Financial advice is practically a dime a dozen, but not all advice is worth the same. Many people are convinced that they have the most important thing to say about financial security, but few are able to collate and collect the best advice for every investment needs. The following 4 books are among the most influential and important books for setting up financial security and independence, so if you’re going to read one book, make it one of these.
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
This is one of the most beloved investing advice books of all times. Written by John C. Bogle of Vanguard, the book is a very good introduction to index investing. It provides an outline to why indexes are the number one best strategy for most Americans, mainly because the barrier to entry for indexes is very low. This book has been recommended by hundreds of others, including Warren Buffet
A Random Walk Down Wall Street
Burton Malkiel’s book provides a good argument for ‘random walk’ theory, which states that stock markets cannot be predicted no matter what. He is another index fund advocate, and as a Princeton economist he has a very good pedigree behind his beliefs. He is another proponent of generalized investments, and avoiding individual stocks, but this book is more in-depth than Bogle’s book above.
I Will Teach You to be Rich
Being rich is more than having a lot of money. There is an argument to be made that living a rich life requires you to be happy with spending money on the things that are enriching. Ramit Sethi’s book is an odd one out among financial books, but he makes such a clear argument for enjoying yourself and not being afraid to spend money. He provides a very ‘Marie Kondo’ style of advice in which he advises you focus spending on the things you enjoy, and cutting back on things you don’t care about.
The 4-Hour Workweek
Automation is among the most important things for modern life. The rise of automation is what led us from the early 19th century to the booming industry we enjoy today. As people are able to produce more and more with less and less work, we have to think more about what we really need to do to make a living – and how to make the most of the automation we have available today. Timothy Ferriss is an expert to listen to.