BrilliantWithMoney

Becoming brilliant with money can be achieved, in part, through the informal education of reading widely.

With so many personal finance books on the market, it can sometimes be challenging to know which ones to read to get the best results.

When I was working through the various financial planning qualifications and preparing to write my own books, I read as many personal finance books as I could get my hands on.

Here is a small selection (in no particular order) of those I believe you must read if you want to become brilliant with money. For each book I have included a non-affiliate link to Amazon.co.uk, in keeping with our very strict policy on revenue for this website.

Please add your own suggestions to this list using the comments facility.

1 – Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Controversy continues to surround the author of this book, Robert T. Kiyosaki. It seems unlikely that Rich Dad, Poor Dad is an accurate autobiography, but it is an inspiring read by any standards. As with all personal finance books from across the pond, the details in this book can be largely ignored as they cater for the US audience with their own tax and investment systems. For the purpose of financial inspiration though, this is one book that will not disappoint.

2 – The Soul Millionaire: True Wealth is Within Your Reach

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing David Scarlett, a former Financial Planner, for several years and his book The Soul Millionaire is without doubt one of the best on the subject of financial freedom written by a British author. It’s quite profound and deep in places, and the overall message is inspirational, much like spending time with David himself.

3 – The Number: What Do You Need for the Rest of Your Life, and What Will It Cost?

My colleague Andrew introduced me to this book earlier this year. The Number by Lee Eisenberg is a fantastic introduction to the concept of lifetime Financial Planning, helping readers work out their own ‘number’; how much money they need to have in their ‘pot’ to last throughout retirement. Whilst principally a retirement planning guide, this concept of working out your own number should be applied to Financial Planning in a wider sense.

4 – Seven Stages of Money Maturity

George Kinder is the founder of the life planning movement in the US, which applies a more spiritual and holistic approach to conventional Financial Planning. Seven Stages of Money Maturity is fairly tough going for a British audience as much of the approach does not translate well to our more reserved culture, yet it is a worthwhile read, particularly if you are interested in learning more about how Financial Planning should integrate with your life goals and objectives. I particularly enjoyed the snippets of Buddhist wisdom within this book and that alone has encouraged me to learn more about this.

5 – Smarter Investing: Simpler Decisions for Better Results

Tim Hale’s book is popular amongst Financial Planners as it describes the importance of asset allocation when making intelligent investment decisions. It explains that active fund management is often expensive and does not always add value, so encourages a passive approach to investing money. If you are investing money then you must understand the importance of asset allocation, so Smarter Investing is a great book to read.

6 – The Financial Times Guide to Reading the Financial Pages

This was one of the first books I read when I entered the Financial Planning profession, and it enabled me to get so much more value from reading the FT (and other financial pages).

The FT is possibly the most important newspaper to read for those keen to become brilliant with money. You should aim to at least read FT Weekend on Saturday or Sunday, but ideally make it your daily newspaper if you want to become truly connected to the world of business and finance.

Until I read The Financial Times Guide to Reading the Financial Pages, the tables of data found in the financial pages were a complete mystery. This is by far the best book I have found when it comes to clarifying the meaning of what you will find in the FT.

7 – The Rules of Wealth: A Personal Code for Prosperity

I had a sneak preview of this book when the publisher asked me to read the manuscript and check the technical aspects for accuracy. Richard Templar has done a great job with The Rules of Wealth by describing the simple principles behind building financial wealth. This is a great book for the beginner and it is written in a manner that really engages the reader. If you already have a good level of basic personal finance knowledge then you will probably want to skip this book and opt for something a little more advanced.

8 – The Money Machine: How the City Works

Unless you work in the City, or know someone who does, then the financial system can be difficult to understand. The Money Machine by Philip Coggan does a great job of introducing the financial markets and particularly the City of London to newcomers. If you were thinking of starting a career in the City, or simply interested in finding out more about how the financial sector in the UK operates, then this is the book for you.

9 – Fundology: The Secrets of Successful Fund Investing

John Chatfeild-Roberts has one of the best track records as a fund and stock picker in the world of fund management. Fundology is quite an advanced text about the intricate workings of different investment funds and how to go about selecting your own investments. The early chapters get quite technical, but there is a good glossary which makes it easy to understand the infrequent jargon. If nothing else, this book might convince the investor that picking funds is not as simple as looking for good past performance.

10 – The 4-hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich

Whilst not strictly a personal finance book, The 4-hour Work Week needs to be on the bookshelf of anyone interested in pursuing the goal of financial freedom. Tim Ferriss is an inspirational author and I am a frequent visitor to his blog where he expands on many of the concepts within the book. The 4-hour Work Week turns the conventional idea of retirement on its head by introducing the concept of ‘mini-retirements’. Readers of this book might not aspire to the same hectic and high achieving lifestyle the author has experienced to date, but reading this should at least open your eyes to the world of possibilities that come by bucking conventional financial planning ideas.

11 – The Money Diet: The Ultimate Guide to Shedding Pounds Off Your Bills and Saving Money on Everything!

Martin Lewis is well known as the ‘money saving expert’ and The Money Diet is a great guide to cutting your expenditure in a whole range of areas. Use this book to understand how to save money, as reducing your outgoings is an important part of what you need to do to become wealthier.

When reading this it is important to remember that Lewis is a journalist rather than a qualified financial adviser, so take his tips on financial advice and planning with a pinch of salt. Where he does excel is on getting better deals from various suppliers of products and services. You should be able to read this and cut at least a few hundred pounds a year off your household expenditure, making the cover price a very good investment.

12 – A Bit on the Side: 500 Ways to Boost Your Income

Creating wealth is not just about cutting costs. You also need to increase your earnings to widen the gap between expenditure and income. A Bit on the Side by Jasmine Birtles, well known as TV’s Money Magpie, should help you identify at least a couple of ways to supplement your income from employment, helping you create more revenue to direct towards your financial objectives.

13 – Status Anxiety

Again, not strictly a personal finance book, but Status Anxiety is an important read if you want to understand what causes us to spend money to keep up with the Joneses. If you can understand that rarely mentioned social anxiety and overcome it, you should be in a position to make better informed spending decisions; spending money on the things that will advance your financial objectives rather than add to your status in the hope this will improve your standing in society.

14 – How to be Free

How to be Free will not appeal to everyone, but for those who want to learn more about decoupling from a consumerist society, this is an invaluable read. Tom Hodgkinson’s manifesto for simpler living translates into an action plan for cheaper living, and lower expenditure means less pressure on your financial resources. There is a bigger message here, but the financial implications of following some of his tips could be significant. And it’s a very enjoyable read. Chapter two inspired me to learn to play the Ukulele earlier this year so I have Tom to thank for that!

Martin Bamford is site editor of BrilliantWithMoney and a Chartered Financial Planner at Informed Choice.