When you’re ready to take control of your money and build a more secure financial future, a great place to start is by learning from the best.
The right personal finance books can offer:
- invaluable insights and observations from people who’ve found success – and failure
- practical strategies you can adopt and test out for yourself
- mindset shifts that can change the way you think about money forever
In this list, you’ll find everything from step-by-step guides on budgeting and investing to inspiring stories about financial independence and wealth-building.
Whether you’re tackling debt, planning for retirement, or just looking to grow your financial literacy, these nine must-read books will give you the tools and motivation to achieve your goals.
Get ready to level up your financial game in 2025 with these powerful reads! Let’s dive in.
The 9 Personal Finance Books You Need to Put on Your List in 2024
#1. The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
Dave Ramsey’s best-selling book, The Total Money Makeover, is a transformative roadmap for reaching stability and financial freedom, rather than just another financial manual. Ramsey provides a straightforward strategy for eradicating debt, accumulating money, and ensuring a stable financial future.
Key takeaways from the book include the following:
- discussing the behavioral and psychological facets of money management
- forming enduring routines that advance financial well-being
- highlighting the significance of budgeting and staying debt-free, promoting a cash-based lifestyle
A fascinating and life-changing book, The Total Money Makeover is recommended reading for everyone aiming for financial independence and stability.
#2. The Simple Path to Wealth by J.L. Collins
The Simple Path to Wealth is a timeless book.
While the technical details may not be applicable in today’s economy, the principles remain constant. J.L. Collins simplifies investing with his no-nonsense approach to building wealth with a strategy focused on low-cost index fund investing.
The book’s standout features are:
- the author’s ability to distill complex financial concepts into clear and comprehensible language
- practical advice and real-life examples that anyone can grasp
- the importance of staying the course and remaining disciplined during market fluctuations
The Simple Path to Wealth isn’t just about investing; it’s one of the personal finance books that can guide you to a more deliberate and mindful approach to money. Collins encourages readers to align their financial decisions with their life goals and values, promoting a sense of financial freedom and security.
#3. Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez
Your Money or Your Life challenges conventional ideas about money and life by redefining the relationship between work, money, and fulfillment. It challenges readers to reassess their values and priorities, prompting a deeper reflection on the true cost of living.
The authors advocate for tracking every expense and calculating the real hourly wage, thereby revealing the true impact of spending choices on one’s life energy.
The book’s most impactful aspects are:
- its focus on aligning spending with personal values and life goals
- the importance of investing in experiences, relationships, and personal growth, rather than material possessions
- equating money spent with the time and energy expended to earn it
Whether you’re striving for financial independence or seeking a more meaningful life, this book challenges readers to reconsider their values and make intentional choices for a more fulfilling future.
#4. I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
The book’s title might sound ambitious, but Sethi’s approach is far from a get-rich-quick scheme.
He instead focuses on a few key ideas to give you a complete and realistic plan for making money. To help young people handle their money well, this book combines psychological insights with useful tips.
I Will Teach You to Be Rich’s highlights are:
- Its emphasis on automation, from savings to bill payments to manage money effortlessly
- challenging money beliefs and psychological barriers that hinder financial progress
- covering topics like negotiating salaries, optimizing credit card rewards, and leveraging technology to make smarter financial decisions
Regardless of your background—recent graduate, young professional, or someone looking to improve your financial literacy—I Will Teach You to Be Rich offers a step-by-step guide to help you get on the right track toward financial stability and wealth accumulation.
Financial Decisions in Your 20s to 30s Can Impact Your Financial Future More Than You Think→
#5. The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko
Stanley and Danko look at the habits and actions of millionaires to bust myths and find out the key traits that make them rich. The research-based method that the authors take challenges common ideas about wealth and gives a plan for getting and staying financially successful.
The Millionaire Next Door emphasizes:
- frugality, discipline, and a consistent saving mindset among millionaires
- the role of personal characteristics such as integrity, discipline, and a strong work ethic as essential factors in achieving financial success
- the significance of financial education and instilling financial values in children to perpetuate wealth across family lines
Whether you want to be a business owner, an investor, or just someone who wants to know how millionaires live, The Millionaire Next Door will teach you a lot and change the way you think about what it means to be rich.
#6. Broke Millennial Takes On Investing by Erin Lowry
For younger readers, this book breaks down the complicated world of investing into easy-to-understand steps.
Lowry explains complicated financial terms and addresses millennials’ fears and misunderstandings so that they can start investing.
The book provides:
- a holistic approach to investment planning
- why it is important to set clear objectives and maintain a diversified portfolio
- advice tailored to millennials and their unique financial challenges, such as student loans, housing costs, and changing job markets
Broke Millennial Takes On Investing is a great book for young people who want to learn more about investing and a must-read for anyone who wants to take charge of their financial futures. Its easygoing style, useful tips, and relatable stories make it a great choice.
#7. Financial Freedom: A Proven Path to All the Money You Will Ever Need by Grant Sabatier
Author Grant Sabatier talks about how he became financially independent in five years and gives practical tips and unusual ideas on how to get rich quickly and quit early.
This book’s standout features are:
- its emphasis on the value of time and the concept of the “Freedom Money Number”
- addressing the importance of lifestyle design and purposeful living
- providing a clear benchmark towards achieving financial freedom and retiring early by challenging readers to calculate their unique target savings goal
Financial Freedom inspires and covers a lot of ground. Sabatier gives unique and varied ways to make money by looking into many areas, such as side jobs, starting your own business, investing, and passive income streams.
This book gives readers multiple ways to speed up their trip to becoming wealthy.
#8. Invested: How Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger Taught Me to Master My Mind, My Emotions, and My Money by Danielle Town and Phil Town
This personal finance book tells the story of Danielle Town’s journey from not knowing much about investing to being a better and more confident money manager. The book looks at the investing ideas of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger through Danielle’s talks and the things she learned from her father, Phil Town.
The book teaches:
- foundational principles of value investing
- the importance of patience and long-term thinking in building wealth
- the significance of emotional discipline and mindset in successful investing
Invested is a thought-provoking book that goes beyond typical investment books. The story that Danielle Town and Phil Town wrote together is unique because it combines financial advice with personal growth. This makes it an interesting and relatable book for both new and experienced investors.
#9. Poor Charlie’s Almanack by Peter D. Kaufman
Poor Charlie’s Almanack shows how smart, funny, and unusual Charlie Munger was when it came to making decisions. It talks about the famous investor’s multidisciplinary thoughts and stresses how important it is to build a broad mental framework by using ideas from history, economics, psychology, and more.
At its core, Poor Charlie’s Almanack shows:
- Munger’s ability to simplify complex ideas without compromising depth
- the psychology of human misjudgment, the power of incentives, and the role of patience and rationality in decision-making
- the importance of lifelong learning and emphasizes the value of acquiring worldly wisdom
Poor Charlie’s Almanack is an amazing collection of writings that teach us a lot about business from one of the smartest people in the world.
The timeless advice of Munger and the careful choice of sources by Kaufman make this book a must-have for anyone who wants to expand their knowledge and take a more holistic approach to life and making decisions.
Add These 9 Personal Finance Books to Your 2025 Reading List to Boost Your Knowledge
One of the best ways to grow your wealth, pay off your debts and plan ahead for a solid financial future is to learn about the world of personal finance.
The more information you pick up, the more confident you will be in your decisions, and less likely to fall into problems and debt.
This is just one list of helpful personal finance books! Check out our other lists for people just starting out, as well as beginner investors:
- The Top 7 Best Personal Finance Books for Beginners
- The 5 Investing Books Every Beginner Needs to Read
Editor’s note: This article was originally published Dec 15, 2023 and has been updated to improve reader experience.
Photo by noelle-designs on Canva
