When it comes to understanding how to manage money, figuring out just where to start can be overwhelming. If you walk into a bookstore or library you’ll find plenty of finance books offering advice on how to spend, save, and make more money, as well as how to keep what you’ve got from disappearing.
To help narrow down the choices and find the best advice so you can get started on your path to financial success, we’ve compiled a list of 15 books that are a must read. These will teach you the foundations of investing, the best way to budget your money, how to pay off your loans, and plenty more!
A Random Walk Down Wall Street – Burton Malkiel
A great introduction to investment, this book explains the basics of investing in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. It also reinforces the concept of an efficient market. So whether you’re just starting your financial professional career, looking for advice on managing your super, or looking to expand your investment profile, this is an excellent source for market fundamentals.
Common Sense on Mutual Funds – John Bogle
Like the title says, this book provides a lot of common sense financial advice on mutual funds, an important investment vehicle. It also demonstrates the democratisation that has swept the investment industry in recent years. What’s more, Bogle makes the case for the value of index-based investing. If you’re a mutual fund investor or are looking to invest in mutual funds, this is the book for you.
Competitive Strategy – Michael Porter
Do you want to know what creates competitive advantage in a particular industry? If you answered yes, this book provides an ideal starting point. If you’re a financial professional and spend most of your time analysing companies, industries, and their strategies, make sure to add this book to your shelf.
Dave Ramsey’s Complete Guide to Money: The Handbook of Financial Peace University – Dave Ramsey
This book offers an A-Z guide of all things money, including how to budget, save, get rid of debt, and invest. If you’re looking for practical information to answer all your money questions and help you find financial peace, this is a highly recommended book. You’ll also learn about insurance, loans, marketing, and bargain hunting.
Devil Take the Hindmost – Edward Chancellor
If you want to learn about the history of the financial market, you should definitely have a read of Devil Take the Hindmost. It’s a gripping story that cleverly weaves the booms and busts that occurred in the financial markets since the 17th century – it’s pure mind candy!
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds – Charles Mackay
The financial markets constantly suffer through periods of collective greed and fear, resulting in catastrophes like Britain’s South Sea Bubble and the Netherlands’ Tulip Mania of the 1630s. Other financial crises are also explored in this 1841 classic. It may be old, but the manias documented provide keen insight into recent events such as the dot-com boom and bust of the 1990s and early 2000s.
Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties – Beth Kobliner
Find out how to get your finances in order during your twenties and thirties with this book. Including easy-to-follow steps, you can learn to take control of your money in no time! Topics covered include credit cards, student loans, budgets, savings, investments, and even buying a home.
Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In – Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton
Getting to Yes teaches you the art of negotiation. From your salary and car to your bills, you’ll learn to confidently seek mutually acceptable agreements that’ll surely pay off many times over in your financial life. It’s relevant for the individual who would like to keep their property, income, and more.
Global Investing – Roger Ibbotson and Gary Brinson
Global Investing covers the history of investible assets. You’ll find out the price of gold for the past 500 years, as well as the interest rates and inflations for the past 800 years. The authors also provide a great perspective on the place of foreign assets in a diversified portfolio as well as some insights on portfolio theory and marketplace efficiency.
Security Analysis – Benjamin Graham and David Dodd
This book laid the intellectual foundation for what would later be called value investing, and is referred to as the ‘bible’ of fundamental equity investing. So if you want to learn about the techniques of value investing, you’ll certainly benefit from reading Security Analysis.
Shark Tales: How I Turned $1,000 into a Billion Dollar Business – Barbara Corcoran and Bruce Littlefield
Shark Tank star Barbara Corcoran shares her inspiring true story of how after failing at more than 20 jobs, she borrowed $1,000 from her boyfriend and transformed it into a $6 billion business empire. This book is definitely a must-read if you’re thinking of starting a business.
The Charles Schwab Guide to Finances After Fifty: Answers to Your Most Important Money Questions – Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz and Joanne Cuthbertson
If you’re in your fifties and need advice for securing a healthy financial future, then this book is for you. The daughter of investment banker Charles Schwab looks at the financial issues faced by people after 50, which includes how to put kids through college and prepare for retirement.
The Intelligent Investor – Benjamin Graham
A popularised and more readable version of Security Analysis, as well as a guide to long-term investing approaches. If you’re a serious investor you should read this book, as it has great relevance to the financial markets in general, however it’s most relevant to those looking to buy individual stocks. Many of today’s successful money managers got their original financial inspiration from this book.
The Millionaire Next Door – Thomas Stanley and William Danko
The Millionaire Next Door will teach you how to save and be financially happy. It identifies seven common traits that constantly show up amongst those with a net worth over $1 million. The first is ‘always live well below your means’, and the last is ‘choose your occupation wisely’. If you want to find out the other five and join the ranks of the wealthy, read the book!
The Truth About Money – Ric Edelman
Be prepared to take a financial quiz! This book will gauge the areas you already understand and find where you need some help. Depending on the results you get, you can skip the sections you already know so that you can just focus on the money matters where you lack the essential skills and knowledge. After that, you’ll be able to start your path to financial wellness!
So there you have it, you’re now armed with 15 books on how to think like the rich and invest like they do. If you read a book once a week, then in less than half a year you could be well on your way to a future of wealth and financial freedom.
