Financial Independence In the 21st Century by Suzanne Burnell and Dwayne Burnell

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 narrative.  For readers who prefer to be educated versus being sold, this …

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 Richest Man in Babylon

eorge 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 Wealthy Barber

David Chilton, The Wealthy Barber, Stoddart, 1989 The book distills personal finance concepts into suggestions that are relatively simple to follow. The Wealthy Barber adopts a tale of three individuals in different financial situations who seek advice from a wily, funny, and affluent barber. I worried that the dialogue and concept would end up being gimmicky and fail to deliver the …

The One-Page Financial Plan

Carl Richards, The One-Page Financial Plan, Portfolio, 2015 The title suggests this is an entry-level book for personal finance novices. It is very readable and a reminder good advisors are out there and their work makes a valuable contribution to client’s lives. The book centers on mastering the psychology behind investing as well as looking at your goals rather than …

The Behavior Gap

Carl Richards, The Behavior Gap, Portfolio/Penguin, 2012 Yes, this book is about money, but it is really about psychology. When it comes to money, people are notoriously bad in their decision-making. We do things we should know are illogical (i.e. becoming interested in stocks when they become expensive and then selling off when they become cheap). The media knows this …