Hey all,

There are many books I have read on the subject of finance. Here are a few of my favorites (in no particular order):

1. Life or Debt : A One-Week Plan for a Lifetime of Financial Freedom (Paperback)

Book Description Freeing yourself from debt is easier than you think! Take it from Stacy Johnson. As creator of the hugely successful Money Talks television news series, Johnson has helped millions of people get out of debt, achieve enduring financial freedom, and earn big from wise investments. Now it's your turn. In this focused, practical, and inspiring new book, Johnson shares the secrets of his amazing program that will win you financial freedom in just seven days. Strange but true, financial freedom has almost nothing to do with how much you make or what you know about high finance. It all comes down to three basic principles: get rid of the debt that is shackling you, learn to live below your means, and start investing sensibly and consistently. In Life or Debt, Johnson spells out exactly how to accomplish these goals in a step-by-step plan that covers * How to calculate what you really earn, where your money goes, and how you can quickly convert debts to investments * How to quit "working" for credit card companies and mortgage holders by reducing (or eliminating) your debt now * Why you're actually paying three times the sale price of the items you buy --and how to stop * How to work out a simple budget that provides ample money for what you need and cuts out unnecessary expenses * How to melt away that mountain of debt by prioritizing which debts should be paid off first and at what rate * The secrets of investing wisely and with minimum risk * 205 ways to save money--it really does add up! Destroying debt does not mean radically changing your lifestyle or giving up the things you love. It does mean taking charge of your financial freedom and making sure the money you earn goes to the things you care about. The power to live without debt is yours--let Stacy Johnson and this revolutionary new book help you unleash it now!

2. The Millionaire Next Door (Paperback) by Thomas J. Stanley, William D. Danko

From Library Journal In The Millionaire Next Door, read by Cotter Smith, Stanley (Marketing to the Affluent) and Danko (marketing, SUNY at Albany) summarize findings from their research into the key characteristics that explain how the elite club of millionaires have become "wealthy." Focusing on those with a net worth of at least $1 million, their surprising results reveal fundamental qualities of this group that are diametrically opposed to today's earn-and-consume culture, including living below their means, allocating funds efficiently in ways that build wealth, ignoring conspicuous consumption, being proficient in targeting marketing opportunities, and choosing the "right" occupation. It's evident that anyone can accumulate wealth, if they are disciplined enough, determined to persevere, and have the merest of luck. In The Millionaire Mind, an excellent follow-up to the highly successful first analysis of how ordinary folks can accumulate wealth, Stanley interviews many more participants in a much more comprehensive study of the characteristics of those in this economic situation. The author structures these deeper details into categories that include the key success factors that define this group, the relationship of education to their success, their approach to balancing risk, how they located themselves in their work, their choice of spouse, how they live their daily lives, and the significant differences in the truth about this group vs. the misplaced image of high spenders. Narrator Smith's solid, dead-on reading never fails to heighten the importance of these principles that most twentysomethings should be forced to listen to in toto. Highly recommended for all public libraries. Dale Farris, Groves, TX

3. More Wealth Without Risk (Paperback) by Charles J. Givens  (kinda outdated but really helped me when I first got out of college)

Book Description Charles J. Givens' Wealth Without Risk has become a classic in the field of financial self-help books for one simple reason: it works. His safe, legal, and proven approach has already started millions of Americans on the road to accumulating wealth through better strategies for personal finance, tax reduction, and investment. More Wealth Without Risk keeps you at the cutting edge of practical, easy-to-use financial techniques. Givens delivers more than 350 low-risk financial strategies -- with special sections on protecting your credit and keeping the IRS's hands out of your wallet -- including how and why to: * Get your next raise totally tax-free * Make your vacations and trips tax-deductible * Get your retirement-plan money tax- and penalty-free before age 59 1/2 * Use high-powered, little-known strategies for getting out of debt and rebuilding credit * Get next year's tax refund this year And much, much more!

4. The Truth About Money 3rd Edition (Paperback) by Ric Edelman

From Library Journal Edelman, a talk-show financial planner, transfers a glib "on the air" style of communicating into print, with mixed results. Verbose to a fault, he often crosses the line between financial advice and advice based on his own values. For example, most individuals recognize the cost difference between public and private higher education and do not need Edelman's advice to discount the added value provided by a degree from a high-profile school. His counsel on choosing a mutual fund is essentially sound, but the reader is subjected to what might be a script for television rather than a concise explanation of the issues. The occasional references to the service provided by his own staff of planners suggest that this obfuscation is not unintentional. Better stick with Marshall Loeb's Lifetime Financial Strategies (LJ 1/96).?Joseph Barth, U.S. Military Acad. Lib., West Point, N.Y. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. --USA Today

5. The New Rules of Money: 88 Simple Strategies for Financial Success Today (Paperback) by Ric Edelman

Amazon.com Should you save money in your child's name? Is paying off your home mortgage a good idea? Should you invest in index funds? Ric Edelman, syndicated columnist and PBS personality, answers these and 85 other commonly asked questions in The New Rules of Money. The book covers questions about income and debt, college planning, home ownership, investment strategies, and family matters. Accessible and easy to read, The New Rules for Money is for those who have little time for financial planning but want good, straightforward advice about what to do with their money.--This text refers to the Hardcover edition. CBS Evening News "A Financial Guru."

This is what I recommend, in priority order:

1.  The Richest Man in Babylon.

My overall strategy is to inspire people to learn about personal finance, then provide books that will permit them to learn the ins and outs.  In that way, they will learn to forage for themsleves.

Anyway, why is this book #1 on the list?  Several reasons.  

Americans today are generally not interested in saving or personal finance.  Just today there was an article on MSN.com that said the saving rate in the US has fallen to ZERO percent.  

As such, recommending a long, technical book is not the way to get your average Joe or Jane six-pack to change his or her ways.  Whatever that book may be, however excellent the information contained therein, will be left gathering dust.  

The answer is the Richest Man in Babylon.  Why?  

- It's very short.  The reader is not likely to get frustrated by having to wade through a thousand pages.

- It's not boring (it's written as a series of parables).  Talking about betas and volatility will cause most people to start snoring.  

- It does not attempt to cover the vast universe of personal finance.  There are too many moving parts to cover in one book.  Instead, it instills a handful of core principles (the five rules of gold) in the reader.  These rules inspire the reader to change his or her ways and learn more.

-  The book itself is cheap    When you preach frugality, it's hard to justify it by recommending a $50 hardback book.  

Combine the above and you can get Joe Sixpack interested.  Once he's interested, he'll drive himself over to the bookstore to learn more.  This book plants the seed of desire to learn more.  Which is what leads to the other books.

2.  The Millionaire Next Door.  

Already mentioned above.  Why is this next on the list?  If there is one flaw with The Richest Man in Babylon, I think it could be a bit more forceful with the message that "you too can be a millionaire".  

I think some people who read The Richest Man in Babylon come away with the message that "I can set my financial house in order but I'll never be really rich".  While the book's author certainly tries to dispel that myth I think the message can be made to hit harder!

This book demonstrates to Joe Sixpack that the average US millionaire is a lot like him.  Again, it's not heavy on investment strategies and the like but it inspires the reader to forge ahead in the realm of personal finance.  They see, by cutting costs and living frugally, they can become a millionaire.  

The book also excels in that it has a lot of info on what NOT to do, in order to build wealth.  You see examples of UAWs and their detrimental behavior.  You see how providing too much economic aid to your children hurts their ability to become PAWs.  

Again, this book is in the "inspiration" category.  You won't find tips on which mutual funds to choose.  But you will come away with direction and inspiration.  

more ....

3.  The Wealthy Barber.

This book starts to get into the realm of "learning" as opposed to "inspiring".  Now we are starting to see specific advice on what to do about retirement, wills, life insurance and the like.

The book is written as a story.  It is not a dry finance text.  It's about three family members who visit their barber every month and get financial advice from him.  He's a guy who has become wealthy (basically by implementing the five rules of gold).  Each month he covers a new topic.  

You don't want people to get bored and stop learning.   This is a perfect "intro" book to "learning" (as opposed to "inspiring") because it's written as a story.  It's also not very long.  If you hit them with a heavy technical book like "A Random Walk Down Wall Street" at this point, they're likely to get frustrated and walk away, despite being inspired by the previous two books.

The book covers a lot of ground.  But there's no way it can be comprehensive.  That's why we go next to ...

4.  Personal Finance For Dummies.

Eric Tyson's excellent book is more comprehensive than The Wealthy Barber, but is not written as a story.  That said, it is not dry like A Random Walk Down Wall Street so it is easy to get people to read.  

It's much longer than the Wealthy Barber.  However, it contains a lot of good specifics that the latter book lacks.  Tyson makes specific recommendations for mutual funds, brokerages and the like.  

Those are my top 4.  

I have not finished Ric Edelman's The New Rules of Money yet but I can envision it being my #5.  Why?  It dispels a lot of myths in the investing world.  Once a person gets inspired and has a good base of knowledge, he or she needs to learn where the pitfalls are.  Ric does a good job of that (e.g. don't invest in the Dogs of the Dow).

HTH!

Tag.

Two of my top picks:

"Winning the Loser's Game," by Charles Ellis
"Investing with the Best," by Claude Rosenberg
                               
Both available at Barnes & Noble

A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Malkiel.

A light yet informative read on dry subject.

+1000000 on the Millionaire Next Door.

Multiple Streams of Income by Robert G. Allen is a good read.

If you are involved with your own business read:

     The E Myth

What do you think about the Rich Dad Poor Dad series?

Jim

Boardroom classics has three I like:

"Complete book of money secrets"
"The book of inside information"
"More secrets, more inside information"

More of personal finance overall, not just investing

link I found to some of their books link

Book are old but some of the information is still useful

Quoted: What do you think about the Rich Dad Poor Dad series? Jim

Highly recommended. A good one is "Tax Loopholes for the Rich".  Getting a tax write-off on your guns and ammo as "work-related expenses" would be freaking hilarious! hug.gif

For an oldie, but a goodie, I recommend The Art of Speculation, by Philip L. Carret.

It shows how things were done in the good old days.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.