Financial literacy teaches you to clearly understand how to receive money and manage it. Its laws teach how to budget correctly, spend less, receive more, and invest and increase the remaining difference.
Information on this topic is useful for people of any income who earn but spend all their money or take on debt. By developing financial literacy skills, you will form a conscious attitude towards money and develop a financial mindset. Instead of spending hard-earned money on momentary desires, optimize expenses and follow the rule: money should work.
As you take control of your financial situation, teach it to others. Pass on your knowledge to children so that they can properly handle money from childhood. That is why we are continuing our reading lists and below will be the list of best books that develop the financial literacy.
Table of Contents
“The Undercover Economist” by Tim Harford
Economics is the science of who gets what and why. In a well-known and fascinating book, part exposé, part user manual, the astute Financial Times columnist demystifies how money works in today’s world.
From the price of a cup of coffee to why efficiency isn’t always the answer to the quest for a just society, from better healthcare to solving traffic jams, The Undercover Economist reveals all these tricks and secrets admirably. Harford gracefully explains tricky concepts like demand curve pricing and game theory with real life examples.
The book turns to free market economics, and Harford shows how companies from Amazon.com to Whole Foods to Starbucks swindle consumers with guerrilla pricing techniques, and explains high rents (which have more to do with farming than you might think). The book covers complex economic theories in simple language. It will no doubt be of interest to readers interested in understanding how free market forces work. The examples given by the author – sometimes entertaining, sometimes prophetic – will make you think twice before drinking a cup of coffee. Available here.
“The Latte Factor: Why You Don’t Have to Be Rich to Live Rich” by David Bach, John David Mann
In this gripping, moving parable, Bach and his best-selling co-author John David Mann (The Go-Giver) tell the story of Zoe, a 20-year-old woman living and working in New York City. Like many young professionals, Zoe struggles to make ends meet under a growing burden of credit card and student loan debt, working crazy hours at her dream job but still not earning enough to provide a comfortable financial cushion. At the suggestion of her boss, she befriends Henry, an elderly barista at her favorite Brooklyn coffee shop.
Henry soon reveals his “Three Secrets of Financial Freedom”, ideas that Zoe initially rejects, but whose true power she eventually comes to appreciate. Within one week, Zoey discovers that she is already earning enough to secure her financial future and fulfill her wildest dreams – all she has to do is make a few simple changes to her daily routine.
The Latte Factor reveals the secrets to achieving financial freedom, inspiring you to realize that it’s never too late to fulfill your dream. By following the simple and proven path that Henry shows Zoe, everyone can make small changes today that will have a big impact for a lifetime, proving once again that “David Bach is a financial expert to listen to when you are afraid of your finances.”
So, in this book you can discover the three secrets of financial freedom! You will immerse yourself in the fascinating story of the girl Zoe, who will show you that you are richer than you think. Like many young professionals, Zoe works all day at a company she is interested in, while not earning enough to pay for student loans, housing rent, and without being able to provide herself with a financial cushion. By learning the three secrets to financial freedom, Zoe was able to pay off her debts without changing jobs and live a rich life. All you had to do was make a few simple changes to your daily routine! Available here.
“Why The Rich Are Getting Richer” by Robert Kiyosaki
Robert Kiyosaki’s position: “It is our educational system that creates the gap between the rich and everyone else.” He laid the foundation for many of his messages in the international bestseller Rich Dad Poor Dad, the #1 personal finance book of all time, and in Why the Rich Get Richer, he lays out his case…
In this book, the reader will learn why the gap between the rich and everyone else is widening. The reader will get an explanation why those who save money become losers.
The reader will learn why debt and taxes make the rich richer. He will learn why traditional education actually causes many highly educated people, such as poor dad Robert, to live in poverty. The reader will learn why going to school, working hard, saving money, buying a house, paying off debt, and investing in the stock market for the long term is the worst financial advice for most people.
In this book, the reader will be introduced to the answers that Robert found in his lifelong search after repeatedly asking the question, “When will we learn about money?” The reader will also learn why real financial education may never be taught in schools. Available here.
“When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management” by Roger Lowenstein
In this business classic—now with a new afterword that draws parallels to the recent financial crisis—Roger Lowenstein captures Long-Term Capital Management’s exciting rollercoaster ride. Drawing on confidential internal notes and interviews with dozens of key players, Lowenstein explains not only how the fund made and lost its money, but how the personalities of the Long-Term partners, the arrogance of their mathematical certainties, and the culture of Wall Street itself contributed to how they rise as well as fall.
When Long-Term was founded in 1993, it was hailed as the most impressive hedge fund in history. But after four years of blinding Wall Street as a $100 billion giant, the firm suddenly suffered catastrophic losses that threatened not only Wall Street’s biggest banks, but the stability of the financial system itself. The dramatic story of the fall of Long-Term is now a chilling harbinger of the crisis that will hit Wall Street, from Lehman Brothers to AIG, a decade from now. In his new afterword, Lowenstein shows that the collapse of LTCM should be seen not as a one-time drama, but as a template for market crises in an age of instability—and a wake-up call that Wall Street and government alike tragically ignored. Available here.
“The Great Investors: Lessons on Investing from Master Traders” by Glen Arnold
Leading investors such as Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Sir John Templeton, George Soros and Anthony Bolton are known all over the world. How did these people become so successful? What strategies did they use to get rich?
In The Great Investors, Glenn Arnold briefly and accurately describes the investment philosophy of the world’s greatest investors. He explains why they are the best, details their wealth accumulation tactics, highlights the key elements that led to their market success, and teaches you key lessons you can apply to your own investment strategies.
Great Investors is the story of a number of remarkable people: John Templeton, George Soros, Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Philip Fisher, Peter Lynch, Anthony Bolton and John Neff. Whether you are new to investing, have been successful in the markets, or are a professional investor or fund manager, you will benefit from reading about their proven and successful trading philosophy.
Great Investors will show you how:
- Be a business analyst
- Do your homework and develop broad social, economic and political awareness
- Control your emotions so you don’t get swept away by the market
- Be consistent in your approach, even when you have bad years
- See the forest for the trees and keep your portfolio simple
- Learn from your investments
- Be independent, stay away from the crowd and follow your own logic
- Take reasonable risks
Available here.
“The Truth Machine: The Blockchain and the Future of Everything” by Michael Casey, Paul Vigna
The big banks have grown and strengthened. Privacy only exists until the next hack. Many of the “legacy systems” once designed to make our lives easier and our economies more efficient are no longer up to the task. However, there is a way around all this — a new kind of operating system that has the potential to revolutionize vast areas of our economy: the blockchain.
In The Truth Machine, Michael J. Casey and Paul Viña demystify blockchain and explain why it can restore personal control over our data, assets, and identity; provide billions of isolated people with access to the global economy; and change the balance of power to restore society’s faith in itself. They show the upheaval it promises for industries such as finance, technology, law and shipping.
Casey and Vigna expose the problem of replacing trusted (and not so) institutions we have relied on for centuries with a radical model that ignores them. The Truth Machine exposes opportunities for empowerment as self-serving intermediaries give way to blockchain transparency, while highlighting the job losses, advocacy of special interests, and the threat to social cohesion that will accompany this shift. With the same balanced perspective they brought to The Age of Cryptocurrency, Casey and Vigna show why we should all care about the path that blockchain technology is taking – moving humanity forward, not backward. Available here.
Pained by financial indecision? Want to invest with Adam?
Adam is an internationally recognised author on financial matters, with over 669.2 million answer views on Quora.com, a widely sold book on Amazon, and a contributor on Forbes.
