What’s in the Ideal Personal Finance Book?

I do like forms, worksheets and some statistics. I don’t like end of chapter checklists, but do like personal stories of “real” people and their failures as well as successes. I like short chapters that can stand alone; something that can be read in a few minutes and then mulled over for a while. Before-and-after, whether stats, pictures or other details. Large format paperback about 150 pages long.

The ideal personal finance book is the one that makes you achieve your personal finance goals. How that happens will vary from person-to-person. You could use market research to help find what is most effective and least effective in the general population, but any one person’s mileage will vary.

The more I think about the idea of “personal finance” the more I realize that it’s not about “finance” at all. What you’re really talking about is doing a large body of work — your life’s work even, and exchanging that work for the rest of the things you need (or want) to live. Basically, we all have a finite amount of lifetime. We trade part of this for money, and then we trade that money for enhancements to the lifetime that we still have left.

I’m far more interested in the idea of how to make a lifetime fulfilling than I am in the specifics of managing money while I have it. It’s also a much harder question. Managing money is relatively easy, you can do some mostly basic math and come up with answers. The much harder questions are things like “Is the amount of my life that I’m trading for the amount of money I’m getting worth it?” or “how do I get big chunks of time in which to spend my money, while still being able to come back six months or a year later and start earning it again?”

That would be interesting for me to read. How do I get the ability to break up my retirement into a long series of “one year on, six months off” sort of stints, without sacrificing the quality of the work I can get in the “one year on” parts?

Things like “how do I save money on powdered cocoa” or “why index funds are more efficient than actively managed funds” have already been done a million times, and are, to me, less interesting.

As someone who is easily overwhelmed by financial acronyms and mumbo jumbo, I prefer personal financial books that speak my language: plain English.

I don’t mind end of chapter checklists because I think it’s important to summarize information in an easy-to-read list.

I also like personal stories, but it’s all got to be well-written (without mumbo jumbo).

I’m with Adrienne re: YMOYL and MND. I’ll add “Getting a Life” (http://www.yourmoneyoryourlife.org/resource-fom.asp?sku=bgal&mexp=related) and Amy D’s Tightwad books to the list, because it covered a lot of ground that the child-free YMOYL authors didn’t.

And I agree with Tyler, too — the most important things that I learned from these books were new ways to think about money and its role in my life. I don’t do everything the books say, by any means, and I have to manage my finances in a way that works for me. However, I learned ways of thinking about and using money that still seem almost counter-culture (although becoming more mainstream in this wacky economy), or even anti-capitalist. And I learned that there were a lot of quiet people who were doing these very things all around me, so I wouldn’t be alone in avoiding the affluenza.

Lots of books have nit-picky how-to information, and that’s important, and most people won’t buy a book that doesn’t have detailed steps to follow, but that’s not the important stuff. Once your overall goals, aspirations, and actions are going the right direction, the details of the tasks aren’t as important, and you can customize them as you like.

Going back to the diet book analogy — two of my favorites are Dr. Phil’s book and You On a Diet by Drs. Oz and Roizen. They talk about how your brain and body work to make you fat and what needs to change to lose weight and keep it off. They both have diets associated with them, because dieters demand a magic program that they can try to follow forever that will make them thin. But those aren’t the important parts.

I agree, checklists & worksheets are worthless to me.

I like the behavioral stuff. Stories are good. I *really* like great studies and charts though. (Though, as a tax professional, I’m probably not the normal reader…)

J.D.

The simple fact is, anything you want to say about personal finance has already been said. And that is exactly why you should write your book! Delivery is what sells books.

A best selling book has less to do with content, and more to do with personal brand. When I look at your site I see that you have 66000 RSS subscribers, who knows how many daily readers, and one hell of a lot of fans.

Write content that has quality and resonates with you just like you do in your blog, and you will have an endless amount of buyers.

People won’t read your book because it has better content than others, they will read it loyally because they have a relationship with you and your writing in general, and as a result will take action and follow through because they believe in you.

If you would like to talk publishing, pro’s and con’s of self publishing and selling to a publisher, feel free to drop me a line. nolan [at] nolanmatthias [dot] com

Best of luck,

Nolan Matthias

I like stats if they are relevant, especially if you can then give some sort of real life story to further illustrate the point you’re making with the stats. I love information about money and emotions.
I guess I’m a dork, but I like worksheets and checklists, just because I think they’re fun.

I would recommend staying true to the idea behind GRS and let that guide the format of the book. Don’t try to alter GRS into a familiar personal finance book template. Might be more work, but would definitely be worth it.

What I like best about GRS is the devotion to the psychology behind money and behaviors. I like the insights about real world practice of personal finance (like your aside about buying a door and the garden project). I like the breadth of topics and I like the guest bloggers who chime in from time to time.

To me, most personal finance books feel like they are written by wealthy condescending Ivy league grads intended for other wealthy condescending Ivy league grads. GRS is about real life.

I agree that a lot of information is common sense and a lot of it is repeated. I don’t like reading a lot of stats, but a few here and there can help get a point across. I don’t use the worksheets, but they can give you an idea of how to set up one of your own.

I’ve taken ideas from Dave Ramsey as well as a few other ideas from other books. I think it helps to keep revisiting favorite books to keep your focus and to stay motivated.

So, the ideal PF book for me? It’s written in everyday language. Chapters are focused on specific ideas that don’t necessarily have to be read in order. A book that can be referred to over and over again.

I like personal anecdotes and stories of real-life people and information about the psychology of money. I also like the informal tone you have on the web site. Don’t lose your voice if you write a book.

I love anecdotes about people. I always like those “money makeovers” in money magazine, and they give me ideas that I can apply to my own situation. I’d include your story and ask for reader volunteers and profile them. You could get a sampling of people from around the country that way, and it would tie things back to the blog and drive traffic.

I am totally over stuff like “ten ways to blah blah blah” and titles that read like the first day of magazine journalism 101. Real stories are so much better.

@JenK re: anecdotes and testimonials — I didn’t see that much praise of testimonials — those tend to be pretty bland and overly optimistic, but I’ll speak in defense of the anecdotal stories.

I steal all good ideas, and managing money in real life requires a lot of tricks and strategies. The more tools I have in my toolbelt to try when situations arise, the better. I love reading about how families handle their finances, especially regarding kids. I also like reading about how other families do radical things to make their lives work — it opens my mind regarding what’s acceptable and what’s possible, even if we only make small changes ourselves. Even hearing about challenges other families have faced help me think through situations with more insight.

I guess the danger would be in getting enough details to provide food for thought, without getting bogged down. On the other hand, sketchy success stories make it all seem like magic if you only follow the author’s magic advice.

I like to hear what has worked for other people, and the more like me (single parent) they are the better. I don’t like the title “Get Rich Slowly”, because it doesn’t fit with societies view of money and the Slowly may be a deterrent. There is a level of anxiety that goes with money. The economy is on an unpredictable roller coaster ride, and that leaves an air of uncertainty about tomorrow, so building wealth slowly in an unstable world is not an option. I like to learn methods in laymen terms that are tried and true for others like me. Statistics are OK to back up a point, but an overabundance of them causes me to stop reading. Talk to an abundance of middle and lower people in a variety of regions to learn the financial troubles or issues they have. What works for someone in California my not even apply to people in other places like New York or Toronto. I think in the case of financial books, success equals success. If the information inside the book is successful, then the book will be.

I like forms and such when it pertains to my money, because I want to see how others set things up. For example, there is a program on television helping people get back on a financial track, and they use jars for money and a ledger to record spending. At Crown Financial, there are forms showing how to divide earnings into categories to help determine a limit for all things from rent and food to clothing, car and entertainment. They psychology of money for me is not important. It can be the root of all evil, the predator of major stress, anxiety and marriage breakdowns, and if we learn how to deal with it properly it can lead to a life of comfort, peace and stability. The big thing is to live within our means and not go into debt, but if you’re already are in dept and truly want to get out of it and get ahead, how do balance current life with the past (debt) without obliterating everything that isn’t an absolute necessity? How can the arrow be turned around?

I hope this has helped answer some of your questions, and I apologize if my comments about the title are offensive. I don’t intend to do that, because if you do publish a book, I hope to see it filled with a reader’s path to success so that the author sees success too.

I like anything psychological that can help explain to me why I spent some money, and help me get in better control of that type of spending in the future.

If you’re going to have charts, try to make them universal (not specific theoretical examples). Try not to make them too redundant also.

I think anecdotes are good, but too many anecdotes can make the book seem less reliable. Use them as examples but not evidence.

I’d like to see lots of practical tips in the sidebars relating to what I’m reading about at the moment. (What I like is a more non-linear narrative that can let me decide whether I want to learn or implement.)

Lastly, I do not like forms, worksheets, end-of-chapter checklists, or quizzes. But like I said, I do like practical tips.

The most important thing to include are concrete implementable actions that the reader can take. For example, the Rich Dad Poor Dad series is a prime model of what NOT to do with a self-help book.

I enjoyed Total Money Makeover, but thought it was too heavy on examples. The problem is that so many of these principles are basic, that the books feel like more fluff than substance. Really, it comes down to make a plan, spend less than you earn, and set money aside for the future.

I like the books that focus on psychology of money (probably because my undergrad degree was in psychology) and I like charts and graphs that show the “what ifs”.

I’ve read quite a few personal finance books and I’m in the market for the Total Money Makover – part two. Even though I’m still working the DR baby steps, we are working on 3 (we’ve got 3 mos. in our emergency account but still putting money away), 4 (retirement) and 6 (pay off mortgage) at the same time and 5 doesn’t apply b/c we don’t have kids yet, I feel like I need a part two plan.

I like David Bach’s (Automatic Millionaire) style of writing – to the point, realistic, easy to absorb, positive, motivating, with some humor thrown in. Nothing to heavy.

I also like some personal success stories; just regular people who made their finances better and in turn made their lives better -like you!

My advice – keep it simple.

Personal stories, anecdotes, and if you can swing it, a sense of humor. Personal finance can be so dry, and it’d be great to crack a smile. Good luck, JD!

J.D., I like personal finance books with a lot of depth, i.e. writing that was carefully thought out and planned, where you could tell that it was. There are so many books where I literally can scan the paragraphs, skip pages, etc. because they just did not offer me anything substantial, or they were too “easy” and repetitive. I love pf books that make you put the book down and THINK. Each author has their own way of making that happen; I genuinely do believe that you have that skill as evident with your blog writings.

This is what you can perhaps do: pretend that you want to sum up what you’ve been saying in GRS in a book; what would you say? What do you think people need to hear? Forget abut format; i.e. lists, chapter summaries, stats, etc. for now. Just think about what you would want to say to people if you had the chance to. Then, when you have a bundle of material, you can start to find your focus, such as who exactly you’re writing this for, or how your book will help that person, and fine tune the format.

Focus more on your writing because that I think is your #1 skill here, and focus on what you want to say. Then I think you will have a book as popular as your blog.

given how taboo it is to talk about money, i like stories that reveal “secrets”, i.e. real people’s budgets, and how they spend their money.

i finds personal stories compelling so long as they are authentic and distinctive, and not the lame “joe sixpack” generalizations that you so often see in PF books. excerpts in the subject’s own voice often make the stories more affecting and memorable for me.

my reason for liking personal stories is twofold: 1) i’m comforted to know that even if i’m doing terribly financially, i’m not alone, and 2) i want to be inspired to do better (and possibly learn a new approach for how to do so).

what many others have said is also true for me – i’m most interested in the exploration of money and psychology in terms of helping me to understand why i behave the way i do, and how i might change my behavior when it’s in my best interest to do so.

I am currently researching my PF book; in fact, starting my blog was a way to ‘air’ some of my thoughts … I never expected to end up with 3 blogs and such a large and active readership!

My ‘angle’ is simply to write from the perspective of somebody who is already rich … rather than many of the other mainstream PF authors who seem to write TO get rich.

Those who say ‘there is no new PF book under the sun’ need to wait for your book … and mine

I like your website and also The Tightwad Gazette
series because articles are broken up with a picture or a visual on nearly every post or page.

Using less cocoa or that footstool you made were both ideas that I value equally to your how to open a Roth article. Or that I’ll get a whole range of ideas in a week to think about. I get a sense of who you are. In your blog, I can readily imagine you, sitting in front of your computer or in your garden or sneaking out and eating at the taco stand.

Your credibility is in being the regular guy, not the most frugal or the leading financial expert, but a guy who can sift through lots of websites (list your favorites definitely in the book) and glean the good bits. The websites you mention frequently opened up a whole new resource for me. i just don’t have the patience to roam around reading lots of different web sites. Best of the web are some of my favorite weekly features.

You also get across the whole emotional connection with money and debt without seeming goofy.

Details about your success stories and those of your readers are a must. Plus the questions people ask.

Clearly I’m a fan and done right, this will be a great book.

Forget about worksheets, formulas, etc. They become obsolete so quickly and they are so readily available on the web.

I’d love to see each chapter focus on one financial decision or hurdle, then tell the stories of people who took completely different paths in regard to that decision — what worked? What would each of them do differently? What can the average person learn?

For example, in a chapter on housing, you could start with a general education on buying a house, rent versus own, mortgages, etc. But then tell the story of someone who decided to buy, and someone who decided to rent, and get their views on the process. You could also include anecdotes from people who bought young and ended up with multiple rental properties; people who defaulted on their mortgages; people who rented instead, and invested their money to great gains; people who rented, didn’t save or invest the extra, and still regret it. All of these stories would be educational, and readers could probably identify with more than one story or path.

I just find it really helpful to hear people talk about what they did and why, and what they learned from the experience.