5 Books to Become Your Own Financial Planner

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I’ve read over 50 personal finance books.

I have followed several personal finance blogs over the years.

I have passed Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Advisory from the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance.

I have completed the Investment Advisor (Level I & II) certification from the National Institute of Securities Markets.

However, if I had only read five books, I could have learned 99% of what I know. And I could have avoided all the useless, sometimes harmful, advice that I had to go through.

These five books constitute an entire personal finance curriculum.

1. Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not This book is a revelation. It will alter your understanding of money, assets, liabilities, cash flows, and so on.
2. The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness You will discover that “doing well with money has little to do with how smart you are and a lot to do with how you behave”. Behaviours and habits predict your financial future far more accurately than your intelligence.
3. Joys Of Compounding: The Passionate Pursuit of Lifelong Learning This book is as much a life manual as an investment one. You will become a better investor as well as a better person. “The act of reading it [the book] is another small step in that journey of compounding knowledge, wisdom, insight, and ultimately, human wealth — of all kinds,” writes Guy Spier in the foreword.
4. I Will Teach You to Be Rich: No Guilt. No Excuses. No BS. Just a 6-Week Programme That Works Though the book contains actionable advice based on financial products/laws in the US/UK, the concepts and strategies are easily adaptable to local options.
5. Let’s Talk Money: You’ve Worked Hard for It, Now Make It Work for You The best practical and actionable book for Indian audiences covering all aspects of personal finance. This is the book to read if you want concrete steps without getting bogged down in concepts and psychology.

Bottom line: By reading these five books, you can become your own financial planner. They cost less than ₹1500 ($20).