Don’t know ANYTHING about the stock market or anything related to investing?
Read these books in the order I mention, and they’ll guide you in empowering yourself with the knowledge of investing.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad
Author : Robert T. Kiyosaki
Genre : Business, Finance
Pages : 336
Published : 1997
Goodreads : 4.1 / 5
This book lays a great foundation of how one should view money in his life. This book is not about the stock market or investing particularly, but about the perception of money itself. But PLEASE DON’T SKIP THIS, reading this book is what made me want to take control of my future finances. If you want to know my full opinion, read my review HERE. The biggest takeaway from this book can be summarized in this quote from the book:
“The poor and the middle class work for money. The rich have money work for them”
Learn To Earn
Author : Peter Lynch, John Rothchild
Genre : Business, Finance
Pages : 272
Published : 1995
Goodreads : 4.04 / 5
This book starts from square one. It takes you from the very begining of, “What is a company?” to buying your first stock. The one gripe I have with this and the next one from Peter Lynch, is that both have aged poorly. Being released in the 1990s where people were exclusively trading by physically going to the stock exchange, before the dawn of the internet, so there is a lot of outdated advice. But don’t be fooled by its age. The fundamental principles of investing haven’t changed since it began, and this book lays a good foundation. Also, I would highly recommend keeping notes as you read along. One of the best takeaway from this book is the quote:
“Time is makes money”
One Up On Wall Street
Author : Peter Lynch, John Rothchild
Genre : Business, Finance
Pages : 304
Published : 1989
Goodreads : 4.25 / 5
The same problem of the advice being dated applies here as well, but this book goes more in-depth on the technical terms and finding your first business to invest in. There are a lot of case studies about different companies and their history which can be skipped, even though I’ll recommend reading at least a few to understand the surrounding culture more. Again, this book is more technical terms explained in layman terms. Also, there are end chapter summaries which were quite useful. Now for my personal favorite quote from the book:
“It is personal preparation, as much as knowledge and research, that distinguishes the successful stock picker from the chronic loser”
Rule #1
Author : Phil Town
Genre : Business, Finance
Pages : 320
Published : 2006
Goodreads : 4.13 / 5
This is the last book (on my list) that you should read, and which will summaries everything you learned in the previous books and shed some 21’st century light on it. This book is a definite step-by-step guide to preparing yourself, finding a company, and finally investing in it. The book is up-to-date and tells us what numbers we should really be looking at to see how a business is doing. As a quote, I’ll tell you what this book teaches you:
Rule #1
- Find a wonderful business
- Know what the business is worth
- Buy it at 50% off
- Repeat until very rich
