ELSI’s Top 10 Personal Finance Books for 2024

 

If you ask the richest men in the world how much time they spend reading, you may be surprised to learn that it is several hours each and every day. Elon Musk, I believe, said 5 hours a day!

Accordingly, though at first glance it may seem this is just product sales, we strongly believe this Section is vital to your Personal Financial Wellness.

That’s why we’ve made it easy to select and purchase your favorite picks.

Just click on the image of the book or its name in bold blue in any part of the title or description, and you will be linked to the page on Amazon where you can purchase it directly and have it delivered to your doorstep in a day or two.

The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy

1. The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy

by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko  

Paperback – November 16, 2010

The bestselling The Millionaire Next Door identifies seven common traits that show up again and again among the wealthy.

 

Most of the truly wealthy in this country don’t live in Beverly Hills or on Park Avenue. They live next door. This new edition, the first since 1998, includes a new foreword for the twenty-first century by Dr. Thomas J. Stanley.

 

 

2. The Richest Man in Babylon with Study Guide: The Easy-to-Read Edition: Timeless Strategies for Building Wealth   

Paperback – Dec. 12, 2022

 
Since its first publication in 1926, more than two million copies of The Richest Man in Babylon have been sold. Why? It is the classic in the field of personal finance.
 
 
The strategies it shares are timeless, and demonstrate how you can transform your own financial outlook and take your first steps toward financial independence. This new edition brings age-old wisdom into the 21st century with revised, contemporary language and updated historical information. With the addition of a powerful new Study Guide and a new Introduction, this book opens the door to financial security no matter what your income is today—all you need is a willingness to learn and a desire to become wealthy.
 
 
 
 

3. The Intelligent Investor Rev Ed.: The Definitive Book on Value Investing 

Paperback – February 21, 2006

by Benjamin Graham(Author),Jason Zweig(Author),Warren E. Buffett(Collaborator)

This classic text is annotated to update Graham’s timeless wisdom for today’s market conditions…

 

The greatest investment advisor of the twentieth century, Benjamin Graham, taught and inspired people worldwide. Graham’s philosophy of “value investing, (which shields investors from substantial error and teaches them to develop long-term strategies), has made The Intelligent Investor the stock market bible ever since its original publication in 1949.

Over the years, market developments have proven the wisdom of Graham’s strategies. While preserving the integrity of Graham’s original text, this revised edition includes updated commentary by noted financial journalist Jason Zweig, whose perspective incorporates the realities of today’s market, draws parallels between Graham’s examples and today’s financial headlines, and gives readers a more thorough understanding of how to apply Graham’s principles.

Vital and indispensable, this Harper Business Essentials edition of  The Intelligent Investor  is the most important book you will ever read on how to reach your financial goals. 

 
 

4. Personal Finance For Dummies

Paperback – September 26, 2023

by Eric Tyson (Author)

Sound personal money management advice with insights for today’s world.

 

Personal Finance for Dummies  has been tracking financial literacy for 30 years.

This tenth edition continues to share the sound advice that’s helped millions of readers become financially literate while demystifying the money matters of the current era.

Get familiar with the financial pillars of earning, saving, investing, borrowing, budgeting, and protecting your assets.

Dig into modern concerns like navigating the housing market, weathering the highs and lows of an unpredictable market, evaluating new stuff like cryptocurrency, and budgeting to achieve your financial goals.

Take the anxiety out of money matters by building a solid financial plan, learning to spend and invest wisely, and managing your debt. Follow the advice that’s helped readers for three decades!

  • Become financially literate so you can minimize debt and set realistic goals
  • Learn the basics of investing and start making smart investment choices
  • Demystify insurance so you can protect your health and your assets
  • Control your spending and build better budgets so you can afford the big stuff

Personal Finance For Dummies offers sound advice for all ages and levels of personal money management. It’s never too early or too late to start making sense of your finances.

 

 

5. Personal Finance In Your 20s and 30s for Dummies

by Eric Tyson (Author)
 
Paperback – June 2, 2021
 

The money lessons you wish you’d learned in school.

 

Personal Finance in Your 20s & 30s For Dummies helps Millennials and Zoomers like you make smart financial moves. It’s not as tough as it looks to reduce and file your taxes, pay off your student debt, buy a home, keep a budget to save and invest wisely, or start that side hustle, just to name a few. With a little bit of focus, you can start a clear path to financial freedom and avoid mistakes today. Your future self will thank you.

This edition is full of updates for the 2020s; wrap your mind around your investment opportunities, the realities of making a second income, higher ed options for career advancement, and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. If you’re in need of financial guidance―and who isn’t?―this is the book you need.

  • Pay off loans, manage your credit, begin the home-buying journey, and more
  • Set realistic money goals so you can create a solid path for financial success
  • Make smart decisions to beef up your bank account and investment portfolio
  • Protect the money you have today and learn how to put your money to work for the future

Get ready to turn up the volume on your financial know-how and stop worrying about money!

 

 

6. Think and Grow Rich: The Landmark Bestseller Now Revised and Updated for the 21st Century (Think and Grow Rich Series)

by Napoleon Hill (Author), Arthur R. Pell (Contributor)

Paperback – December 15, 2007

The bestselling success book of all time—now revised and updated for the 21st century.

 

Think and Grow Rich has been called the “Granddaddy of All Motivational Literature.” It was the first book to boldly ask, “What makes a winner?” The man who asked and listened for the answer, Napoleon Hill, is now counted in the top ranks of the world’s winners himself. The most famous of all teachers of success spent “a fortune and the better part of a lifetime of effort” to produce the “Law of Success” philosophy that forms the basis of his books and that is so powerfully summarized in this one.

In the original Think and Grow Rich, published in 1937, Hill draws on stories of Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and other millionaires of his generation to illustrate his principles. In the updated version, Arthur R. Pell, Ph.D., a nationally known author, lecturer, and consultant in human resources management and an expert in applying Hill’s thought, deftly interweaves anecdotes of how contemporary millionaires and billionaires, such as Bill Gates, Mary Kay Ash, Dave Thomas, and Sir John Templeton, achieved their wealth. Outmoded or arcane terminology and examples are faithfully refreshed to preclude any stumbling blocks to a new generation of readers.

 

 

7. Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence

by Vicki Robin (Author), Joe Dominguez (Author)

Paperback – December 10, 2008

A fully revised edition of one of the most influential books ever written on personal finance with more than a million copies sold.

This is a wonderful book. It can really change your life. -Oprah

 

For more than twenty-five years, Your Money or Your Life has been considered the go-to book for taking back your life by changing your relationship with money. Hundreds of thousands of people have followed this nine-step program, learning to live more deliberately and meaningfully with Vicki Robin’s guidance.

This fully revised and updated edition is the ultimate makeover of this bestselling classic, ensuring that its time-tested wisdom applies to people of all ages and covers modern topics like investing in index funds, managing revenue streams like side hustles and freelancing, tracking your finances online, and having difficult conversations about money.
 
Whether you’re just beginning your financial life or heading towards retirement, this book will show you how to: 
 
• Get out of debt and develop savings
• Save money through mindfulness and good habits, rather than strict budgeting
• Declutter your life and live well for less
• Invest your savings and begin creating wealth
• Save the planet while saving money
• …and so much more!

The seminal guide to the new morality of personal money management. –Los Angeles Times

 

 

8. The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More With Less

by Richard Koch (Author)

Paperback – October 19, 1999

Be more effective with less effort by learning how to identify and leverage The 80/20 Principle: that 80 percent of all our results in business and in life stem from a mere 20 percent of our efforts.

 

The 80/20 Principle is one of the great secrets of highly effective people and organizations.

Did you know, for example, that 20 percent of customers account for 80 percent of revenues? That 20 percent of our time accounts for 80 percent of the work we accomplish? 

The 80/20 Principle shows how we can achieve much more with much less effort, time, and resources, simply by identifying and focusing our efforts on the 20 percent that really counts.

Although The 80/20 Principle has long influenced today’s business world, author Richard Koch reveals how the principle works and shows how we can use it in a systematic and practical way to vastly increase our effectiveness, and improve our careers and our companies.

The unspoken corollary to The 80/20 Principle is that little of what we spend our time on actually counts. But by concentrating on those things that do, we can unlock the enormous potential of the magic 20 percent, and transform our effectiveness in our jobs, our careers, our businesses, and our lives.

 

 

9. Raising Financially Fit Kids

by Joline Godfrey (Author)

Paperback – June 4, 2013

This combination parenting and personal finance book helps parents teach their children key money skills (such as saving, spending, budgeting, investing, building credit, and donating), that they’ll need to become financially secure adults.

 

In this updated edition of Raising Financially Fit Kids, Joline Godfrey shares knowledge gleaned from two decades of preparing children and families for financial independence and stewardship, philanthropic effectiveness, and meaningful economic lives. At the heart of the book are three big ideas:

• Financial education is not just about the money; it’s 
about building great families and raising self-confident kids who have the tools to realize their dreams.
• Financial sustainability means living within one’s means and acquiring skills to create and manage human and financial capital.
• Giving wisely is a global citizen’s responsibility.

Designed for parents, grandparents, mentors, advisors, and educators, Raising Financially Fit Kids uses ten core money skills applied across five developmental life stages: children, tweens, middle schoolers, high schoolers, and twenty-somethings. Each stage includes age-appropriate activities that make financial fitness fun, from mall scavenger hunts to financial film festivals. 
 
In this global economic landscape, we all need financial fluency. Whether your child is five, fifteen, or twenty-five years old, it’s never too late to teach financial literacy. Raising Financially Fit Kids prepares your children for the complexities of living in a global economy and helps your family up your game from good to great.

 

 

10. How to Save for College to Avoid Debt: Step by Step Blueprint on How to Save Up for College and Not Have to Get Into Debt

by Jonathan Murray (Author)

Paperback – July 20, 2023

It IS possible to go through college without any student loans – and How to Save for College to Avoid Debt will show you how!

 

Are you dreading the thought of starting your career weighed down by the burden of student loans and wish to fund your own college education so you can give yourself a head-start in life by not having student loans to influence your life decisions?

And are you looking for a blueprint that will show you just how possible and practical it is – and show you the steps that you can implement to finance your own college education?

If you’ve answered YES,

Let How to Save for College to Avoid Debt show you exactly how to not rely on student loans to go to college!

High levels of student loan debt can significantly affect your financial future by limiting your ability to achieve financial milestones, such as buying a home, starting a business, or saving for retirement. With the average federal student loan debt being $37,338 per borrower, it is clear that such a loan can significantly make it harder to make important life decisions early on in life when you have fewer responsibilities.

The fact that you are here is evidence that you want to avoid student loans but don’t know exactly how to go about it and have all manner of questions going through your mind…

Is it really possible and practical to save up for college and avoid debt – without taking too much time to prepare?

What does it take to truly not take on debt to finance your college education?

What strategies can you use to minimize your education expenses before and during college?

How can you manage your money effectively as a college student?

How do you save money on academic-specific expenses, food, drinks, and entertainment while in college to eliminate the need for debt?

What if you’ve already taken student loans; how do you reduce student debt after graduation fast?

How can you ensure financial independence during and after college?

If these are some of the questions you have, then How to Save for College to Avoid Debt is the book for you as it offers a comprehensive plan to help you minimize if not completely avoid, student debt. With three distinct parts, it covers everything from budgeting basics to money-saving tips for academic-specific expenses, food and drinks, entertainment, and off-campus living.

In How to Save for College to Avoid Debt, you’ll discover:

  • The Fundamentals of money management for college-bound students
  • Strategies to minimize education expenses before even applying for college
  • Money-saving tips to avoid or minimize college debt for college applicants
  • Practical advice for saving money once you arrive on campus
  • Proven ways to cut costs on academic-specific expenses, food, drinks, and entertainment
  • Money-saving tips for off-campus living
  • Tips and strategies to reduce any student debt accrued once you graduate college
  • And much more!

Don’t let the fear of student debt dampen your college experience or career prospects.

Even if you feel your income is too low to save anything substantial to finance your college education, How to Save for College to Avoid Debt will offer new insights and perspective to make you see just how realistic it is to finance your college education in full or in part!

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