You asked us to share our top recommendations for personal finance books. We give these books to our interns, new team members, and highly suggest them to anyone in The Money Guy family.
By reading these books, you’ll gain an understanding of personal finance that sets you above the rest and, ultimately, change your life for the better.
You can hear more personal thoughts on each book on our #AsktheMoneyGuy episode, What Books Does The Money Guy Show Recommend?
1. The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton
If you’re looking for a book covering the basics of personal finance – this one’s for you!
It was published in 1995 with some old-school charm and was written in narrative form, like a storybook. (In other words, it does not read like a textbook!) Even if you don’t know anything about finance, you can enjoy The Wealthy Barber.
It’s educational fiction that (we think) should be required reading for every college graduate as they start their first job. It covers all the basics like, how money can work for you, buying your first house, investing, and saving.
2. The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Staley, Ph.D and William D. Danko, Ph.D
When this book came out in 1996, we found out that millionaires were not hanging out with Robin Leach and driving rolls royces. They were driving F150 trucks!
You’ll learn how actual wealthy people make decisions. If all you do is read it and behave the way they behave, you’ll be amazed how at how much it changes your circumstances.
This book is very emotional for me (Brian) because it made me realize that I could do this! I could actually build wealth myself. I come from a lower-middle class household, and I grew up with some false misconceptions that to be rich you had to inherit money. Well, I found out from The Millionaire Next Door that 80% of millionaires are first generation, meaning they did not inherit money from family members. That shook me! There’s a lot of madness and noise in your head that just doesn’t match up to what real millionaires are like. One of them probably lives next door to you!
3. How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
If you want to be a better husband, wife, business partner, or friend, this one’s for you. I kid you not, this book will make you a better human! It goes through some basics of how we’re all wired. What makes us happy? What influences us? The majority of the self-help empire industry is built upon the basic tenets of How to Win Friends & Influence People. Cut out the middle-man go straight to this book.
Whether you’re far down the path of your financial journey or you’re just starting out, we hope these books inspire you! By keeping this knowledge at the forefront of your life will serve you well and set you up for success. Watch the full #AsktheMoneyGuy episode to hear more about how these books have changed our lives.