Book Reviews

Welcome to the book review section of my site.

The best way to take care of your money is to educate yourself. There is always something to be learned from the insights and experiences of others.

Here are detailed reviews of some of the finance books I’ve read. With so many out there, it’s hard to really know how applicable/useful a book is until you’ve read most of it. Time is money, so I’ll do the legwork and let you know which books are worth a read.

I’ve divided them into four sections, each corresponding to how strongly I would recommend them to others. Here are the categories:

“Read it twice” – books that are so important and helpful it would behoove you to read it again.
“Read it” – books that are informative, but not a grand slam like the “Read it twice” group
“Read it if you have spare time” – books that contain some useful info, but overall aren’t very good
“Don’t read it” – self explanatory.

You’ll find a brief summary of each book below, but clicking on the links will take you to a full review.

Read it Twice

Coming soon: my review of “The Wealthy Barber”

“Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes – and How to Correct Them” by Gary Belsky and Thomas Gilovich

One of the best finance books I’ve ever read. Whereas most books treat the symptoms of bad finance, this one tries to cure the illness itself by changing the way you make decisions. It examines why we make bad choices, and also why we fail to do the things we know we should be doing. A great read for anyone, regardless of age or experience.

Read It

“The Money Book for the Young, Broke & Fabulous“, by Suze Orman

This is Suze Orman’s first book aimed at young adults. Some of the information – like credit scores, retirement options, and balancing love and money are very helpful. Other areas come up short, like career changes, investing, and her view on budgeting. Still, the book does have some good information for beginners and intermediates, and access to her online tools are more than worth the cost of the book.

“The Number“, by Lee Eisenberg

This is a book about retirement aimed at baby boomers, but everyone could benefit from reading it. Too many people and books forget about finding a sense of fulfillment in retirement, but Lee Eisenberg does not. He focuses on figuring out what you want to do when you retire, and also gives some advice for planning for it. I think this is a great read for all ages, especially young adults. You’re never too young to think about retirement, especially when time is your best friend in finances.

Read It if You Have Spare Time

“Pay it Down – From Debt to Wealth on $10 a Day” by Jean Chatzky

A good book for people that have lots of debt and no idea how to start paying it off. However, if you’ve been budgeting for a while, and already have a plan for paying off debt, it may not be the best book for you. Still, it does contain some ideas on how to cut spending that could be helpful for anyone.