Books help us to understand the world and you can find a book on any topic. If you are new to investment or want to understand the different investment options, picking up a good personal finance book can be of immense help. As there are hundreds of books on money and personal finance, we have shortlisted 5 personal finance books for beginners.
If you always wanted to save and invest but don’t know where to start, here’s a book for you. The book ‘What Every Indian Should Know Before Investing’ is one of the best personal finance books for beginners who want to explore the realm of personal finance.
It describes all the terms and concepts that you need to know in an easy to read format. It uses simple language and does not bombard the reader with technical jargons. The book simplifies everything in an easily digestible form.
The book touches the different investment options available in India.Whether you want to know about Public Provident Fund (PPF), mutual funds or insurance, you will get it all here. This makes financial planning easy for investors who have started investing or are looking forward to invest. The best way to consume the book could be to write your doubts and takeaways from the book in the note section.
The book opens our eyes to the world of social conditioning that we have grown up in. The author, Robert Kiyosaki explains why rich people are rich and poor people remain poor. It is one of the best personal finance books for beginners. It teaches you the basics of finance such as asset and liabilities, the cash flow quadrant etc. Some of the important concepts in the book include wealth, investing in oneself, and working to learn and not earn. In short, the book tries to say that rich people work to earn more money and not to pay bills.
As the book compares the differences in money attitude between his rich dad (his friend’s dad) and poor dad (his biological dad), there is never a dull moment in the book. One can easily relate to their own parents with the poor dad and change their attitude and money habits.
The total money makeover by Dave Ramsey lays the ground work for a healthy financial lifestyle. The book draws analogies between saving money and losing weight. Just like we know that in order to lose weight, we need to consume less calories that we can burn, saving money is also similar. We need to make more money that we spend. These things are simple but they are not easy to implement and the book acknowledges it. It also points out how we confuse between needs and wants and how we avoid confronting our financial problems until it becomes severe.
Many a times, our decisions are linked to other people and we do things so that we don’t miss out on the latest trends. Even though it may seem fun but it have a negative impact on our financial life. Ramsey in his book advocates in educating ourselves on personal finance so that we have better control of our financial life.
Many of us spend without thinking. And hence, we are left with no money for our future. The Richest man in Babylon by George Clason is one of the best personal finance books. The book drives home the point that we can only create wealth if we realise that the portion of the money that we earn is ours to keep. The book talks about saving at least 10% of the income. The idea is to pay ourselves first rather than goods or services.
The book jots down 7 simple rules of money. These are:
Read this book and you will not look at money in the same way ever again.
Think and grow rich is one of the iconic personal finance books written by Napoleon Hill. The book does not talk of financial ratios and other financial terms. The book lays the foundation of a fulfilling life.
In order to achieve the goals, Hill says that one should have a strong desire to achieve it. He advises writing a clear, concise statement of the amount of money you would like to acquire, or the goal that you want to achieve. To create a sense of urgency, one should include the day by which you would like to have that money.
Imagination also plays a significant role in helping a person achieve their goals. So, it is important to read out affirmations twice in a day, before going to sleep and immediately after rising up in the morning.
Reading a book on personal finance is one of the first few steps that you can take towards your financial freedom and goals. But the journey does not stop with reading. You can only be successful in your financial life, i.e. clearing off your debt or saving money when you take the first step towards it.
