There’s thousands of finance books you can read that will change the game for you, but I have picked out the top 3. These incredible books will open your mind to new ideas about personal finance and financial success. Let’s get into it.
- THINK AND GROW RICH BY NAPOLEON HILL
I’m sure a lot of other people have talked about this book, but it is a legitimate game changer. It is not a personal finance book in the sense of giving you personal finance tips, rather this author interviews all the incredibly successful people in his time. He compiles what he learns about how they think, how they plan for the future, how they set goals and all nitty-gritty details about saving, investing and how the minds of successful people work.
It’s incredibly powerful to know that success is just a matter of applying certain principles that successful people have applied for generations. It’s not about re-inventing anything. It’s simply about applying the principles we already know exist. This book is all about the mentality of successful people and how you can think that way as well.
- RICH DAD, POOR DAD BY ROBERT KIYOSAKI
This book is a very popular book but definitely worth mentioning. It compares side by side two different trains of thought. The poor dad in the book is very educated, has a PhD and is a teacher. He works hard every day but never found financial success. In contrast , the rich dad, the dad of Robert’s friend, through good investments, started businesses and grew incredible wealth even though he didn’t necessarily have an outstanding education.
When Robert was very young, he asked his rich dad how he could make more money. He was sent to work at a store that rich dad owned for zero pay. At first, Robert exclaims “What? Zero pay? How is that fair? It’s just child slavery.” The rich dad told him, “The reason I didn’t pay you anything is because the moment you get a paycheck, you think like an employee. If you don’t get a paycheck, you think like a business owner who’s trying to find solutions to problems.” I found this principle to be so true. I have noticed in my own life how I think very differently when I am working in my own business compared to just working for a wage. I am much more motivated to actually solve problems and to be as efficient with my time as possible. That being said, I have known some incredible employees. Being an employee is not the problem but thinking like one is.
- THE AUTOMATIC MILLIONAIRE BY DAVID BACH
This book completely changed how I view the average millionaire. Often, when we think of a millionaire, we think of Beverly Hills and Manhattan. This book showed me how everyday people became automatic millionaires by doing simple habits day after day. David, the author was surprised as well when he came across millionaires that lived in normal neighborhoods. What was the secret to these millionaires’ success? They made investing automatic. Every paycheck, a certain amount would automatically be invested. You never see it. You never have to make the decision twice. Once you set this up, it grows over time. You don’t think about it and you don’t look at it.
The secret of automatic millionaires is that they put a system in place and then they go about their daily lives, not even thinking about their investments. Once they approach retirement, they are surprised by how much they have accumulated over the years. Because the stock market fluctuates, you have to be patient and not worry about your daily account balance. Trust the automatic system and let it ride. Even if you have never invested before, start today. It could change your life forever.