In the past, I have attempted to read a couple of personal finance books in my school’s library without much success. I just couldn’t go past a dozen pages or so. Somehow, it seemed to me that they were all saying the same thing. It’s quite possible that I have biased myself with the reviews by other personal finance bloggers before I started reading the books…(or may be I wasn’t reading the right books for a start). Sometimes, deep down, I feel, this is also because some book authors may be trying to fill a large number of pages with a small amount of advice in order to call it a *book*. Whatever.
After some contemplation on this matter, over the past few days, I decided to give it another sincere shot. May be I will not like them again, but I think it’s important for my development to read all sides of a story. As a quick follow up, I headed over to a Half Price Books outlet in my town (here is their website) and searched for some money/personal finance related books. 
I must have browsed through over 30 ~ 40 books (browsed = read a random page or two from the books), and most of them didn’t seem all that interesting. Finally, after about 2 full hours, I zeroed in on the following books. Prices are given in brackets.
- Zero Debt - by Lynnette Khalfani ($7.48)
Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees - by Neale S. Godfrey ($5.48)- Yankee Magazine’s Living Well on a Shoestring - by The Editors of Yankee Magazine ($5.98)
- The Automatic Millionaire - by David Bach ($6.48)
- The Millionaire Next Door (Hardcover)- by Stanley and Danko ($10.98)
Total spent for 5 books: $36.40 + taxes = $39.40 (I love this… my first book as an engineering graduate student cost me $160 something).
The last two in the list are in brand new condition and the other three are used (I think), but they look like new too. Now, in the weeks to come, I will post some reviews 
(critical or otherwise) of the stuff I read in these books (and no, I won’t sneak in Amazon referral links with those reviews). I will probably start with the cheapest book first - Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees and read the others in the increasing order of their price.
On a related note, I checked the list price for these books at Amazon.com, and here is what I got:
- Zero Debt ($10.61)
- Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees ($11.64)
- Yankee Magazine’s Living Well on a Shoestring ($19.77)
- The Automatic Millionaire ($10.36)
- The Millionaire Next Door ($14.96)
Total = $67.34, no tax and free shipping…but this still would have been much more expensive, plus the wait.
So, the next time when you are in a mood to buy some personal finance books, remember to visit the nearest Half Price Books outlet. It might be worth the time and efforts.
If you have come across good personal finance books by not-so-famous (or even obscure) authors, and/or have other recommendations, please feel free to drop a line.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Robert Kiyosaki is routinely blasted, but his Rich Dad, Poor Dad books are actually pretty mind-expanding IMO. They are geared towards pushing you away from security and into a riskier (yet more lucrative) way of life. Spends a lot of time talking about the psychology of rich vs. poor and attempts to inspire you to think like a rich person would. Also he comes up with some creative accounting principles (most controversially, a re-definition of assets and liabilities) that are intended to get you to re-think the conventional wisdom. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I drink the RK kool-aid, and I think I’m the better for it. I bought “Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing” a few months ago, and just got done reading the original “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” (borrowed from the library), and I like it enough to buy it and loan it out to family members. I would recommend RDPD as a good starter. Reading some more of Kiyosaki’s works is in the plans, but I think that mostly he repeats himself from book to book. The core ideas are all there in RDPD.
Another book along similar lines is Dan Kennedy’s “No B.S. Wealth Attraction for Entrepreneurs”. Again, the core of the book is an attempt to get you to fundamentally change your way of thinking about money.
Both of these books take a “get rich” approach. They are the polar opposite of the books that you have (except maybe Millionaire Next Door, which I have also read and which I also purchased from Half Price Books). The “Automatic Millionaire” (which I also have checked out from the library and will be starting very soon) et al. are all geared towards average working Joes who want to save for retirement. RK and Dan Kennedy are all about becoming entrepreneurs, eventually quitting your day job and leaving behind any sense of security, while potentially multiplying your earnings tenfold. A risky formula, but one that can definitely work. RK and DK also are proponents of the “money is abundant” idea, which IMO is mostly true and the opposite of what I’m assuming is the core idea of “Money Doesn’t Grow On Trees”.
Gaming the Credit System: Thanks for the elaborate comment. Interestingly, I looked but could not find Rich Dad Poor Dad in the store, and nor it’s on my library shelf right now…but yeah,that one is on my list.
Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees is about parents raising financially responsible children…sort of more down to earth than “leave your job and be a millionaire”
…see I told you I was biased against Kiyosaki.
Anyways, I will attempt to read Kiyosaki too with a clear mind and see where he leads me to.
Thanks again.
I thought The Millionaire Next Door was a great read. Kiyosaki has both good and bad but makes some valid points. I’ve never read the others, look forward to hearing your reviews.
While I don’t think any of us disdain being fiscally responsible, I (along with RK, DK, et al) do see a problem with the “money doesn’t grow on trees” idea. The reality is that there is SO much money out there, and more is being made every day.
You learn in economics class about the Multiplier Effect (which is related to the Savings Rate) and how when you spend $10, that goes on to “create” $100 in the economy, because that money that you spent goes into somebody’s pocket, and they spend it, so it goes into somebody else’s pocket, etc. and on and on as people keep on spending it (but when they sock it away, it stops being a part of the cycle).
Well, this isn’t just theory. The fact is that there are many, many people out there with money just burning holes in their pockets. Money is easy to come by. It is not scarce. It is being created all the time out of thin air. When you have a “money is scarce” philosophy, it leads to a fear of money and a fear of losing your money, which leads to irrational financial behavior.
Money is not given out according to some master plan to those who deserve it in some karmic sense. There are good people who work hard all their lives who end up with nothing. Money is allocated mostly to those who study it and put it to use. And it goes more to people who realize that the economy is not a zero-sum game: For you to get richer, does not require that anybody else get poorer. That is a fact. The “scarce money” philosophy contradicts that. If money is scarce, there isn’t enough to go around, and any money that’s in your pocket can’t be in somebody else’s pocket. Therefore, for you to be richer, somebody else must be poorer. This is obviously not the case. So “scarce money” leads to a wrong way of thinking about money and ultimately leads you to desire to be poor (or not to be rich) so as not to make others poor. It sounds crazy, but if you examine many people’s lives and the way that they handle their finances, you will see that this belief is actually widely held.
This is (I think) the most important point from the Dan Kennedy book that I read. Kiyosaki hits on it repeatedly as well.
GtCS
The books by David Bach are on ok read. However, I do not think they are worth spending money on. I got both at my local library. From a person who has read many personal finance books the concepts are almost always the same: spend less than you earn, save for emergency, save for retirement, pay down debt, good debt vs. bad debt, blah blah blah.
I like “The Wealthy Barber” as a PF book to give to someone who has never thought about PF before. (ie an introduction to PF) It is non-intimadating, written in an “easy to read” story style, and is more about the ways to think about money rather than specific tips.
In your particular instance, if you read it you will think that it is very basic and doesn’t contain anything you haven’t heard before. But it is exactly the sort of thing that you can give to someone for a college graduation, or to a friend or loved one that you see sliding down the slippery slope into debt that will not lose them in the first 3 pages and might get them thinking.
I agree, Rich Dad Poor Dad, is a great mind expanding book. If you haven’t read a book in years, and aren’t interested in personal finance, Robert Kiyosaki’s book will change your world. I recommend it as the First book to read. (It’s short enough to finish)
Millionaire Next Door & The Automatic Millionaire, I’ve read are also good books, but are more finely diced. To finish these require a more serious approach. I feel that these two books focus more on the “How”, not the “Why”, without a “Why” and a belief that you can achieve financial abundant, all the “How To” books will fail.
Also I loved “Smart Couples Finish Rich” by David Bach as well.
I think for people who are getting started, I’d recommend, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Rich Dad’s Cashflow Quadrant, and Anthony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within, honorable mention goes to “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”
Also how come no used books from Amazon Marketplace?
Quang: Thanks for your insight. Btw, some of the books were much cheaper at the store than at Amazon Marketplace…and I wanted to read a few specific things before buying them. Personally, I get a better *feel* that way. Plus, Half Price Book was giving away some 15~20% off coupons for future purchases.
I agree with you,books are the best media to know many things,For me Rich Dad Poor Dad, is a great mind expanding book. If you haven’t read a book in years,aren’t interested in personal finance,this book will change your world. I recommend it as the First book to read. For my self i refer click here ,that’s a great site offering wide range of books,Just look at Once.
‘d like to buy a few books on personal finance, investing and becoming wealthy.
Thank you. =)
Most of what I teach my readers is how to become successful investing in apartment buildings and commercial real estate. However, I also provide a lot of general information regarding real estate investing in general. Feel free to have a look around.
Like I said, Larry Burkett has a vast resource of books and information. He is, after all, a Christian financial advisor and has had his own radio talk show on Christian radio stations nation wide.
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