One of our Members asked us to talk to their newly minted college graduate about personal finance best practices. (Stay tuned for that content.)
But as I was putting together a reading list for her, I realized: these are books literally everyone should read.
So, if you’re looking to get a leg up on your money (and achieve Financial Zen ASAP), I would add all of these to your reading or listening list. (I’m pretty sure the audiobook versions are all on Spotify.)
Full disclosure: I let Gemini come up with the summaries, but the books all came straight from my Kindle. I’ve read every single one of these at least twice, and some—like Naval Ravikant—I re-read every single year.
Read these at your own risk. When you retire at 50, you might lose some friends to envy.
Part 1: The Mindset (How to Think About Wealth)
- The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel: Doing well with money has very little to do with how smart you are and everything to do with how you behave. It will permanently change the way you view risk, greed, and your own financial blind spots.
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill: The granddaddy of all wealth mindset books. Hill studied the most successful people of his era to prove that building wealth starts entirely in your own head. It is the ultimate guide to mastering desire, definiteness of purpose, and overcoming your psychological barriers.
- The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson: Getting rich isn’t about luck; it’s a skill you can learn. The ultimate modern guide to building wealth through leverage, creating systems, and owning equity.
Part 2: The Foundations (The Rules of the Game)
- The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason: The financial advice in this book is almost 100 years old, yet it remains undefeated. The original blueprint for “pay yourself first” and living below your means.
- The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles: Written in 1910, this is the pioneer of wealth creation literature. It proves that getting rich isn’t about luck or environment; it’s about adopting an exact, predictable formula—acting and thinking in a “Certain Way” to naturally attract wealth into your life.
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki: This book forces you to understand the difference between an asset (something that puts money in your pocket) and a liability (something that takes money out).
- The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley & William D. Danko: A reality check on what wealth actually looks like. Spoiler alert: the actual millionaire isn’t the guy leasing the brand-new BMW; it’s the guy driving the 10-year-old Honda who maxes out his investment accounts every year.
Part 3: The Mechanics (How to Actually Invest)
- The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John C. Bogle: Bogle proves mathematically why trying to beat the market with expensive mutual funds is a fool’s errand. The ultimate defense of keeping costs low, owning the whole market, and letting compounding work.
- Winning the Loser’s Game by Charles D. Ellis: In tennis, amateurs win by simply making fewer mistakes than their opponent. Investing is exactly the same. You don’t win by picking the perfect stock; you win by avoiding catastrophic mistakes and playing the long game.
Let me know if I should add any to the list!
