Finding money between the covers: the best books about budgeting

Deciding to make a personal budget can be tough. But once you’ve made the commitment there are a lot of books out there on how to go about creating a budget and improving your personal financial well-being. 

There are many books on the topic written by experts on personal finance. And of course, there’s always a list somewhere of what is best. 

Personal finance guru Dave Ramsey’s books of course top many lists. Ramsey’s “The Total Money Makeover” remains a bestseller. 

For the novice to personal budgets, NerdWallet gives its top pick to “Personal Finance for Dummies.” NerdWallet, a website for financial information of all kinds, notes that the book is good for the novice who wants a basic understanding. “Think of it as your own Personal Finance 101 course,” the website says. 

The No. 3 book on NerdWallet’s list, “The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated,” presents ways to gain control over your money by using simple methods. “Instead of explaining essential financial concepts in a complex or long-winded manner, it boils the key components down to what fits on an index card,” the review states.

On a different NerdWallet list, “You’re So Money: Live Rich Even When You’re Not” is dubbed as one of five books to read on personal finance. This particular book, written by Farnoosh Torabi deals with how to live on a budget and stretch a modest paycheck. 

DevelopGoodHabits.com, a website devoted to information on how to eliminate bad habits, includes on its list of best books about personal finance “Living Well, Spending Less!: 12 Secrets to the Good Life.” The author, Ruth Soukup, deals with finding a balance between a chaotic life and budgeting. She gives practical action plans to “inspire the reader to make lasting changes to personal finances and goals.” Soukup’s book is aimed at “mothers who are trying to juggle life’s demands with society’s pressure to keep up with everyone else.”

Another book on DevelopGoodHabits.com’s list, “The One Week Budget: Learn to Create Your Money Management in 7 Days or Less!” is geared toward young adults. “It presents a clear and simple system for cutting expenses and maximizing savings to meet financial goals,” the reviewer notes. 

The website’s list also includes “How to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck: A Proven Path to Money Mastery in Only 15 Minutes a Week!” The reviewer says: “This might be one of the best budgeting and savings books for you if you find that your emotions are often tied to your bank account and you have started to lose control of your finances.”

Next on DevelopGoodHabits.com’s list is “How to Manage Your Money When You Don’t Have Any.” In this book, the author offers a “firsthand account of living on the money you have during rough times.” This isn’t a book that teaches you how to get rich but how budgeting and saving are easy regardless of financial background. If you happen to have Kindle Unlimited, you can read this book at no charge. 

The Balance, another personal finance information website, names “Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence” as the best book about living on a budget. This book by Vicki Robin has become something of a classic since being published in 1992. Robin’s book basically says do what makes you happy, rather than chance the money, and budget accordingly. 

“If you’re at an earlier stage in your personal finance development, the book is a must-read,” G.E. Miller, founder of 20somethingfinance.com, writes in a review of the book. 

These are just some of the best books out there. Getting started on the path toward budgeting and a healthier personal financial situation is made easier regardless of what book you choose to read to become more educated about personal finances and budgeting. You just have to take that first step toward a personal budget.