personal finance Book Summaries

The Total Money Makeover is a common sense guide to help you become debt-free and reach financial freedom. Dave Ramsey's "baby steps" plan emphasizes financial responsibility, discipline, budgeting, and avoiding all debt including credit cards.

The Richest Man in Babylon is a timeless finance book that explains simple rules to grow wealth, become debt-free, and attain financial freedom. Author George S. Clason invented the phrase "pay yourself first," which means saving 10% of your income before paying any other expenses.

The Simple Path to Wealth is about how to manage our money so we can enjoy financial freedom and greater wealth. JL Collins recommends saving as much as possible, getting out of debt quickly, and investing in low-cost stock index funds.

Your Money Or Your Life is different from other personal finance books because it talks about choice, freedom and fulfillment—instead of deprivation and discipline. You'll learn how to use money to achieve your authentic dreams and escape the modern traps of consumption, clutter and debt.

The Millionaire Next Door is about the reality of how people accumulate extraordinary wealth. The authors conducted studies that found typical millionaires are not flashy consumers. Instead, they tend to be business owners who work hard, save money, and live middle-class lifestyles like you and me.

Unshakeable is Tony Robbin's guide to simple investing. He shows us how to achieve financial freedom and security. You'll learn about smart investing tools like index funds, compound interest and diversification. You'll also see how to avoid losing money due to fees and fear.

Millionaire Teacher explains how to start investing as a middle-class person so you could retire a millionaire. Andrew Hallam, who was a Canadian English teacher, explains how to save more money through extreme frugality and where to put our savings for the most dependable growth. (Hint: index funds.)

Rich Dad Poor Dad is Robert Kiyosaki's story of growing up with a "Poor Dad" (his middle-class real father) and a "Rich Dad" (his best friend's father, a savvy entrepreneur). Kiyosaki says rich people are rich because they don't work for income, but buy assets that make them money.

Think and Grow Rich is about more than money—it's about getting what we want in life. Napoleon Hill interviewed 500+ successful people (like Henry Ford and Thomas Edison), identifying a 13-step formula for achievement, which includes 1) a burning desire, 2) a definite plan, and 3) persistence past failure.