I was reflecting why I started this blog today. I want to share my experiences and keep myself accountable to what I’m saying and the goals I set. The thing that gets me fired up, no pun intended, is that I want everyone to work hard in something that they really like, me included. I envision a world where people are very aware of their options for how they live, and with a more long term focus. I then started thinking of the books that have influenced me the most in relation to how I view money and the ways of acquiring it. With that I came up with my top 7 books that will change how you view money.
7. Playing with FIRE by Scott Rieckens. Scott takes you on his journey as he’s introduced to the Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) culture. What better way to get going than hearing from someone going through that very thing.
6. The Go Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann. This makes you question how you provide value to the world. If you’re thinking you don’t get paid enough it’s probably because you’re not providing enough value to enough people. This cuts into your soul and makes you reevaluate what your goals in life are.
5. The Freedom Manifesto by Tom Hodgkinson. This book does a good job analyzing how we’ve layered in the financial system on top of the real economy, and how one can separate the two. It breaks down many things that we’ve assumed as the status quo and analyzes their real value.
4. Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez. I like this as it’s essentially a 9 step workbook to go about analyzing how much one is earning and spending, but under different frameworks such as life energy, to make important career and life decisions. There’s even an early exercise where one looks at their net worth which is what has become a focal point on my blog.
3. The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason. This book is fun because many fundamental concepts are illustrated through memorable stories, not just telling the reader how to manage their money.
2. Cashflow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki. I’ll admit I haven’t read Rich Dad Poor Dad but will say I’ve heard there are many of the same stories in Cashflow Quadrant. Robert does a great job showing how not every dollar earned is equal and shows the relationships between one’s income statement and balance sheet. He is also very passionate about educating people on tax concepts that are often totally overlooked, but can drastically alter one’s course. He makes things simple.
Number 1
Early Retirement Extreme by Jacob Lund Fisker. This book rocked my world. He does a great job illustrating how a “generalist” mindset or what he often refers to as a renaissance man will thrive over a specialist in an every changing world. Improving many of your skills, and consequently lowering your dependence on a typical job and money, can lower your expenses and allow one to “retire” early. This book doesn’t just make you rethink how you look at how you work/attain money but also how you attain a balanced life.
If you enjoyed this post I hope you subscribe to the email list and I hope you read some or all of the books. If there’s a book you really enjoyed that got you thinking about personal finance please let me know. Also, in addition to me posting on the 10th, 20th, and end of the month I will try to post more educational topics on personal finance. Please let me know if there are any topics you want explored.