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Best Financial Planning / Investment Books: "The Richest Man in Babylon" Book Review

 


Hey guys. Cyril White, Certified Financial Planner, Four Financial Management, where it is my mission to help as many of you get as wealthy and as healthy as possible! I've been in the financial business,  financial planning, wealth management, investment management business, call it what you will, for going on over 25 years now. It's crazy how time flies when you’re having fun!  I'm often asked, what books can one read to improve their financial situation, to educate yourself on personal financial issues, concepts and best practices. So what I've decided to do is I'm going to put together these videos to cover many of the most popular financial planning, personal financial management and investing books, all of which I have read, and I'm going to give you my two cent on them and provide a review of these books. You can find a comprehensive list of all the books in the notes to this video. My list of popular personal financial planning and investment books which I will be reviewing in this video series is as follows (in no particular order):

“The Richest Man in Babylon” – George S. Clason

“The Total Money Makeover” – Dave Ramsey

“Rich Dad Poor Dad” – Robert T. Kiyosaki

“A Random Walk Down Wall Street” – Burton G. Malkiel

“Think and Grow Rich.” – Napoleon Hill

“The Intelligent Investor” – Benjamin Graham

“The Millionaire Next Door” – Thomas J. Stanley, William D. Danko

“The Phychology of Money” – Morgan Housel

I'd love to hear your comments about these books if you have read them. The first book I'm going to review just actually popped up on my Amazon feed, of all places, when I was ordering something else. I don't know what it was, but I saw this book and I had not heard of this book prior to it showing up in Amazon. I hadn't read the book, but doing some research apparently it's been around for a long time, since 1926 as a matter of fact, and it's one of the most popular personal financial planning books in history with over 4 million copies sold. The book is titled “The Richest Man in Babylon”, written by George S. Clason. It's less than 100 pages. So it’s a super quick read. It's written in kind of the old English, “thou hast” that kind of language, so it is a little difficult to read and it tells a lot of stories, intertwined with the good financial planning messages, which are basically to save 10% of every dollar you earn, don't make stupid investments, don't risk your money on things that you're not going to get a positive return on, and make sure you have enough funds set aside to make up for your income if something bad like dying happens to you, i.e., have enough life insurance to take care of your family, your loved ones, and that's basically about it. Therefore, super simple, tried and true messages that the book has, defined for all of us to remember. Nothing too deep there. It wouldn't be one of my top choices, but it's a historical book and it's sold over 4 million copies. I will be covering other very popular financial planning and investment books in my video series, so stay tuned and hope this helps. 

If there's anything that I or my firm can do for you in terms of financial planning, investment management, wealth management, estate planning, or tax planning, please let us know, shoot me a text email, give me a call, and we'd be honored to help you. Thanks!

For 25 years I have helped families work towards their financial goals!  


Please contact me at (734) 725-2119 or cyril.white@fourfinancial.com if you have any questions or if there is anything we can assist you with!  


This material is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. There is no assurance that the views or strategies discussed are suitable for all investors or will yield positive outcomes. Investing involves risks including possible loss of principal. Any economic forecasts set forth may not develop as predicted and are subject to change.  All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, LPL Financial makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy.  The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.   

Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) / Environmental Social Governance (ESG) investing has certain risks based on the fact that the criteria excludes securities of certain issuers for non-financial reasons and, therefore, investors may forgo some market opportunities and the universe of investments available will be smaller. 

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Comments

Emma Jasmine said…
Thank you immensely for compiling and sharing this invaluable list of financial planning and investment books! As someone who's relatively new to the intricate world of financial management, and currently looking for financial advisors Canada, I've been on a quest for trusted resources to help me navigate the complexities of investments and planning for the future. Your thoughtful curation provides me with a beacon of guidance amidst the overwhelming sea of information available. I'm eagerly anticipating delving into these recommendations, confident that they will equip me with the knowledge and insight necessary to make informed decisions and secure my financial future.

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