By: Rachel Rendall
The summer before my freshman year in college, my cousin gave to me two personal finance books that she had been given by her father and had given to both my siblings when they graduated high school. While these books collected dust on my siblings' shelves, I couldn’t put them down (which really says something because I have never enjoyed reading...) and from there found my love of finance.
Now I know that is rare that someone actually likes taking the time to learn about their personal finances, so I wanted to share the books, podcasts, and blogs that made personal finance feel less overwhelming and got me excited to manage my finances.
1.) I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
If you get any book, GET THIS BOOK. This book breaks down finances into easy checklists and sets you up to have your finances automated. This book covers everything from budgeting to investing to buying a car or a house, and even gives you scripts to use when calling to get fees waived on credit cards. It is the most comprehensive but understandable finance book I've ever read—and now the author wrote a corresponding journal which I was so excited about that I pre-ordered it. Also, Ramit speaks conversationally and adds some sarcasm in there, so it is a fun read.
2.) Meet the Frugalwoods by Elizabeth Willard Thames
This is one of the two books that my cousin got me that introduced me to the fun world of personal finances. I would say that this is a great book to start with since it is more of a story that follows a family and their journey of saving to retire early. While saving up to 80% of your paycheck isn’t feasible or normal for most, the author of this book was able to accomplish it, retire in her 40s and now spends her lives trying to teach people how to do the same. While I will not save as extremely as this family, some of their tips and tricks are universally applicable! And, this book is written well and just fun to read.
3.) The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley
This is the second book that my cousin gave me once I graduated from high school, and it is dense but 100% awesome. This book is basically walks through a study that was conducted on hundreds of millionaires that details their habits and how they became millionaires. And what they found was pretty shocking to me, but I'll let you read to find out 😊. Even if you only read a couple chapters of this book, you will leave with a different perspective on what it takes and means to be a millionaire.
4.) Afford Anything Blog by Paula Pant
The Afford Anything Blog is my go-to spot for easy-to-understand articles on anything investing. Paula breaks everything down into real-people words and none of the confusing finance lingo. Here is my favorite article from her about investing that I have shared with just about anyone who asks me about how to invest: https://affordanything.com/how-to-start-investing-in-stocks/. Paula also writes very conversationally so all her articles are easy to understand, and a little sarcastic, too.
5.) Choose FI Podcast
This podcast is awesome and covers just about everything! Some of the episodes are more marketed towards those who are personal finance geeks like me, but others are great for beginners and give awesome tips and tricks. You should first listen to Episode 38: The Why of FI, which talks about the reasons why people choose to work towards financial independence or “FI” as seasoned personal finance people call it. This podcast preaches the concept, “FIRE,” which stands for Financial Independence Retire Early, and goes through the ways that people manage their money to retire at age 35, 40, or 50 which is very interesting.
6.) Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robins & Joseph R. Dominguez
This book made me think about spending money in a totally different way. Instead of thinking of money as a dollar amount, this book challenges you to think about how much time items or experiences cost. For example, people who have read their book have decided to retire by factoring in the money they would save by quitting their jobs like not having to take expensive vacations, get regular massages, or have to pay for a chiropractor, due to the stress of their job. The idea behind this book is interesting and makes you start thinking of your financial decisions as, “is this latte worth working half an hour at my job?”.
So, these are my top 6 favorite, entertaining, easy-to-understand, books, podcasts, and blogs that have changed the way I think about my money and made the whole process kind of fun for me. Until I finish reading my next set of finance books… happy reading (and listening)!
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