Our Favorite Personal Finance Books and Podcasts
* This article was originally published on April 8, 2020. It has been updated for 2021.
You may notice that we’ve recommended some of these resources to you during your meetings or through FPFoCo Academy. Instead of searching through your inbox or clicking through your completed Academy modules, here’s a centralized list that dives into some of our favorite personal finance resources.! Many of these shape our financial planning philosophies, and we’re excited to share these resources with you.
Book Recommendations
► The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Rich
By William D. Danko & Thomas J. Stanley
Identify if you have the behaviors conducive to building wealth. The authors share messages about living below your means, career paths, and how you can understand how others influence your behavior.
► Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness
By Richard Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein
Thaler, a Nobel Prize winner in economics, explains the main principles of behavioral economics. His book illustrates his research to make people’s lives easier and also dabbles in some Homer Simpson references.
► Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending
By Elizabeth Dunn & Michael Norton
Did you know that money can buy happiness? The authors explain five proven ways people can spend their dollars to make them a little happier.
► Intentional Wealth: How Families Build Legacies of Stewardship & Financial Health
By Courtney Pullen
There are strategies to bridge communication with your family to proactively address family values and decisions in times of crisis. Don’t let money be taboo in your household.
► The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money
By Carl Richards
Richards makes the complex simple with this short book. Make the complicated world of money a little easier to digest with action steps and knowledge to better yourself immediately after reading this book.
► When She Makes More: 10 Rules for Breadwinning Women
By Farnoosh Torabi
Society is changing, and more women are earning higher incomes than their partners. This dynamic involves psychological quirks for both parties.
► A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing
By Burton Malkiel
Build that compound interest early! This book influenced many of my investment philosophies and it’s a great read for novices as well as veterans.
► The Financial Wisdom of Ebeneezer Scrooge: 5 Principles to Transform Your Relationship with Money
By Dr. Ted Klontz, Dr. Brad Klontz, and Rick Kahler
You don’t have to be a Scrooge to improve your financial life! The authors base their narrative around what shaped Ebeneezer’s unconscious money beliefs and how he overcame them to illustrate how you can better your relationship with money, too.
Podcast Recommendations
Multiple series filled with helpful advice about many different subjects. This digestible content can motivate you to take action.
Favorite Episode: How to Ask For a Raise: Know Your Value (And Bring The Evidence)
► The Indicator from Planet Money
The Planet Money team analyzes and explains why a number in the news matters. They address loads of economics and finance subjects to help you gain fresh perspectives.
Favorite Episode: PLEASE Sell me a home!
► Choiceology with Katy Milkman
Enjoy short examples of how our psychology can trip us up as humans. These examples illustrate principles of behavioral finance so you can better understand – and manage – your own personal finances.
Favorite Episode: Fair is Fair
► How I Built This with Guy Raz
Learn the journeys of entrepreneurs and movement-creators. Listening to these stories just might inspire you and give you a tremendous amount of respect for how these people persevered through adversity.
Favorite Episode: Spanx: Sara Blakely
► Planet Money: The Economy Explained
Understanding the economy doesn’t have to be “blah blah blah.” These journalists make relevant topics fun to listen to so you can better understand the world.
Favorite Episode: We Buy A Superhero 1: Origins
For a quick snapshot of the top business and financial news of the day as well as a 30-second market update, look no further — especially if you’re in a hurry. David Brancaccio wraps up these episodes in about 10 minutes or less.
Favorite Episode: Since this is a daily podcast, we don’t necessarily have a favorite. We suggest you give today’s episode a listen!
Note: If you’re more of a tech-minded person, you might also check out Marketplace Tech. It focuses on — you guessed it! — the biggest business and technology stories of the day, also in about 10 minutes or so.
Recently featured in the Apple Podcasts Spotlight and nominated for a Webby, This Is Uncomfortable takes on financial stories from real human perspectives. Part of the Marketplace family, it’s “a show about life and how money messes with it.”
Favorite Episode: A Lifelong Scam
► NerdWallet’s Smart Money Podcast
In this weekly podcast, hosts Sean and Liz focus on finance topics and answer questions from their listeners about money. From what to do with excess savings to tips for buying a home and saving on everyday purchases, this show offers advice from journalists that you may be able to use in your own life.
Favorite Episode: Saving at the pump and 401(k) limits
Bonus Podcast Recommendation
► The Way It Was: A Podpast Podcast
Learn about Fort Collins history from this charming newspaper reporter. Dive into stories that surround us every day so you can know more about our Colorado town.
Favorite Episode: Inside Old Town’s Famous Disneyland Tie
Happy reading and listening!
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