2 Financial Books Everyone Must Read

In a world where we are inundated with information, my intention is to keep things simple and not overwhelm you with too many resources, but give just enough. There are a TON of financial books on the market, and I am happy to expand upon this list but feel strongly that to have a GREAT financial foundation you can really just read these two books and be set up for success.

First Book: Total Money Makeover

Now to be full disclosure, I am not the biggest fan of Dave Ramsey, author of Total Money Makeover, because I think some of his investment advice is inaccurate…(more on that in a moment) but he has helped A LOT of people get out of debt, so you gotta hand it to the guy. What I do appreciate about him is he also likes to keep things simple. He gives people tools that are simple enough to implement and that position you to eliminate debt and be better savers. I don’t like that his investment advice is less than par. I am a big believer that you cannot give cookie cutter advice when it comes to investments. He talks about 12% returns on mutual funds, and that is just not a realistic expectation, plus, mutual funds are a thing of the past...but we will talk more about that later.

This book is for you if you are someone that has accumulated any consumer debt, meaning credit card debt, student loans, or really any debt for that matter. Dave gives you tools and logical plans to help you get your debts paid off and  in a manner that is manageable. He is also pretty good at providing saving tactics and talks about concepts like dividing your expenses and budgeting using envelopes. He gives good advice when it comes to insurance, and an overall foundation of good financial planning.

This book is not for you if you can’t follow a plan. I’d say the recipe for success when it comes to eliminating debt is in this book. If you are not ready to take that seriously, then don’t waste your money. He really lays it out in a way that is basic enough and can be applied to anyone that wants to knock out their debt. If that doesn’t motivate you, then we should spend more time working together, and eventually you will be ready for this book and will find tremendous value in it.   

Second Book: Unshakeable

EVERYONE owes it to themselves to read this book, because it equips you to be a smart consumer when it comes to money and investing. The financial industry is complicated, and because of that it lends itself to consumers getting taken advantage of by the very people that they are looking to as the professional and advisor. This book keeps it really simple and gives you key information to make sure you make the best decisions and ask the most critical questions when working with someone in any capacity related to money and investments.

This book is for you if you like to be in the know and set yourself up for success. The way it is written is also helpful, because it talks about some topics that can feel complex, but author Tony Robbins does a great job of keeping it basic yet chock-full of crucial information. You won’t need a college investment textbook next to you while reading the book to understand the concepts, and for that reason I feel great about recommending this book to anyone and everyone!

I would say that this book is NOT for you if you fit into two different categories. The first is if you want to continue to be naive and not in the know about how corrupt the investment industry is, then you should absolutely pass this book by. The other category of people that shouldn’t read this is the advisors that are part of the problem that this book describes. So if you are not a fiduciary, you work solely on commission, and you predominantly sell mutual funds, this book was written because of you! So let me just say maybe you should read it but only if you are going to make some changes and not use it to figure out ways to reposition or package your offerings in ways that take advantage of the consumer! 

There you have it folks, two books and you are pretty much ready to make great decisions and set yourself up for great success with all things money and investments!