Books & Media

This is short list of my best personal finance books. They helped plant the seed to seek more information, ideas, and best practices. Know that they provide the tools for better financial planning, but only you know what's best for you! Scroll on and let me know what you think!

Books

This is recent, but I think this is the first book anyone should read. It applies to everyone.

How do you get rich?

Buy stocks and bonds!

Buy real estate!

Start a multi-million dollar business!

All are approaches to get there - But not to your specific situation.

Also every book will slide into a rung on the ladder.

Level 2: I Will Teach You To Be Rich, RichBFF

Level 3: Multiple Streams of Income, One Up on Wall Street, Warren Buffett Way

Level 4 and Up: Bios on Entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Tony Hsieh; Rich Dad Poor Dad

This book started it for me. He provides a model and concepts that edge into risky in a good way.

Buy assets that pay you income.

Avoid loans (liabilities) that increase your expenses.

Know the difference between Good Debt and Bad Debt. Good Debt - Finances Real Estate that pays you rent and cashflow after expenses. Bad Debt - Buying a High-End Car with a Loan that will take years to pay off.

Also, run your economic life like a viable business. Market your skills, Sell your value, Buy assets with the proceeds, Keep growing.

This symbol still sticks with me it provides a model to help decide how you want to progress, their capabilities and limits.

Employee

• Wages

• Taxed

• Little Tax Benefits

• Taxes come first then you get your money

  
  

Self-Employed

• Potentially higher pay, work for yourself

• Still pay self-employment tax

• Working in your business, your limited to time you put in. Still have to sleep, can't work 24-hours a day

  
  

Business

• Taxed on profits after expenses

• Leverages other people's time and money

• Most tax benefits (expenses, depreciation, applicable business credits)

  
  

Investor

• Can fund businesses

• Possible to have passive income

• Taxed differently. Can live off dividends (no Social Security or Medicare Taxes) or Capital Gains (less tax rate than higher earners)

These three are great for anyone's library. Morgan Housel doesn't tell you how to invest. He offers insights into the behavior of money and the behavior of people with money.

What sticks?

The Janitor who died with an $8 Million Estate when he died.

The MBA-trained Hedge Fund manager who earned a lot, but also lived a lifestyle that still put him in deep debt once a financial crisis hit.

Time in the market is more important than timing the market.

Game

Highly recommend this game to anyone looking to invest. Don't scoff at the $100 price, the knowledge and awareness developed from playing will apply to your real financial life. Totally worth the investment.

(Note on Board Games. Games like Catan, Ticket to Ride, and Pandemic cost $45 to $60 each and that's just for entertainment!)

First, the game provides initial exposure to the types of investments you can buy like Stocks, Real Estate, Small Businesses, Royalties.

It shows the costs and opportunities from different occupations like a Janitor or a high-earning Doctor.

It reinforces some of the principles from his books such as...

• Financial Statements

• Assets vs. Liabilities

• Good Debt vs. Bad Debt

• ESBI Quadrant

What other media has been most helpful to you?

What would you add to this list?

This will be a dynamic post. I'll add more as I come across them.