I’ll be honest – I do like to read a good book. However, the books that you need to be reading don’t typically have a story line or main character. The books are sometimes hard to stick to as they aren’t particularly action packed but if you stick with it, they will make the difference between growing your investments and losing your investments.
Also, on a slight tangent – you may be surprised to hear that, with a full time job, keeping fit and writing for this blog, my time is suuuuuper stretched so I often opt to listen to audiobooks. You can get the below ones for sure (Intelligent Investor is like 15 hours long…) and they keep me learning when I don’t really have time to read.
Personally, I like to use Audible (you can check it out here) but I’ve also used Google Play and they seem to do a pretty good job too.
1. Intelligent Investor – Benjamin Graham
(Click the title to check it out on Amazon)
This book is absolutely awesome. It was originally written in 1949 but has been revised multiple times since. Ever heard of Warren Buffet? Benjamin Graham was has mentor!
Now I will admit – the book is quite hard to follow. If you’re a UK investor, it’s going to seem a little frustrating as he refers to the movements of the Dow Jones rather than the FTSE – however, the principles he lays out in how to pick stocks, how you should be emotionally and when you should invest.
This is exactly how Warren Buffet approached his trading and we all know how that turned out!
2. One Up On Wall Street – Peter Lynch
(Click the title to check it out on Amazon)
Another great book. This is my number 2 most recommended book as, although it’s much nicer to read and it’s not as ‘complex’ as The Intelligent Investor, there are some really key lessons to be learned.
Peter discusses the concept of ‘buying slow and selling slow’ and, very similarly to Benjamin Graham – know the company you’re investing in, through and through.
The fundamentals discussed in this book are crucial to getting a good grip on how you’re investing – it’s also pretty budget friendly!
3. Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki
(Click the title to check it out on Amazon)
Rich Dad Poor Dad isn’t so much an investing book but it’s more of a financial management book.
The whole premise of Breaking The 925 (9 to 5) is to allow you to use the knowledge you’ve learned from the articles on the site and make steps towards financial freedom.
Instead of looking at what you can save and what you can spend, Robert talks about seeing your financial situation as a balance sheet – the aim being to build more assets than anything.
It’s another super budget friendly book but I’d suggest reading it only if just for the ‘balance sheet’ anecdote.
4. The Naked Trader – Robbie Burns
(Click the title to check it out on Amazon)
Similar to Rich Dad Poor Dad, this book isn’t so much on investing in terms of how I would personally invest – I suppose it’s in the name ‘Trader’ rather than Investor.
The book talks about how to day trade and how to do the research to maximise success. Although this isn’t how we want to INVEST (we want the long term gains), it does teach some absolute gems on how to perform research and where to source different forms from.
There will be more books added as I read more!