The Problem with Personal Finance Books

When I was first starting to learn about personal finance, the first book I picked up was George Clason's The Richest Man in Babylon. It was really a great book that taught fundamental truths about handling money well, such as living on less than you make, saving money, and making your money earn money. I just ate up what I read, because it was such good stuff.

The next book I picked up was The Total Money Makeover, by Dave Ramsey. It taught a lot of the same principles that The Richest Man in Babylon did, but offered it in a very practical series of "baby steps" for readers to follow to become financially independent. I continued reading, picking up Rich Dad Poor Dad, then the Millionaire Next Door, and then a few others. By the time I was on the Millionaire Next Door, it became quite clear that they were all offering generally the same advice.

There are some different lines of thinking when it comes to personal finance (think Dave Ramsey v. Robert Kiyosaki), however it seems that whenever a new personal finance books comes out, it's just a rehash of something that we've previously read. A great example of this is Loral Langemeier's The Millionaire Maker. In the book she shows her reads how to have an "extreme money makeover," clearly borrowing from "The Total Money Makeover." All the advice in the book has been in numerous other personal finance books before, and it offered very little new unique and insightful advice.