Your fall personal finance reading list

Written by Geoff Williams
Posted On: September 5, 2012

Summer reading is over, and so if you're starting to veer away from lighter beach reading and more into the heavier stuff, you might want to take a look at some of the self-help personal finance books out there and put them on their reading list… especially if you've been crunching numbers and wondering why you took that wildly expensive vacation and used up most of the money in your bank account and on your credit cards. Or if, even worse, you're crunching numbers and wondering why you didn't have any money so you could take a wildly expensive vacation.

So in case you're looking for something to read, here are a few of the many new personal finance books that have either just come out or are coming out soon.

Title: Personal Freedom and Finance: Short Foundational Discussions on Personal Economics and Finance in Today's Young Adults

Author: Brooks Levonitis.

What it's about: It's a series of topical discussions about defining financial success individually and what it really takes to become independent in today's uncertain and complex world. In other words, it's an investing book aimed at the young adult crowd.

Title: Rich Kid Smart Kid: Giving Your Child a Financial Head Start

Author: Robert T. Kiyosaki

What it's about: Presumably his book, which hits bookstores on October 30, is along the same lines as the rest of Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad motivational self-help financial books, a phenomenally successful series (his 15 books are said to have sold around 26 million copies). For comparison's sake, the personal finance book I co-authored in 2010, Living Well with Bad Credit sold… well, let's put it this way. Kiyosaki is a rich dad, and I'm still a poor dad.

Title: How to Give Financial Advice to Women: Attracting and Retaining High-Net Worth Female Clients

Author: Kathleen Burns Kingsbury

What it's about: It's aimed at financial advisers who, well, as it says, hope to bring aboard more female clientele. Could be a great gift for any family members or friends who are financial advisers.

Title: There Are No Dumb Questions About Money: Answers and Advice to Help You Make the Most of Your Finances.

Author: Liz Weston

What it's about: Pretty much what you would think. Weston is an MSN Money and AARP financial columnist and an CNBC contributor and one of the most admired personal finance writers out there. She offers advice on everything from saving for retirement to college to how to manage credit card debt and pay it off. She has an entire chapter on burnishing one's credit score, which looks like that's worth the price of the book alone, and covers other topics like taking care of your elders and finding the right financial adviser. And, hey, if you do find the right financial adviser, you could give him (or her) Kingsbury's book.