Essential Financial Books (Your Advice)


Your Advice - help answer readers' questionsWhen it comes to personal finances, one of the first steps is to get basic knowledge on the subject. Many people do this through books, but when you are just beginning, knowing which books to read may not be obvious. This reader is looking for recommendations on the best financial books to read when starting out:

I am just starting to learn about personal finances and I’m looking for some basic books to read to get me started. What would you recommend as the essential books for someone just starting to read to get a basic overview of what they need to do?

In your personal finance reading, which books have had the biggest influence on you and would you consider to be essential reading for someone who wants to get their finances in order?


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June 21st, 2007
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Comment Number:
1
Written by:
Accumulating Money
Posted on:
June 21, 2007 at 8:50 am

The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio is my favorite financial book. Because it covered the topics so well, most of the books I have read since have paled in comparison.

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
Spokane Al
Posted on:
June 21, 2007 at 9:03 am

While not a book, Vanguard’s podcast; Plain Talk on Investing offers an ongoing easy to understand education on a wide range of investment subjects.

I would also suggest John Bogle’s The Little Book of Common Sense Investing.

The reality is that many make investing way, way too complex. With that complexity comes increasing costs, often lower returns and frustration as we often throw our hands in the air and give up and seek professional (albeit often expensive and/or less than impartial) advice.

I applaud you for wanting to learn. You can and will succeed.

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
Amy F.
Posted on:
June 21, 2007 at 9:46 am

I thought The Four Pillars of Investing was difficult to understand for someone without a solid academic background in finance and economics. I wouldn’t recommend it for a beginner, though it’s a great book for those who want to spend more time and energy on investing.

The two books that did me the most good were The Secrets of Wealth by Fabio Marciano and The Only Investing Guide You’ll Ever Need by Andrew Tobias.

Comment Number:
4
Written by:
Todd C
Posted on:
June 21, 2007 at 10:30 am

1. The total money makeover by Dave Ramsey

2. Life or Debt by Stacy Johnson

3. The Treasure Principal by Randy Alcorn

Read all three of these, apply them and say hello to worry free personal finance.

Comment Number:
5
Written by:
A Marino
Posted on:
June 22, 2007 at 9:05 am

The Wealthy Barber – An easy read

All Your Worth – Elizabeth Warren An easy read

Your Money or Your Life – Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin

The Only Investment Book You’ll Ever Need – Andrew Tobias

Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert Kirosaki

Total Money Makeover – Dave Ramsey

Debt Proof Living Mary Hunt

Comment Number:
6
Written by:
Mark Smallwood
Posted on:
June 22, 2007 at 5:11 pm

Your Money or Your Life – saved my life.

One Up on Wall St. – Peter Lynch

Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds – Just read the first part on bubbles–gives you a good grounding in crowd behavior.

The Motley Fool Personal Finance Workbook

Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits – Philip Fisher

It’s hard to suggest books that don’t deal with investing, per se, but Joe Domingues’ book Your Money or Your Life and the Motley Fool Workbook are good for anybody who needs to learn how to handle and save money to begin with. I’m sure there are other good ones, but I haven’t read them.

Comment Number:
7
Written by:
Shannon
Posted on:
June 24, 2007 at 5:31 pm

The Millionaire Next Door is my favorite. It’s not a how-to bok, but it helped me see how those who are financially successful think.