Best Personal Finance Books: 35 Best Finance and Money Books (2020)

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Looking for the best personal finance books of all time? You’re in the right place!

There’s no topic as immediately impactful, as widely misunderstood or as vital as mastering our personal finances. And few posts on The Art of Living have made me pause for as much thought as choosing these book recommendations.

What I’ve ended up with below are the 35 best personal finance books I’d read to get smart on day-to-day wealth as quickly as reasonably possible.

You’ll find books on how money works, developing a financial mindset, budgeting, planning, debt management and investing. Though less practical, I’ve also added a few accounts of recent financial scandals (e.g., #5, #16) which never fail to highlight the risks of fear, greed and group-think.

What hasn’t made the list includes biographies of wealthy individuals, books on startups and entrepreneurship, more general analyses of the psychology of misjudgement, macro-economic textbooks or treatises on fiscal philosophy. And yet all these books (including classics like Smith’s Wealth of Nations, or modern series like Taleb’s life-changing Incerto) would make fantastic additions to anyone’s bookshelf.

Enjoy the list!

The 35 Best Personal Finance Books Of All Time

Why these best personal finance books and not others? The best personal finance books below are the top picks from my master database, ranked by a combination of Goodreads rating, the number of Goodreads reviews and first publication date. The goal is to give a good balance of what’s most loved, what’s most popular and what’s delivered timelessly relevant advice.

Think something’s missing? Leave a comment or email me and I’ll add it to the next round of updates. I honestly love hearing from you so please, do get in touch!

(Note: Though excellent, probably the least accessible books on the list are Security Analysis (#4) and Valuation (#25) so stay clear of these if you’re just starting out!)

1. The Richest Man in Babylon (1926), George S. Clason (FREE Summary)
   THE classic parable on how to acquire money, how to not lose money and how to make money multiply – by serial entrepreneur and author, George S. Clason.
   194 pages. Rated 4.3 over 104,500 reviews on Goodreads.
2. The Intelligent Investor (1949), Benjamin Graham (Summary)
   623 pages. Rated 4.2 over 75,100 reviews on Goodreads.
3. The Science of Getting Rich (1910), Wallace D. Wattles (Summary)
   146 pages. Rated 4.2 over 30,800 reviews on Goodreads.
4. Security Analysis (1962), Benjamin Graham
   Principles and Technique
   770 pages. Rated 4.3 over 7,000 reviews on Goodreads.
5. Barbarians at the Gate (1990), Bryan Burrough (Summary)
   The Fall of RJR Nabisco
   592 pages. Rated 4.3 over 29,200 reviews on Goodreads.
6. One Up On Wall Street (1988), Peter Lynch
   How to Use What You Already Know to Make Money in the Market
   304 pages. Rated 4.2 over 19,600 reviews on Goodreads.
7. Financial Peace Revisited (1992), Dave Ramsey
   352 pages. Rated 4.3 over 13,200 reviews on Goodreads.
8. A Random Walk Down Wall Street (1973), Burton G. Malkiel
   The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing
   432 pages. Rated 4.1 over 24,500 reviews on Goodreads.
9. Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings (1957), Philip A. Fisher (Summary)
   292 pages. Rated 4.1 over 10,300 reviews on Goodreads.
10. Margin of Safety (1991), Seth A. Klarman
    Risk-Averse Value Investing Strategies for the Thoughtful Investor
    248 pages. Rated 4.3 over 5,300 reviews on Goodreads.
11. The Total Money Makeover (2003), Dave Ramsey (Summary)
    A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness
    223 pages. Rated 4.3 over 68,000 reviews on Goodreads.
12. Rich Dad, Poor Dad (1997), Robert T. Kiyosaki (FREE Summary)
    One of the few must-read handbooks for anyone who’s serious about earning their financial freedom – by businessman, investor and best-selling author, Robert Kiyosaki.
    195 pages. Rated 4.1 over 349,800 reviews on Goodreads.
13. Rich Dad’s Cashflow Quadrant (1998), Robert T. Kiyosaki (Summary)
    Rich Dad’s Guide to Financial Freedom
    376 pages. Rated 4.1 over 39,500 reviews on Goodreads.
14. Your Money or Your Life (1992), Vicki Robin
    400 pages. Rated 4.1 over 16,800 reviews on Goodreads.
15. The Millionaire Next Door (1995), Thomas J. Stanley (Summary)
    The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy
    258 pages. Rated 4.0 over 73,300 reviews on Goodreads.
16. The Big Short (2009), Michael Lewis
    Inside the Doomsday Machine
    320 pages. Rated 4.3 over 130,400 reviews on Goodreads.
17. You Can Be a Stock Market Genius (1997), Joel Greenblatt
    Uncover the Secret Hiding Places of Stock Market Profits
    285 pages. Rated 4.2 over 6,500 reviews on Goodreads.
18. Secrets of the Millionaire Mind (2005), T. Harv Eker (Summary)
    Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth
    212 pages. Rated 4.2 over 42,300 reviews on Goodreads.
19. Poor Charlie’s Almanack (2005), Charles T. Munger (Summary)
    The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger
    512 pages. Rated 4.5 over 5,800 reviews on Goodreads.
20. The Wealthy Barber (1989), David Chilton
    The Common Sense Guide to Successful Financial Planning
    197 pages. Rated 4.0 over 8,400 reviews on Goodreads.
21. The Way to Wealth (1758), Benjamin Franklin
    30 pages. Rated 4.1 over 2,000 reviews on Goodreads.
22. The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing (2006), Taylor Larimore
    307 pages. Rated 4.3 over 6,300 reviews on Goodreads.
23. The Four Pillars of Investing (2002), William J. Bernstein
    240 pages. Rated 4.2 over 4,400 reviews on Goodreads.
24. The Snowball (2008), Alice Schroeder (Summary)
    Warren Buffett and the Business of Life
    929 pages. Rated 4.1 over 38,400 reviews on Goodreads.
25. Valuation (1990), Tim Koller
    Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies
    739 pages. Rated 4.2 over 1,200 reviews on Goodreads.
26. The Most Important Thing (2011), Howard Marks (Summary)
    Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor
    180 pages. Rated 4.3 over 7,800 reviews on Goodreads.
27. The Little Book of Common Sense Investing (2007), John C. Bogle (Summary)
    The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns
    216 pages. Rated 4.2 over 9,200 reviews on Goodreads.
28. Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing (2000), Robert T. Kiyosaki (Summary)
    What the Rich Invest in That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
    384 pages. Rated 4.0 over 12,900 reviews on Goodreads.
29. The Barefoot Investor (2016), Scott Pape (Summary)
    The Only Money Guide You’ll Ever Need
    248 pages. Rated 4.5 over 11,900 reviews on Goodreads.
30. I Will Teach You to Be Rich (2009), Ramit Sethi
    266 pages. Rated 4.1 over 23,600 reviews on Goodreads.
31. Smart Women Finish Rich (1998), David Bach
    9 Steps to Achieving Financial Security and Funding Your Dreams
    328 pages. Rated 4.1 over 3,300 reviews on Goodreads.
32. Dave Ramsey’s Complete Guide to Money (2011), Dave Ramsey
    The Handbook of Financial Peace University
    330 pages. Rated 4.4 over 4,600 reviews on Goodreads.
33. Multiple Streams of Income (1998), Robert G. Allen
    How to Generate a Lifetime of Unlimited Wealth
    336 pages. Rated 4.0 over 4,800 reviews on Goodreads.
34. The Simple Path to Wealth (2016), J.L. Collins
    Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life
    288 pages. Rated 4.5 over 7,700 reviews on Goodreads.
35. The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need (1978), Andrew Tobias
    312 pages. Rated 3.9 over 3,300 reviews on Goodreads.

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Arthur Worsley

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