Win 12 of the Best Personal Finance Books Published in 2017
We’re recommending the following twelve books about personal finance published in 2017. They range from practical how-to guides to books about behavior and mindset. Some focus on millennials, some are designed for parents of young children, and others are written for those about to retire.
It’s true that the universal rules of personal finance can fit on an index card.
You already know them: spend less than you earn, build an emergency fund, diversify investments, etc.
Still, thousands of books about personal finance are written every year. Many of those books are vanity projects. Quite a few retread existing ideas.
Yet many of these new books are useful. Every year new research reveals a little more about the behaviors that drive our spending and saving. Likewise, old models fail and need to be replaced as the global economy evolves. Fresh perspectives, advice, and insights about money are welcome.
Also, it’s called “personal” finance for a reason. While overarching financial principals apply to everyone, each of us has to discover our individual approach to money. And as we often say, everyone has a fascinating story about money.
We’re recommending the following twelve books about personal finance published in 2017. They range from practical how-to guides to books about behavior and mindset. Some focus on millennials, some are designed for parents of young children, and others are written for those about to retire.
Everyone can benefit from the wisdom (and humor) in these books. And, if nothing else, they’re great gift suggestions. (All of are rated 4 stars or higher on Amazon.com with strong peer-reviews.)
Until December 20: Enter to win all of these books!
Simply enter your name and email address in the form at the bottom of the page. We’ll randomly draw a winner to get all twelve copies of these books.
We’ll send them in hardback when available. We’ll also aim to have them shipped to you before Christmas day. You must have a US shipping addresses to qualify.
Dollars and Sense: How We Misthink Money and How to Spend Smarter
by Dr. Dan Ariely and Jeff Kreisler
Exploring a wide range of everyday topics—from the lure of pain-free spending with credit cards to the pitfalls of household budgeting to the seductive power of holiday sales—Ariely and Kreisler demonstrate how our misplaced confidence in our spending habits frequently leads us astray, costing us more than we realize, whether it’s the real value of the time we spend driving forty-five minutes to save $10 or our inability to properly assess what the things we buy are actually worth.
Together Ariely and Kreisler reveal the emotional forces working against us and how we can counteract them. Mixing case studies and anecdotes with concrete advice and lessons, they cut through the unconscious fears and desires driving our worst financial instincts and teach us how to improve our money habits.
“If you want to get better at making good financial decisions, read “Dollars and Sense”…What the two authors do brilliantly is take behavioral economics and make it accessible.” – Washington Post
Make Your Kid A Money Genius (Even If You’re Not): A Parents’ Guide for Kids 3 to 23
by Beth Kobliner
You don’t need to be a money genius to make your kid a money genius. Regardless of your comfort level with finance—or your family’s income—this charming and fun book is an essential guide for passing along enduring financial principles, making your kids wise beyond their years—and peers—when it comes to money.
“Can a book on money be fun for the whole family? This one is! Even better, it is full of wisdom, and it is a genuine public service. Beth Kobliner has produced a miracle. Your kids will profit from her amazing and brilliant book—and you will too.” (Cass Sunstein, director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard University and coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Nudge)
Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties Paperback
by Beth Kobliner
From tackling taxes to boosting credit scores, Get a Financial Life can show those just starting out how to decrease their debt, avoid common money mistakes, and navigate the world of personal finance in today’s ever-changing landscape.
“A highly readable and substantial guide to the grown-up worlds of money and business. Its strength is in explaining both the principles and the practicalities involved in each chunk of the landscape.” – Deborah Stead, New York Times
Worth It: Your Life, Your Money, Your Terms Hardcover
by Amanda Steinberg
“Worth It” outlines the essential financial information women need—and everything the institutions and advisors don’t spell out. Steinberg gets to the bottom of why women are stressed and anxious when it comes to their finances and teaches them to stay away from strict budgeting and other harsh austerity practices. Steinberg’s powerful and encouraging advice can help women of any age and income view money as a source of freedom and independence—and create bright financial futures.
“Amanda Steinberg gives us unvarnished assessments of sexism, our complex relationships with money, and her own path to taking control of her money and her life. Now with Amanda’s help, you will find the courage, and the tools, to make your money work for you.” – Becky Saeger, former Chief Marketing Officer, Charles Schwab
Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 Days
by Chris Guillebeau
You don’t need entrepreneurial experience to launch a profitable side hustle. You don’t need a business degree, know how to code, or be an expert marketer. And you certainly don’t need employees or investors. With this book as your guide, anyone can learn to build a fast track to freedom.
“The essential guide for anyone who wants to create more freedom, opportunity, and security by launching a profitable side hustle.” – Gretchen Rubin, bestselling author of The Four Tendencies and The Happiness Project
Zero Down Your Debt: Reclaim Your Income and Build a Life You’ll Love
by Holly Porter Johnson and Greg Johnson
With just a pen and a piece of paper in your arsenal, you’ll learn how to implement a zero-sum budget and become debt-free – once and for all. The zero-sum budget’s primary tenets are giving every single dollar earned a purpose ― whether it’s for bills, debt repayment or savings ― and using last month’s earnings to cover this month’s bills. All you need is the know-how, some willpower, and a positive attitude to transform your financial situation.
“Holly and Greg have written a manifesto for debt abolishers everywhere. Are you ready to change your life today? Devote a few hours now to the easy steps in this book and the rest of your life to financial freedom. I can’t imagine a better rate of return on your time!” – Joe Saul-Sehy, Host of the award-winning Stacking Benjamins podcast
Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together
by Erin Lowry
Packed with refreshingly simple advice and hilarious true stories, Broke Millennial is the essential roadmap every financially clueless millennial needs to become a money master. So what are you waiting for?
“This book is well worth its list price….It’s the youthful perspective that makes this so refreshing. It’s well-written and researched by a millennial for millennials…without the judgment, sarcasm and superiority we older folks too often convey when we talk to young adults about money.” —Michelle Singletary, The Washington Post
Mindful Money: Simple Practices for Reaching Your Financial Goals and Increasing Your Happiness Dividend
by Jonathan K. DeYoe with a forward by Alice Walker
Is it possible to be a conscientious citizen of the world and grow wealth? The author, a Buddhist and a financial planner, says yes and explains exactly how. Money drives many of our decisions. We all worry about earning it, spending it, and saving it — regardless of our income level or spiritual perspective. Yet few of us understand money’s true nature.
“[DeYoe’s] advice is solid, his delivery is assured, and his claim of discovering the key to happiness is surprisingly plausible.” ― Publishers Weekly
The Truth About Your Future: The Money Guide You Need Now, Later, and Much Later Hardcover
by Ric Edelman
Edelman offers sound, practical investment advice through the lens of recent scientific and technological advancements. He illustrates how discoveries in robotics, nanotechnology, 3D printing, solar energy, biotechnology, and medicine will redefine our life expectancies, careers, and retirements. As we live and work longer, Edelman provides clear advice on how to recalibrate the way we save for college, invest during our careers, and plan for retirement.
“This is the best book I have read on the subject of technology’s effect on careers and finances. Edelman’s book covers many important issues not addressed in other personal finance planning books. Plan to add it to your library.”—Elliot Raphaelson, The Chicago Tribune
You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth Hardcover
by Jen Sincero (Author)
Drawing on her own transformation—over just a few years—from a woman living in a converted garage with tumbleweeds blowing through her bank account to a woman who travels the world in style, Jen Sincero channels the inimitable sass and practicality that made You Are a Badass an indomitable bestseller. She combines hilarious personal essays with bite-size, aha concepts that unlock earning potential and get real results.
“Hilarious . . . This book truly crystallizes the concept that financial abundance is an inside job—in that it all begins with your mindset—and Sincero gets serious (in the funniest ways possible) about helping you identify your particular limiting beliefs surrounding money.” —PopSugar
What Your Financial Advisor Isn’t Telling You: The 10 Essential Truths You Need to Know About Your Money Paperback
by Liz Davidson
In today’s unsettled financial markets, where most pension plans died out with the twentieth century and where no one’s certain of the future of Social Security, hardworking people turn to financial advisors to guide them to a worry-free financial lifestyle. But do you really know how to find a legitimate financial advisor? Do you understand the jargon advisors use to explain your investments? And most important, do you know the answers to the most critical questions that will affect your financial future: how much are advisors’ fees, and just how safe are the investment choices they make on your behalf?
“Accessible and practical, this guide contains valuable tools for managing one’s personal finances for maximum results.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
WTF?: What’s the Future and Why It’s Up to Us
By Tim O’Reilly
What is the future when an increasing number of jobs can be performed by intelligent machines instead of people, or done only by people in partnership with those machines? What happens to our consumer based societies—to workers and to the companies that depend on their purchasing power? Is income inequality and unemployment an inevitable consequence of technological advancement, or are there paths to a better future? What will happen to business when technology-enabled networks and marketplaces are better at deploying talent than traditional companies?
“O’Reilly has an uncanny knack for charting what’s ahead. In WTF?, he shows us know he does it. At a time of sweeping change, it is a bracing and an exhilarating read.” (Anne-Marie Slaughter, President and CEO, New America)
Bonus:
