good books

[jodi]

I have been reading about a lot of different financial books in the journals and was wondering if this would be a good place for people to talk about what they liked. I have not read a lot of financial books yet, but the one that really changed my thinking was The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczn (I have no idea how to spell that).
What books were helpful to everyone else?

[DivaJen]

I liked TG a lot as well. I find it helps inspire me when I get it out and just kind of flip through it. I also enjoyed Your Money or Your Life when I checked it out from the library. It was more about changing your philosophy towards spending and savng and how much you really need to live the life you want than it was about tips and tricks.

[barbara L]

The book that changed my way of thinking about finances was "The Richest Man in Babylon". It is a little book but the message is powerful.

[jmjj215]

I stand by barbara L w/ her recommendation. I've heard wonderful things about Your Money or Your Life - I'll need to get that.

[meaghanchan]

I second the reccomendation for "Your Money or Your Life". This book got me to, at 22, take a serious look at my finances, my work, and what I wanted for my life and my future. It just totally makes you re-evaluate your priorities, as they expressed by your spending habits-- It asks you, how many hours out of your workweek are you working just so you can buy your coffee in the morning rather than make it yourself? How many hours are you working just so you don't have to brownbag your lunch every day? And how much less would you have to work if you stopped doing the things that cost money but don't really add to your happiness?

Anyway, I liked it, but YMMV. There are many people who don't.

[pyotr]

Here's a great book: Roger Lowenstein's Buffett: making of an american capitalist

Another very good reading on topic for this forum: Levering and Urbanska's Simple Living: one couple's search for a better life.

Finally, READ Henry David Thoreau's WALDEN again! You'll be amazed at how great it is when you're just reading it for fun rather than as a school assignment.

thought I'd wake this thread up again as I love to spend my time reading books on personal finance (tell me again why I'm single? )


"Richest Man in Babylon" is simply awesome, great call Barbara!

I re-read it every so often just to keep my financial self grounded. no, it's not going to teach you mutual funds or bond investing or anything else, it's about habits.

two books that hold a special place for me because they were the first finance books I read are "Learn to Earn" and "Beating the Street" by Peter Lynch. I never became a stock picker or anything which is mostly what Mr. Lynch teaches but the books were really interesting and a good read (although I imagine I can thank Mr. Rothchild, the co-author, for that, Peter's not a writer after all). "Learn to Earn" has more of the personal finance I'm interested in but it's mostly stuff that's common sense to folks here, but it sure wasn't to me when I read it. (car loans suck for example...I hate to admit it but that was not straightforward to me when I first read it a decade ago).

I read all of Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey's stuff even though I don't need it and don't agree with some of it...guilty pleasure I guess...call it my chocolate.

cover to cover good read...probably Andrew Tobias' "The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need" comes to mind. I don't recall that book ever becoming tedious. actually, I'm about due to read that one again.

"Millionaire Next Door" is another good one, everyone should read it once, but I'm sure the folks here know that already.

I enjoyed David Bach's "Automatic Millionaire" mostly because I already do what he espouses, it's sort of that someone agrees with you feeling. I do have to say that's a library pick up though...he could have covered everything in there in about 40 pages or less, the man knows how to "stretch". Very basic stuff, maybe even downright pedestrian to some people here.

When you get serious about building your little despotic financial empire, William Bernstein's "Four Pillars of Investing" is great. It doesn't pull any punches on the financial math and so forth, so be ready.

The next one on my list is "Unconventional Success" by David Swensen, it focuses on managing your retirement assets. Unfortunately, it's still only in hardcover and not yet in my library so it has to wait.


ok now...I gotta take a breath....

[CJsoccerchic]

TG is a book? or an ebook? or an website???

[jodi]

Tightwad Gazette was a newsletter put out some years ago by Amy Dacyzyn. I was not aware of it until about 5 years ago, when I found The Complete Tightwad Gazette (a compilation of her newsletters) at a bookstore. Best $15.99 I even spent!