The New Retirement Savings Time Bomb 

Ed Slott, The New Retirement Savings Time Bomb, Penguin books, 2023 This book is required reading for anyone contributing to 401 (k)s and other tax-deferred instruments. Slott alerts investors to the risks inherent in deferring taxes unnecessarily. Slott isn’t opposed to contributing to the 401 (K) but questions the validity of highly compensated people exceeding the employer’s match and much more. …

Winning the Loser’s Game

Charles Ellis, Winning the Loser’s Game, McGraw-Hill, 2013 sixth edition  Ellis, dubbed “Wall Street’s Wisest Man” by Money magazine, has been showing investors for three decades how stock markets really work and what individuals can do to be sure they are long-term winners. Now, in this new edition of his investing classic, Ellis helps you succeed in a market that’s becoming more …

What Would the Rockefellers Do? How the Wealthy Get and Stay That Way, and How You Can Too

Garrett Gunderson, What Would the Rockefellers Do? How the Wealthy Get and Stay That Way, and How You Can Too, Rip Water LLC, 2016 This is an excellent expose on cash value life insurance. Gunderson’s implodes myths, exposes nuances to the ‘buy term and invest the difference’ narrative, while offering an in-depth analysis of dividend paying, mutually owned whole life insurance. He …

Financial Independence In the 21st Century

Suzanne Burnell and Dwayne Burnell, Financial Independence In the 21st Century, FinancialBallGame, 2012 Available on Amazon, this book is an excellent treatise on life insurance as an asset class.  In chapters 3 and following, Burnell explains the many ‘living’ benefits of a properly engineered cash value life insurance contract.  It’s an accessible read with sufficient graphs and charts to buttress …

The Millionaire Next Door

Thomas J. Stanley, William D. Danko, The Millionaire Next Door, Trade Publishing, 1996 Ask anyone about the lifestyle of millionaires not just in America but in any country in the world, they will most likely tell you about yachts, luxury travels, expensive cars, dream homes, heavy consumption, expensive jewelry, etc. Very few people are likely to talk about frugality and a …

The Psychology of Money

Morgan Housel, The Psychology of Money, Harriman House, 2020 This is a must-read book for everyone starting to delve into the finance world, regardless of investing or other types of money-making techniques the author focuses more on the nature behind money movements, which are frequently emotional and irrational. The author does well in outlining how much luck and risk have …

The Elements of Investing

Burton G. Malkiel, Charles D. Ellis, The Elements of Investing, Wiley, 2009 The core of investing fundamentals all investors should know and follow for long-term success. Time-tested facts and insight. Every beginning investor should read this book. In fact, seasoned investors should read this book!

A Random Walk Down Wall Street

Burton G. Malkiel, A Random Walk Down Wall Street, W.W. Norton & Company, 2019 In this book, Mr. Malkiel explains that the market is highly efficient, and no one can accurately predict its ups and downs; it’s a “random walk”. So, the best approach is passive, “buy and hold” investing using diversified index funds held long term. I recommend this …

The Richest Man in Babylon

George S. Clason, The Richest Man in Babylon, Penguin Books, 1926 The Richest Man in Babylon dispenses financial advice through a collection of parables from ancient Babylon. A simple story narrated aims to deliver a strong underlying idea, which is basic financial management. While it might seem too simple to warrant writing an entire book about it, I think this …

The Four Pillars of Investing

William J. Bernstein, The Four Pillars of Investing, McGraw-Hill, 2002 In short, Bernstein advocates wide diversification through a portfolio of passively managed index funds in different asset classes, and buy-and-hold for the long term. Dr. Bernstein introduces readers to four basic concepts, or what he terms the four pillars of investing: the theory, history, psychology, and business of investing.