By Ruth Mbugua
Reading is the easiest way to invest in yourself. When I was much younger, I was crazy about reading novels. I never had interest in reading financial books as I termed them ‘boring’. This was until my dad came home with ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ by Robert Kiyosaki and forced me to read it. It sparked an interest and I have been devouring financial books since then.
Here are my top 5 financial books and their reviews:
1. The psychology of money by Morgan Housel
This is a recent book, published in 2020. Shows how our relationship with money starts in the mind. It has timeless lessons on wealth, greed and happiness. “Doing well with money isn’t necessarily about what you know. It’s about how you behave. And behavior is hard to teach, even to really smart people.” Morgan gives a unique take on how we think about money influences our behavior, investing & spending habits. Do you have a scarcity or abundance mentality? Are you risk averse or a risk taker? It all starts in the mind.
“Less ego, more wealth. Saving money is the gap between your ego and your income, and wealth is what you don’t see. So wealth is created by suppressing what you could buy today in order to have more stuff or more options in the future. No matter how much you earn, you will never build wealth unless you can put a lid on how much fun you can have with your money right now, today.” ~ Morgan Housel ~
2. The millionaire next door by Thomas J. Stanley
This is the story about how being a regular Joe will make you wealthier faster than being your favorite Instagram influencer. Thomas talks about being frugal and how keeping up with the Joneses lifestyle will lie to you that you are rich yet you have no assets to show.
Thomas redefines wealth as owning substantial amounts of appreciable assets and not just displaying a high-consumption lifestyle. He further goes on to say that you are not what you drive. Modern day society would argue otherwise as we are quick to judge people’s social status based on their car.
3. Your money or your life by Vicki Robin
Vicki Robin won’t tell you to carry packed lunch to work or cut down on your coffee. He just tells you to choose what’s more important to you. He equates money to the hours in your life. This really hit home because in the new normal world we live in, we have had to go back to the drawing board and re-evaluate what’s important to us. Does making more money that will take away more hours that you could have used in other areas of your life more important? There is no right or wrong answer, it’s just your choice.
4. Law of success by Napoleon Hill
This is a book written in 1925 but the gems are still as applicable today as they were then. If you want to learn the fundamentals of securing the bag, this is your to go to book.
5. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
This book broke down for me the meaning of assets and liabilities. If you were like me and never attended a business class in school, I’d suggest you start here. Fantastic read that helps you understand how money and business actually works.