Book Reviews Archives

Category: Book Reviews

Looking to improve your financial literacy? Our personal finance book reviews have you covered. Discover insightful, unbiased takes on the latest must-read books covering everything from budgeting and investing to retirement planning and wealth-building. Our expert reviewers cut through the noise to highlight the most actionable, life-changing personal finance advice, so you can make informed decisions about which books deserve a spot on your reading list.

Selling the Dream by Jane Marie book cover on top of a pile of dollar bills
Book Reviews

Selling the Dream: The Billion-Dollar Industry Bankrupting Americans Book Review

by Fioney Staff
At this point, I think most people are at least familiar with multi-level marketing companies (AKA MLMs). Even if they don't know the term itself, surely anyone who's ever been on Facebook is familiar with the feeling of being DM'd by an old friend or acquaintance trying to sell them something. What's more, despite big lawsuits and high-profile documentaries on certain MLMs, Americans continue to flock to these companies —...
Beyond Getting By book cover
Book Reviews

Beyond Getting By by Holly Trantham Book Review

by Kyle Burbank
Despite moving to a house right across the street from a library branch last year, it's been a while since I took the opportunity to browse the New Release shelves for recent personal finance titles. When I finally did, I came across the book Beyond Getting By: The Financial Diet's Guide to Abundant and Intentional Living by Holly Trantham. Actually, in addition to Trantham, Financial Diet founder Chelsea Fagan pens...
Book Reviews

"The Unbanking of America" Book Review

by Kyle Burbank
In her new book " The Unbanking of America: How the New Middle Class Survives" author Lisa Servon looks at everything from the payday loan industry to FinTech while also discussing the changing economics of the middle class.
scenic view of a mountain lake
Book Reviews

"Work Optional" by Tanja Hester Book Review

by Kyle Burbank
Editor’s note: The following review was first published in 2019, but the conclusion has been updated for 2024. Prior to attending last year's FinCon Expo, I had certainly heard about FIRE (short for "financial independence, retire early) but it wasn't until I arrived at the conference that I realized how large the movement had grown. Of course, with popularity comes backlash, as some so-called "gurus" have questioned the fundamentals of...
Book Reviews

Get Money by Kristin Wong Book Review

by Kyle Burbank
Over the past few years, personal finance has taken on an increasingly important role in my life. While on my own money and writing journey, I've been inspired by a number of other finance bloggers along the way. Nearly from the beginning, one of my favorites in this category was Kristin Wong, whose work I knew from Lifehacker's TwoCents page. Given this affinity, I was excited to learn that Wong...
Jared Dillian sitting by No Worries book cover
Book Reviews

No Worries by Jared Dillian Audiobook Review

by Kyle Burbank
For many people, money is a stressful topic they'd rather not even think about. And then, there are people like me who think about money often, while attempting to reduce anxiety about it in the process. Either way, when I saw the title of Jared Dillian's relatively recent book No Worries: How to Live a Stress-Free Financial Life, I was immediately interested. So, I cashed in one of my last...
Noah Kagen next to Million Dollar Weekend book cover
Book Reviews

Book Review: 'Million Dollar Weekend' by Noah Kagan

by Kyle Burbank
I don't know about you, but my X timeline has been dominated by a recently released book for the past two weeks. That book is Million Dollar Weekend: The Surprisingly Simple Way to Launch a 7-Figure Business in 48 Hours by Noah Kagan (with Tahl Raz, which likely means he did most of the heavy lifting). Seeing how ubiquitous this book's green cover proved to be as I scrolled social...
The Deficit Myth book
Book Reviews

Book Review: "The Deficit Myth" by Stephanie Kelton

by Kyle Burbank
A couple of months ago, I reviewed Scott Santens' Let There Be Money. In that book, he mentioned The Deficit Myth from author Stephanie Kelton. Having enjoyed Santens' work overall, I decided to continue my education on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) by downloading Kelton's audiobook. Subtitled Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People's Economy, Kelton's book serves as a deep dive into the concept of MMT and how...
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Travelers with two Best Western Credit Cards
Credit Card News

Best Western Debuts Two New Rewards Credit Cards

by Kyle Burbank
After pausing applications for their previous rewards card, the hotel chain Best Western has unveiled a new pair of rewards credit cards with a new issuer. About the Best Western cards: Best Western is partnering with First Bank & Trust and Mercury Financial to introduce two new co-branded credit cards. First up is the no-annual-fee Best Western Rewards Visa Signature Card. With this card, customers can 4x points on Best...
Marriott Bonvoy card and a woman on vacation
Credit Card News

Marriott Bonvoy Bold Card Launches Travel Contest

by Kyle Burbank
Chase and Marriott Bonoy have unveiled a special contest while continuing to offer its best-ever welcome bonus. About the welcome bonus and Bold Chat Court Contest: Marriott Bonvoy and Chase have launched a special opportunity called the Bold Chat Court contest. As part of this contest, 10 lucky travelers will be awarded 500,000 Marriott Bonvoy points (for a total of 5 million) as well as $5,000. For this contest, the...
Fioney Top 10 Must-Read Personal Finance Articles Septemeber 2024
Best of the Web

Top 10 Personal Finance Articles of the Month — September 2024

by Kyle Burbank
Welcome to Fioney's look at the top 10 personal finance articles of the month. On the first Friday of each new month, we look back at some of our favorite posts published in the weeks prior and highlight them right here. This includes a mix of sites that have become staples of our lists as well as many first-timers. To start things off this month, we'll look at some articles...
Amazon and Target logos
Credit Card News

Discover Reveals 5% Bonus Categories for Final Quarter of 2024

by Kyle Burbank
As we head into the holiday season, Discover has unveiled its fourth-quarter bonus category picks. About the Q4 2024 Discover It 5% categories: Starting on October 1st, Discover It customers will be able to earn up to 5% back on purchases from two major retailers. First up is Amazon — which has been a fixture of Discover's fourth-quarter bonus categories since at least 2015. While this category will of course cover...
Checking Account Review

2024 SoFi Checking and Savings Review

by Kyle Burbank
Ever since I started taking an interest in the FinTech sector, one company whose name I’ve seen pop up over and over again is SoFi. Lately it seems as though that theme has been sent into overdrive as the company has not only become a household name thanks to its stadium naming rights deal but also because of the company’s continued product expansions. The most interesting development in my mind...