A study found that 56% of people have less than $1,000 in savings in the bank. It gets worse: Over half of those people don’t have enough money to cover a $1,000 expense at all. They’d have to borrow the money. That’s bad.
It’s not bad because “you should save money,” but because having no emergency fund puts you in a vulnerable position. What if someone crashes into your car? What if you break a few bones? Things outside of our control can force us to pay up. You don’t want to come up short when that happens.
That’s just the most pressing example of why you should learn to manage your finances. There are others: Retiring in peace without stressing about money, having enough to invest in a new venture, giving freely to friends, family, and charity — money does make our lives easier up to a certain degree.
Thankfully, there are a lot of good books to help us become financially smart. At Four Minute Books, we’ve reviewed and summarized over 1,000 books to date, and we think the best finance books come down to three things:
Practical advice. Money is a tangible thing, so whatever tips authors give should be easy to implement for you right away.
Relevant information. Depending on your situation and goals, you might need a beginner’s book or a more advanced one.
Inspiring stories. If a book is boring, it won’t motivate you to take action. The easiest way to change is to listen to a good story.
Based on these three criteria, we’ve selected the some of best finance books for you to read. If you want to become savvy with your finances, be smarter in how you spend and save, and learn to invest your money to build freedom, consider these books.
Table of Contents [Hide]
Best Finance Books Overall
1. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
2. Money: Master The Game by Tony Robbins
Best Finance Books For Beginners
3. The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape
4. The One-Page Financial Plan by Carl Richards
Best Finance Books For Investors
5. The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
6. The Little Book That Beats The Market by Joel Greenblatt
Best Finance Books For Entrepreneurs
7. The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco
8. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Best Finance Books For Saving Money
9. I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
10. The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
Best Finance Books For Retirement
11. The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach
12. The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley
Best Finance Books For Financial Freedom
13. Secrets Of The Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker
14. The Richest Man In Babylon by George Clason
Conclusion
1. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
The Book in One Sentence
Rich Dad Poor Dad tells the story of a boy with two fathers, one rich, one poor, to help you develop the mindset and financial knowledge you need to build a life of wealth and freedom.
Why should you read it?
This book is controversial, but in getting you to actually do something, it just works. It’s based partially on Kiyosaki’s life, who learned two different ways of handling money from his dad and that of his best friend. The lessons are a mix of how to approach money as a concept, basic knowledge of accounting, budgeting, and investing, and how to manage your money so it works for you. By the time you’re done with the story, you’ll enjoy implementing the tips.
Key Takeaways
Use your money to acquire assets, not liabilities.
Manage risks instead of avoiding them.
Work to learn, not to earn.
If you want to learn more, you can read our free four-minute summary or get a copy for yourself.
2. Money: Master The Game by Tony Robbins
The Book in One Sentence
Money: Master The Game lays out seven simple steps to financial freedom, based on the advice of the world’s best billionaire investors, interviewed by Tony Robbins.
Why should you read it?
Tony Robbins dedicated ten years of research to this book. After the financial crisis of 2008, he decided to help average people secure a good future. After interviewing several billionaire financial legends, such as Ray Dalio, Warren Buffett, Jack Bogle, he put together their best strategies. The book contains everything from mindset changes to saving tips to asset allocation. The transcripts of the interviews are worth the price of the book alone.
Key Takeaways
- Never underestimate the exponential power of compounding interest.
- Pick one of three financial goals to show yourself that financial freedom is within reach: basic expenses, basic + fun, or financial independence.
- Diversify your investments by using a 3-bucket system: A security bucket, a growth bucket, and a dream bucket.
3. The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape
The Book in One Sentence
The Barefoot Investor is an Australian farm boy’s no-BS guide to taking charge of your personal finances with a simple system to eliminate debt, live in the now, and still retire in peace.
Why should you read it?
Scott Pape is Australia’s most trusted personal finance expert. His book has sold over 1,000,000 copies. Despite growing up on a farm, Pape wanted to get rich by trading stocks. That didn’t work out. He went back to his farm and now uses the simple life as a metaphor for managing your money. The book helps you take control in three phases: plant, grow, then harvest your money. He balances easy tips with radical advice. A great book for beginners.
Key Takeaways
- Simplify your money management by using different bank accounts.
- Shred your credit cards first, then start paying off your debt.
- Automate some of your retirement planning with index funds.
4. The One-Page Financial Plan by Carl Richards
The Book in One Sentence
The One-Page Financial Plan makes financial planning stop feeling like a burden for the less disciplined by helping you plan your entire financial future on a single page.
Why should you read it?
Carl Richards has spent more than 40,000 hours over the last 20 years as a financial advisor, working at Wells Fargo, Merrill Lynch and others. Some of his sketches he shares on Instagram went viral. They illustrate the ideas that helped him and his wife plan their finances on just one piece of paper. His book shows you how to do the same.
Key Takeaways
Set some goals but stay flexible and fine-tune along the way.
Turn budgeting into a game to make saving fun.
View paying off debt as an investment in your future.
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