These finance books are great for anyone looking to dip their toes into this new world. There are tonnes of finance books that are more complicated and explain things like stocks, real estate, and other specific strategies in more detail. This list of the best finance books is less about policy and more about getting you to think differently about money. You can have all the cool strategies and tactics in the world, but nothing will work for you if you don’t think right. One of the best things you can do is change your thinking. When you change how you feel, everything else changes around you. Warren Buffett once said, “We all learn from mistakes, but they don’t have to be our own.” He said that you can read books and learn from the mistakes of others before you make them yourself. If the most successful investor in the world understands, then you should too.
#7 – The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
|
Book |
Key Info |
|---|---|
| Author | Stephen R. Covey |
| Year Published | 1989 |
| Pages | 432 |
| Why It Made The List | Start developing the right thinking patterns |
7 Highly Effective habits is not directly a finance book. It’s a great book to get you to start changing your thinking and how you approach life. For anyone to be good with money, they need first to build the habit of saving. If you can’t develop that habit, you have no chance of being a great investor. One of my favorite lessons from this book is how we need to sharpen the saw. Too many people go to work with dull axes and take double or triple the amount of time to cut down trees. When you have a sharp ax, you can cut it down quicker.
#6 – The Little Book That Beats The Market
|
Book |
Key Info |
|---|---|
| Author | Joel Greenblatt |
| Year Published | 2010 |
| Pages | 208 |
| Why It Made The List | Shows you a system for investing |
There are plenty of books on how to invest in stocks. The great thing about this one is that its a quick read and it introduces you to a system. Great investors have systems that they follow so that they can take the emotions out of investing.
Instead of investing out of fear or greed, you just follow the system and this system can help you think through how to create your own. Even if you don’t use this exact system, it will give you an idea on how to create your own.
#5 – Rich Dad Poor Dad
|
Book |
Key Info |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Kyosaki |
| Year Published | 1997 |
| Pages | 336 |
| Why It Made The List | Learn to think like wealthy people |
Rich Dad Poor Dad is a classic finance book. The author tells a story of what his poor dad taught him and what his rich dad taught him. He paid attention to their lessons, and he lays them out in this book. Its a genius concept because most middle-class people operate like the poor dad. They go to school to get a lot of debt and live to get a good job whereas wealthy people focus on building assets and educating themselves. They use money as a tool to make more money. This book should be read over and over again.
#4 – The Millionaire Next Door
|
Book |
Key Info |
|---|---|
| Author | Thomas Stanley + William Danko |
| Year Published | 2010 |
| Pages | 272 |
| Why It Made The List | Learn what millionaires really do |
The Millionaire next door helps to debunk a lot of myths about what it takes to build wealth. Too many people think being rich means driving expensive cars when it’s the opposite. Being rich is less about flaunting money and more about learning to live within your means.The book is the result of a massive survey of millionaires. The authors wanted to find out everything about them that they possibly could. The book will help to provide a target of where you need to be wealthy.
#3 – Richest Man in Babylon
|
Book |
Key Info |
|---|---|
| Author | George Clason |
| Year Published | 1926 |
| Pages | 144 |
| Why It Made The List | Easy to follow story on wealth principles |
The Richest Man in Babylon was written in 1926 and its still considered to be a great book to this day. Its a story that tell you step by step what you need to do to build wealth.
- Pay Yourself First
- Live Within Your Means
- Put Your Money to Work
- Keep Your Money Safe
- Be a Homeowner
- Insure Your Future Income
- Improve Your Skills to Earn More Income
#2 – The Intelligent Investor
|
Book |
Key Info |
|---|---|
| Author | Benjamin Graham |
| Year Published | 1949 |
| Pages | 640 |
| Why It Made The List | Warren Buffets Mentor |
Out of all of the books on this list, this is the most complex by far. The book is massive but its honestly an investing manifesto. Warren Buffet was mentored by Benjamin Graham and he considers this book to be a must read. That is a lot coming from a guy that reads for 8 hours a day.
#1 – Cash Flow Quadrants
|
Book |
Key Info |
|---|---|
| Author | Robery Kiyosaki |
| Year Published | 1998 |
| Pages | 360 |
| Why It Made The List | Changing The Employee Mindset |
The Cash Flow Quadrants is by the same author as Rich Dad Poor Dad. This book is much better though because it makes things practical. It will help you to understand how being an employee is a great start to finance but will not get you as far as you hope.
True wealth is built on the right side of the quadrant as an investor or business owner. Both of these roles utilize either money or people to work for you to create more wealth. Its hard to read this and justify working for others.