If you are looking for some great finance books to add to your reading list, here are 3 that I read this year that I would highly recommend:
1. I Will Teach You To Be Rich - Remit Sethi
This is one of the best personal finance books I’ve ever read. A lot of finance books tend to focus in on one particular area of your finances: investing, budgeting, spending, etc.
Remit’s book is more of a comprehensive guide to managing your money with tips on everything to budgeting, investing, credit cards, and even how to negotiate your bills. This makes it a great “Finance 101” book for college students and young professionals.
A big emphasis in the book is the importance of automating your financial processes. Automation makes it easier to make smart financial decisions that align with your values and goals.
The book is written in a very easy-to-read format and Remit is careful not to use confusing jargon and industry terminology. Remit uses relatable examples and anecdotes which make the book informative and entertaining to read.
I would recommend this book to both financial experts and novices alike. If you are completely new to the world of personal finances you will be tremendously helped by this book, but even if you’ve been around the block a few times I’m confident you will still find some great nuggets of wisdom here.
2. The Psychology of Money - Morgan Housel
We would all like to think that our money decisions are completely rational and logical. It’s just simple math. But that’s simply not the case.
We are incredibly complicated emotional creatures who make decisions for all kinds of reasons - and not all of them are entirely logical.
The Psychology of Money explores the biases and behaviors that influence people’s financial decisions and how these can impact their overall financial well-being.
Housel uses a wide variety of examples (anecdotes, historical examples, scientific research) to illustrate various psychological tendencies and how they can impact your money decisions.
The book is well-researched and presents its ideas in a clear, concise manner. It’s definitely a book that’s worth reading and re-reading every few years.
The amazing thing about the Psychology of Money is that it doesn’t matter what your education level, experience, net worth, or vocation is, we are all susceptible to the same biases.
After a tumultuous year like 2022, many of the lessons in the book are particularly timely. So do yourself a favor and add this great book to your reading list!
3. The One Page Financial Plan - Carl Richards
This was a re-read for me. But it was well worth it. This book is probably the most impactful one I’ve read in my profession.
The One Page Financial Plan is beautifully simple in its premise: everything you really need to know about your financial plan can fit on one page. That’s not to say that there isn’t a time and place for complexity, spreadsheets, and charts. But for the average person, what’s really needed is a simple document that outlines your values, goals, and next actionable steps.
Carl does a masterful job of asking thoughtful questions and getting the reader to think deeper about their money decisions. Once you are able to get really clear about where it is you are right now and where it is you want to go, then the next steps become a lot easier to figure out.
So many people flounder in their finances because they’ve never taken the time to get clear about what it is they want money to do for them.
Another feature about the book that I love are Carl’s sharpie sketches. He has a wonderful way of distilling an important financial concept into simple visual that fits on a napkin.
I continue to use Carl Richard’s One Page Plan framework within my business, and if you read the book I think you will see why it is so powerful.
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