Personal Finance

It is one of the best and most common New Year’s resolutions anyone can make: “This year I am going to get my financial life in order.” Whether you are a savvy saver or a beginning investor, we have recommendations for books that meet every level of fiscal fitness.

Assessing your financial state can sometimes be overwhelming. Do you save for retirement or pay off a loan? Can it be done simultaneously? Will a budget to meet goals mean the end to all vacations?!

There are many articles and opinions on the Internet advising individuals on how they should manage their money. Many appear with rational advice about money matters, while others discuss trendy or high-risk investments yielding above-average returns without addressing possible consequences. Sorting through all of this material can be challenging.

The following books will provide readers with the tools to develop a financial plan. The authors explain various strategies for achieving goals and help one understand the terminology used in all types of transactions.

The Financial Diet: A Total Beginner's Guide to Getting Good With Money by Chelsea Fagan
The founder of The Financial Diet blog outlines practical advice for securing a healthy financial life, explaining the basics of creating a budget, choosing worthwhile investments and managing credit responsibly while negotiating for raises and learning how to afford small luxuries.

This is the Year I Put My Financial Life in Order by John Schwartz
A correspondent for The New York Times offers this part memoir, part research-based guide to describe his personal journey from near financial ruin to full financial literacy. The book includes non-preachy advice on investments, retirement, insurance, and wills.

Smart Couples Finish Rich: 9 Steps to Creating a Rich Future for You and Your Partner by David Bach
Originally published in 2004, this fully-updated guide provides detailed instructions for couples looking to build and maintain their financial wealth through proven strategies for organization, communication, and smarter spending in the current economy.

Women & Money by Suze Orman
In a book that includes up-to-date tax information and economic data, a renowned personal finance expert, TV host, and #1 New York Times bestselling author offers insights and compassion along with a clear and streamlined plan for women to attain durable financial security.

You Can Stay Home With Your Kids!: 100 Tips, Tricks, and Ways to Make It Work on a Budget by Erin Odom
Investing your life in your family brings you joy, and doing it on a single income doesn't need to stress you out! In You Can Stay Home with Your Kids! Erin Odom of The Humbled Homemaker blog shares her best money-saving tips so you can live frugally and thrive as a stay-at-home or work-from-home mom.

Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together by Erin Lowry
Based on her successful blog of the same name, the author, a 26-year-old personal-finance expert, helps readers go from in debt and overwhelmed to informed and financially empowered by using humor and real-life examples to demystify the world of money for Millennials.

Your Score: An Insider's Secrets to Understanding, Controlling, and Protecting Your Credit Score by Anthony Davenport
Presents a roadmap for how to navigate the confusing, secretive world of consumer credit, and how to upgrade and correct one's credit score.

Get Money: Live the Life You Want, Not Just the Life You Can Afford by Kristin Wong
Presenting a series of challenges designed to boost one's personal finance I.Q., a personal finance expert teaches us how to live the life we want, not just the life we can afford.