If you are about to embark on that amazing journey called getting control of your personal finances, here’s some good news. There are a number of helpful books on personal finance, including some that are even specific to age groups.
For example, there is a book titled, “Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance In Your Twenties.” It’s available in paperback from Amazon.com for $12.99 and is designed to help twentysomethings and thirtysomethings get control of their financial lives. The author, who is under 30, has included a good collection of money management principles and goals tailored to that particular age. The book includes information on tax-deferred savings plans, staying away from ATMs, legal tax deductions, tax-deferred savings plans, tearing up credit cards and much, much more.
Would you mind being called a dummy?
If you’re beyond 30 and not afraid of being thought of as a dummy, there is the book, “Managing Your Money All-In-One For Dummies.” It offers good information on taking charge of your finances, managing home and personal finances, dealing with debt, saving and investing, protecting your money and assets and even has a chapter on retiring comfortably. Like all the Dummy books, this one is easy to read and chock full of helpful tips and suggestions.
The gospel according to Dave
Another book I like was written by Dave Ramsey. It‘s titled, “The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness.” You might be familiar with Dave as he has his own radio talk show and is considered to be an expert in money management. The book, which is also available on Amazon, is about Dave’s system, which is fairly simple–you work hard, pay what you owe, and try to stay out of debt. Dave’s number one commandment is “pay cash.” He advises people to start with baby steps such as saving $1000 as an emergency fund and then paying off old debts from the smallest to the largest. He advises that you should then create a larger 3-to-6-month emergency fund then start saving to pay off your home mortgage and so forth. One of the things I like is that it’s packed with testimonials from people who followed the system and were able to get out of debt despite many challenges.
Go to boot camp
Finally, there is, “90 Day Money Challenge: Boot Camp For Financial Fitness by Brian Hamilton. This book is on the more expensive side as it retails on Amazon for $19.99 in hardcover or a more reasonable $9.99 as a Kindle edition. It is designed to take you on a journey–one step at a time–to get you from your current financial situation to a better place. It’s packed with practical ideas that you can start to use immediately. The author admits that getting started isn’t easy but believes that is proven process works every time.
As you can see, you don’t have to tackle money management all by yourself. There are a number of books on personal finance that can help you achieve your goals and get control of your finances.