Other ones on my recommended reading list are The Total Money Makeover and The Richest Man in Babylon, for reasons similar to the the other commenters’. However, TMMO has had the greatest direct impact on my finances.

1. ‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill
2. ‘Rule Number 1′ by Phil Town
3. ‘The Random Walk Guide to Investing’ by Burton Malkiel
4. ‘The Millionare Next Door’ by Thomas Stanley and William Danko
5. ‘Green with Envy: Why keeping up the Joneses is keeping is in Debt” by Shira Boss

2) The smartest investment guide you’ll ever read -it’s a relatively new book that teaches index investing.

3) Automatic Millionaire (although I’m sick of the latte factor thing)

1. The Road to Wealth and The Money Book for the Young, Broke, and Fabulous Suze Orman
2. Total Money Makeover Dave Ramsey
3. Smart Women Finish Rich and Smart Couples Finish Rich

They are all easy reads with simple and organized concepts. Very step by step advice.

I found some of its principles really worth applying. They are:

1. Save 10% of Income
2. Seek Experts’ Advice
3. Let Money Work For You. Invest.
4. Invest, Insure. Less Risk, Less Return Is OK / Desirable Than Risk.

I am sharing the gist of the book for the benefit of all.

Richest Man In Babylon

A. 7 Rules

1. Start thy purse to fattening - Save 10% ( A part of all you earn is yours to keep!)
2. Control thy expenditures
3. Make thy gold multiply - Invest in profitable ventures
4. Guard thy treasures from loss - No Greed. No unprofitable / unwise ventures
5. Make of thy dwelling a profitable venture - house of own
6. Insure a future income - Insurance / old age
7. Increase thy ability to earn

B. Debt Management
Be a man of honor. Pay debts. Clear them.
Be a man for your wife. Respect and honor her
Formula for repaying debt:
- 10% Savings
- 70% Expenses (Whatever you earn, follow this principle)
- 20% Repayment

C.
Procastination is the biggest enemy!
Luck meets person who is prepared for the opportunity.
No Gambling, wager - Luck!
Men of action are favored by Goddess of Luck.

D. 5 Laws of Gold
1. Gold comes glad so long as one invests 1/10 to create estate.
2. Gold works diligently for wise owner who finds for it profitable employment.
3. Gold clings to the protection of owner who invests it under the advice of men wise in its handling.
4. Gold slips from unwise person / venture.
5. Gold flees from man who puts it to impossible earnings / tricksters.

E.
Lend only to a person who knows how to use that money, how to get returns, has a business plan, who has expertise in that area, better a little caution than a great regret.

F. We cannot afford to be without adequate protection.

G. Where the determination is, the way can be found.

This is the book that talks about how to invest.

* Get a Financial Life, by Beth Kobliner

Once I was married, I got a lot from reading:

* Smart Couples Finish Rich, by David Bach (I find his recent stuff to be overmarketed drivel)

Now that I’ve got a house, a wife, and 2 kids, I found this book transformational in determining if we were living above our means:

* All Your Worth, by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi

For overall investing advice, I was really sold on index mutal funds by reading:

* Commonsense on Mutual Funds, by John Bogle

I’ve read many others, but these have left the greatest impressions.

Then I moved to:
* The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need

I’ve just finished reading:
* Rich Dad Poor Dad

The above 4 books provided me with an excellent financial education.

Next I’m gonna read:
* The Millionaire Next Door
* Cashflow Quadrant

Suze Orman’s “Young, Fabulous, and Broke” is an especially bad example of this, when it suggests that getting your hair cut every 8 weeks instead of every 6 weeks is a great way to save money.

(Conversely, this was one of the things I liked All Your Worth for…)

Total Money Makeover (4 recommendations, 4.5 stars on Amazon)
The Millionaire Next Door (4 recommendations, 4.5 stars on Amazon)
The Wealthy Barber (3 recommendations, 4 stars on Amazon)
The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous, & Broke (2 recommendations 4.5 stars on Amazon)

Charlie Rose - Warren Buffett: The Man - Part One in a Three Part Series (Part 2 and 3 can also be found at video.google.com).

It’s about thrift in the extreme, but I found some tips that were easy for me to incorporate. She has a very Cook’s Illustrated/Consumer Reports empirical approach to figuring out what really is the thriftiest way to tackle any situation.

I live in the city, don’t own a home, have a car, a yard, pets, or kids, though, so there were a lot of tips that just don’t fit for me.

At the very least, I’ve learned enough to save the $19.99 I unintentionally spent on the book.