEN3 Outcross Bike – The GEN3 Outcross is a solid, affordable fat tire ebike that does a good job of doing what I need it to do. It works great for city riding, giving me a smooth ride in all conditions. It’s works really well as a winter ebike since the fat tires give it good traction over snow and ice. Check out my GEN3 Outcross Review.
- Himiway Escape Bike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Bike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($10) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $10 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Moomoo (5 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 5 free stocks (usually worth around $75-$100) if you open an account using a referral link and deposit $2,000. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Webull (5 free stocks) – Webull also gives you 5 free stock valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free stocks using Webull.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- Upgrade ($100) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $100 referral bonus if you open an account and complete three debit card transactions. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Importantly, this bonus says that it’s now scheduled to end on October 31, 2022. As long as you get your account opened before October 31st, you should be eligible. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $100 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- SoFi Money ($350) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $300 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Fifth Third Bank ($250) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account online but you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Read my guide on this bonus here.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link.Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- OnJuno ($100) – OnJuno is a fintech/neobank that is currently offering a $100 referral bonus if you open an account using a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $250 or more. The account has no fees or minimum balance requirements. Even better, the bonus posts immediately after you meet the requirements. If you can meet the direct deposit requirements, OnJuno is an easy bank bonus that’s worth snagging. Check out my OnJuno referral bonus guide here.
- Varo ($50) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $50 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Spiral ($50) – Spiral is a fintech bank that's currently offering new customers a $50 signup bonus after opening a free checking account with them. The Spiral referral bonus is especially good because it's a free checking account and doesn't require a direct deposit to earn the bonus. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Spiral Bank bonus.
- One Finance ($50) – One Finance is a fintech bank that’s currently offering a $50 signup bonus if you open an account using a One Finance referral link and have a direct deposit of $250 or more. This is a completely free bank account with no minimum balance requirement, so if you can meet the requirements, it’s worth doing. Check out my One Finance referral bonus guide here.
- Albert ($150) – If you can manage to do a real direct deposit, Albert is an easy account you can use to earn a referral bonus. Here’s a review about Albert I wrote. And here’s a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Albert referral bonus.
- Netspend ($20 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $20 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $20 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
- Upgrade Bank. Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $100 referral bonus if you open an account and complete three debit card transactions. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Note that it’s now scheduled to end on October 31, 2022.
- Novo Bank. Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. It’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $10 for opening an account.
- Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
Hey Kevin!
I’ve been silently reading your blog for some time now and just wanted to let you know that your blog was the start of my personal finance journey. Really appreciate your candid posts. This one came with perfect timing as I was hoping to expand my reading list!
Thanh
Thanks Thanh! Glad it could help!
I love your money or your life. this book really awesome for me.
Yeah, that book is a life-changing book!
Most of these are my favorites too. I think I would add “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” with “Your Money or Your Life ” because of the way it makes people think differently about life. I am an avid reader too. I try to read 2-4 books a month, mostly personal finance. I have not read all the investment books on your list, so will check them out. As usual, enjoy your site.