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Do you find yourself facing financial difficulties with no clear solution in sight? I've consulted financial coaches and business leaders to compile a list of the top personal finance books for beginners. With titles like Your Money Or Your Life, Surviving Debt, and The Total Money Makeover, these books offer valuable insights and guidance to help beginner readers learn how to manage their finances effectively.
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Best Personal Finance Books for Beginners
Your Money Or Your Life by Vicki Robin
Surviving Debt by National Consumer Law Center
The Mountain is You by Brianna Wiest
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch
I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
Money, A Love Story by Kate Northrup
Broke Millennial by Erin Lowry
You're So Money: Live Rich Even When You're Not by Farnoosh Torabi
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
1. Your Money Or Your Life by Vicki Robin
This is an oldie but goodie when it comes to evaluating the true "hourly rate" from your job and what additional costs you may incur from your work, such as commuting, health, de-stressing activities, etc. This helps to put your work into perspective, consider other jobs that may have a higher "hourly rate," and also use this hourly rate to reconsider the items you may want to buy (or not) given the true "cost." The end goal is to save for early retirement, in which you are able to stop working when you are healthy and happy and satisfied with what you have.
- Kristine Thorndyke, Test Prep Nerds
2. Surviving Debt by National Consumer Law Center
Surviving Debt was published by the National Consumer Law Center and provides helpful advice for various debt situations. You can find ways to establish a budget, prioritize debts, respond to debt collectors, and know how to avoid and identify scams. Surviving Debt also provides valuable tools and resources to help you get out of debt, including sample debt response letters, bankruptcy resources, and agencies you can contact to find additional help.
- Annette Harris, Harris Financial Coaching
3. The Mountain is You by Brianna Wiest
The Mountain is You, by Brianna Wiest, is a fantastic book that can help you look within to determine how you can deal with financial challenges in your life. Oftentimes, "the mountain" is a symbol of the big challenges we encounter in our lives, especially ones that seem insurmountable. Almost always, problems with finances seem impossible to figure out.
To overcome these mountains, we actually have to do the deep internal work of understanding how we got ourselves into our current situation. Ultimately, it is not the mountain that we conquer but ourselves.
- Jonathan Zacharias, GR0
4. Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich is a great book for young people learning about finances and adults seeking better financial practices. It's a classic book that can help build a good foundation for monetary practices or lead to someone reassessing bad habits. While there are more specialized books for businesses, investments, and retirement packages, this book is a great place to start.
- Rob Bartlett, WTFast
5. The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch
The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less by Richard Koch is a book I recommend to anyone who is facing financial problems on an ongoing basis. The premise is that 80% of all our results in business and life come from 20% of our efforts. Individuals who follow this principle tend to do well in their personal and professional lives. The key is to focus on factors in life that we can control and put our energy in the right places.
- Jorge Vivar, Mode
6. I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
"I Will Teach You to Be Rich" by Ramit Sethi is one of my go-to recommendations for financial health how-to. The book breaks down financial literacy into simple steps and best practices. It has an emphasis on aligning your priorities and financial means and designing a sustainable system rather than simply trying to abstain from spending. Rather than shame spenders, Sethi shames financial institutions that seek to fleece consumers and make the process confusing, outlines some more client-centric companies, and lays out simple strategies to be smarter about money, pay down debt, manage bills, and invest for the future.
- Carly Hill, VirtualHolidayParty.com
7. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
"Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert T. Kiyosaki. It is a great book on how to develop financial intelligence. What's more, it advocates the importance of financial literacy. What I really appreciate is that the book doesn't give you ready-made solutions. It rather provokes thought, encourages self-analysis, and guides you. Thanks to that, you can reshape your attitudes towards money. Very inspiring, insightful, and written in a "nice-to-read" manner.
- Agata Szczepanek, MyPerfectResume
8. The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel is an excellent investigation into further understanding human behavior and money. The success of this book is the deep dive into the human psyche and gaining further insight. Into why your mood can increase and decrease spending habits. Lastly, if financial problems are a struggle, get to the root of why you spend and shift your thinking. An incredible book that opens opportunities for enlightenment and improving your financial state.
- Yooseok gong, Ohora
9. Money, A Love Story by Kate Northrup
Many good books are on the market, and those with practical advice are helpful. However, I think you must get to the root of the problem before you solve your financial woes. The root is your relationship with money. For that, a good place to start is reading "Money, A Love Story: Untangle Your Financial Woes and Create the Life You Really Want" by Kate Northrup.
This is a great book because the author doesn't judge you. She paid off thousands in debt herself. Often, practical books leave you feeling like you can't get there from here, but this book leaves you with the feeling that the author understands you. She can guide you out of your financial mess with doable solutions you can implement now.
- Steve Mascarin, Taunton Village Dental
Millennials are often defamed for having poor financial habits. Therefore, the book Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping by and Get Your Financial Life Together is the best one to help you solve your financial riddles. This book was published in 2017, and it's about personal finance written by a millennial for millennials. It has been seen that people are saddled with student loan debt, and encountering an economy where gigs are in and lifetime employment is out; it's difficult to blame them. The author of this book, who kick-started as a financial professional, wrote a blog of the same name and made videos for a famous YouTube channel.
- Shivanshi Srivastava, PaydayLoansUK
11. You're So Money: Live Rich Even When You're Not by Farnoosh Torabi
This personal finance book by Farnoosh Torabi is written in humorous language that is easy to follow and ensures better comprehension of the different personal finance concepts the author introduces in the book. I love this book because it is practical and offers realistic steps to reducing your debt level, budgeting your income, saving, and investing. She captures the readers with her excellent narration and her experience as the best teacher.
- Mehtab Ahmed, LoansJury
12. The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness
Financial problems can only be resolved when you have a blanket solution that works on every level. Unless you put such a comprehensive solution to work, there will always be leaks in your financial boat. This book from Dave Ramsey gives you the right plans, helps you unravel myths, and nudges you to take practical action to make your personal financial position stronger. From showing you how to work towards living a debt-free life to teaching you just how you can build a growth-oriented financial future with the resources you have at hand, this book does it all.
- Riley Beam, Douglas R. Beam, P.A.