These are perhaps my favorite and recommended books, mostly read in the early to mid 2000s. How did I come to pick these as my favourites? It’s definitely because they influenced me greatly in how I go about doing investment and financial management properly. They also needed to be very clear and understandable other than being relatable. So top top marks for these authors which I am really indebted to them in many ways.
So let’s go…. drum roll…..
Financial Literacy
1. CASHFLOW QUADRANT – ROBERT KIYOSAKI
In the whole Kiyosaki series, I’d choose this one as it has all that I need and put me on the path of doing proper financial planning and management of my finances. Along with that, it really taught me about how to see the world of opportunities and lifted the veil on the common beliefs in life.
2. MILLIONAIRE NEXT DOOR – THOMAS STANLEY
You have to read this book to see how so few people actually get what financial literacy is all about in theory and in practice. I got many insights from reading this and take comfort in knowing a few more things about myself and how I stand in the pursuit of being financially secure.
3. GOOD DEBT BAD DEBT – JON HANSON
Is all debt bad? No! This book really gives a good account of how debt can work against you or for you. Be open minded and it will be very insightful I’m sure.
Investing
4. ONE UP ON WALL STREET – PETER LYNCH
I was glad I decided to read this book by Peter Lynch, a very successful investment fund manager. I wasn’t too impressed with his other books which I read earlier, but this one was a cool one.
5. HOW TO PICK STOCKS LIKE WARREN BUFFETT – TIMOTHY VICK
There are a plethora of books on Warren Buffett and his style of investing. By sheer luck, I picked up this one which I couldn’t for the life of me understand why people would pick up many others and not giving this a look. I think I have decided that this is miles ahead of many others that I’ve read on Buffett.
6. THE INTELLIGENT INVESTOR – BENJAMIN GRAHAM, JASON ZWEIG
You cannot ever miss this book if you are serious about investing. It gives you a bit of the origin story of how Warren Buffett gets his investing philosophies from, and many students under Ben Graham’s teaching have been successful investors in their own right. (Just not as big as Warren, but he evolved). So how it is broken down is like this, every chapter of intelligent investor written by Graham is followed by a section written by Zweig. Make sure you read the Zweig sections. He gives you pretty good context and explanation in layman terms.
7. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF INVESTING – JOHN NOFSINGER
It was and still is a fascinating subject to me, investment psychology. Other names or terms include behavioral finance/investing. I’ve read a few others but this is a good read for anybody interested to learn about it.
8. A RANDOM WALK DOWN WALLSTREET – BURTON G. MALKIEL
Malkiel wrote this and there have been many further and latest editions. My recommendation is to go get the latest one and read it cover to cover. In this book, you get a very good sense of every topic you need to know in terms of subjects from trading to investing and the many disciplines within.
Non-investment related but really useful
9. WISDOM OF CROWDS – JAMES SUROWIECKI
If you see the market as a crowd and wish to know how it behaves and or impact us whether as traders or investors, this book is a true revelation.
10. FOOLED BY RANDOMNESS – NASSIM NICHOLAS TALEB
Don’t get too cocky and ahead of yourself if you are doing great in your investment. Look, nothing is absolute and there is much more to know and reckon with in this world of investing and trading. I’ll let Taleb tell you more, but I’m also confident his writing is entertaining enough to keep you reading to the end.
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So here it is, my 10 favorite of books so far on this topic. Hope you like my recommendation.