10 Must Read Personal Finance Books from 2012

What finance books did you read in 2012? The following are a group of personal finance books that were all released in 2012 so maybe you will find something new! They are also in no particular order…We suggest you read them all!

The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money

Why do we lose money? It’s easy to blame the economy or the financial markets-but the real trouble lies in the decisions we make.

As a financial planner, Carl Richards grew frustrated watching people he cared about make the same mistakes over and over. They were letting emotion get in the way of smart financial decisions. He named this phenomenon-the distance between what we should do and what we actually do-”the behavior gap.” Using simple drawings to explain the gap, he found that once people understood it, they started doing much better.

Richards’s way with words and images has attracted a loyal following to his blog posts for The New York Times, appearances on National Public Radio, and his columns and lectures. His book will teach you how to rethink all kinds of situations where your perfectly natural instincts (for safety or success) can cost you money and peace of mind.

Dave Ramsey’s Complete Guide to Money: The Handbook of Financial Peace University

Dave Ramsey’s Complete Guide to Money covers the A to Z of Dave’s money teaching, including how to budget, save, dump debt and invest. If you’re looking for practical information to answer all your How? What? and Why? questions about money, this is the book for you. You’ll also learn all about insurance, mortgage options, marketing, bargain hunting and the most important element of all giving. Now let’s be honest: This is the handbook of Financial Peace University. If you’ve been through Dave’s 13-week class, you won’t find much new information in this book.

Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business. He’s authored four New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover and EntreLeadership.

The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 4.5 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations.

Debt: The First 5,000 Years

Here anthropologist David Graeber presents a stunning reversal of conventional wisdom: he shows that before there was money, there was debt. For more than 5,000 years, since the beginnings of the first agrarian empires, humans have used elaborate credit systems to buy and sell goods—that is, long before the invention of coins or cash. It is in this era, Graeber argues, that we also first encounter a society divided into debtors and creditors.

Graeber shows that arguments about debt and debt forgiveness have been at the center of political debates from Italy to China, as well as sparking innumerable insurrections. He also brilliantly demonstrates that the language of the ancient works of law and religion (words like “guilt,” “sin,” and “redemption”) derive in large part from ancient debates about debt, and shape even our most basic ideas of right and wrong. We are still fighting these battles today without knowing it.

The Compound Effect

No gimmicks. No Hyperbole. No Magic Bullet. The Compound Effect is based on the principle that decisions shape your destiny. Little, everyday decisions will either take you to the life you desire or to disaster by default. Darren Hardy, publisher of Success Magazine, presents The Compound Effect, a distillation of the fundamental principles that have guided the most phenomenal achievements in business, relationships, and beyond. This easy-to-use, step-by-step operating system allows you to multiply your success, chart your progress, and achieve any desire. If you’re serious about living an extraordinary life, use the power of The Compound Effect to create the success you want.

Darren Hardy is the visionary force behind SUCCESS magazine as its Publisher and Founding Editor. As a business leader in the success industry for two decades, Darren has had unique and unfettered access to the most successful people on the planet, including Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet, Donald Trump, Howard Schultz, Charles Schwab, Jeff Bezos and many more.

One Word that will Change Your Life

One Word is a simple concept that delivers powerful life change! Every New Year, 87 percent of adults create new goals and resolutions, only to experience the same frustrating results: false starts and failure. In fact, 50 percent of resolution makers will fail by the end of January!

In 1999, co-authors Dan Britton and Jimmy Page discovered a better way to start the New Year and the solution to failed resolutions and unrealized goals. Instead of creating goals and resolutions, they found one word that would be their driving force for the year. No goals. No resolutions. Just one word.

One Word that will Change Your Life will inspire you to simplify your life and work by focusing on just one word for the entire year. That’s right! One Word creates clarity, power, passion and life-change. Each year, resolutions are rarely kept and goals are often easily forgotten. But One Word sticks. There is a word meant for you and when you find it, live it, and share it, your life will become more rewarding and exciting than ever.

The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential

Are there tried and true principles that are always certain to help a person grow? John Maxwell says the answer is yes. He has been passionate about personal development for over fifty years, and for the first time, he teaches everything he has gleaned about what it takes to reach our potential. In the way that only he can communicate, John teaches . . .

• The Law of the Mirror: You Must See Value in Yourself to Add Value to Yourself
• The Law of Awareness: You Must Know Yourself to Grow Yourself
• The Law of Modeling: It’s Hard to Improve When You Have No One But Yourself to Follow
• The Law of the Rubber Band: Growth Stops When You Lose the Tension Between Where You are and Where You Could Be
• The Law of Contribution: Developing Yourself Enables You to Develop Others

This third and final book in John Maxwell’s Laws series (following 2-million seller The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork) will help you become a lifelong learner whose potential keeps increasing and never gets “used up.”

How Will You Measure Your Life?

In 2010 world-renowned innovation expert Clayton M. Christensen gave a powerful speech to the Harvard Business School’s graduating class. Drawing upon his business research, he offered a series of guidelines for finding meaning and happiness in life. He used examples from his own experiences to explain how high achievers can all too often fall into traps that lead to unhappiness.

The speech was memorable not only because it was deeply revealing but also because it came at a time of intense personal reflection: Christensen had just overcome the same type of cancer that had taken his father’s life. As Christensen struggled with the disease, the question “How do you measure your life?” became more urgent and poignant, and he began to share his insights more widely with family, friends, and students.

In this groundbreaking book, Christensen puts forth a series of questions: How can I be sure that I’ll find satisfaction in my career? How can I be sure that my personal relationships become enduring sources of happiness? How can I avoid compromising my integrity—and stay out of jail? Using lessons from some of the world’s greatest businesses, he provides incredible insights into these challenging questions.

Money Rules: The Simple Path to Lifelong Security

Chatzky removes the stress associated with all things money and says it clearly: Readers who follow these basic yet crucial approaches to spending, saving, investing, increasing their income, and most importantly, protecting what they have, will build the wealth and financial stability they’ve been dreaming of. Chatzky’s advice is reassuring, straightforward, and often counterintuitive.

Pocket Your Dollars: 5 Attitude Changes That Will Help You Pay Down Debt, Avoid Financial Stress, and Keep More of What You Make

Countless free budget plans are available for every possible income level and stage of life. So why do more than 60 percent of U.S. households still live paycheck to paycheck? The key to financial stability and success isn’t just about money–it’s about attitudes.

Rocha uses the lessons she learned overcoming personal debt to teach readers how to triumph over the lies we tell ourselves, such as “I deserve a treat,” “Fake it till you make it,” and “I can’t afford it.” Each chapter uses real-life examples to explain faulty thinking about money, followed by step-by-step instructions for how to overcome these pitfalls. Budgets are helpful, but real change won’t happen without a financial attitude adjustment.

Carrie Rocha [ha-sha] owns and operates PocketYourDollars.com, one of the most popular sites on the web, helping readers enjoy life within their means. Carrie writes regularly for Bankrate.com and has been featured on Wall Street Journal Radio, Glamour, Ladies’ Home Journal, Yahoo! Finance, CNNMoney.com, FoxBusiness.com, and many other magazines and websites.

How to Be Richer, Smarter, and Better-Looking Than Your Parents

Striking out on your own for the first time is exhilarating. But in a culture full of bad advice, predatory banks, and splurge-now-pay-later temptations, it can also be extremely dangerous–leading you to make financial decisions that could hurt you for years to come. Combine this with a slumped economy, mounds of student loans, and dubious examples from reality TV stars to politicians to your own parents, and it’s no wonder so many twenty-somethings are struggling.

Twenty-three-year-old Zac Bissonnette–the author of Debt-Free U–knows exactly what you’re going through. He demystifies the many traps young people fall victim to in their post-college years. He offers fresh insights on everything from job hunting to buying a car to saving for retirement that will give you a foundation for a secure, stable, and happy life. In the process, he reveals why FICO scores are overrated, online job applications are a waste of time, car loans are for suckers, and credit card rewards are a scam.

What were your favorite personal finance reads from 2012?

Book reviews and descriptions via Amazon.com

Tags: 2012, books, featured, personal finance

Category: Money Basics