Hi there, Mrs. 1500 again.
Last week I asked you what you spend money on. What do you pay for willingly, what do you not hesitate to drop some serious cash down for? I got some interesting replies.
Brian was first up, with coin collecting. Having just recently been to the Denver Mint, taken the tour and heard stories about these uber-rare coins worth millions, my interest was piqued. I don’t know anything about coin collecting, but I am going to look into it very soon.
Exercise equipment seems fairly popular, as I pointed out Mr. 1500’s bike purchase and had several of you agree with me. Also, it seems that if you want to participate in these sports, you have to spend serious money to be outfitted correctly. Sigh…
But the number one thing you spend money on is travel. Some of you didn’t elaborate, but I am going to assume that since you read this blog, you aren’t spending outrageous sums on travel, and staying at The Ritz or renting Lamborghini’s when you are away from home.
I like to travel. When we do, we stay at a Choice Hotels location. They always provide a clean room, comfy bed and complimentary breakfast the next morning – usually with a waffle maker. I dream about the waffles at the hotels. We bring strawberries and chocolate chips and have even tastier waffles than the rest of our fellow travelers. The kids really love it. (Who am I kidding, I do it for me, too!)
We went to the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting in Omaha, NE this past weekend (much, much more on that later in the week, after Mr. 1500 has had time to digest everything Warren and Charlie said). During the Q&A session, someone in the audience stood up and asked “What 10 books do you consider to have influenced you the most?” I thought this was a funny question, because while I would really like to know who influences Warren (we are on a first name basis, now.) I am sure I can find this information elsewhere, and I think 10 books is asking a lot. Maybe a top 3 or even 5 would have been a better number to ask for. But Warren named a few people I have never heard of (because I am such an expert, right?) which got me to thinking, I wonder who other people have read that I have not read, and which ones are really good?
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All of this gets me to this week’s question. Whose money-management style do you try to emulate? Who has given you the best advice? Whose book would you recommend without hesitation? (I am looking for famous people for you to recommend to us, although I would love to hear about your aunt or grandma’s investment philosophy, too.)
So, who do you love? (And do you now have that song stuck in your head, too?)
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First off… yes that song is stuck in my head… who do you looovvvvveee?
Second… It’s fairly dry but I like “Options as a Strategic Investment” by Lawrence McMillan. I have the fourth addition and while I don’t really do many options trades I found this book to be an amazing reference.
Sorry Brian. If it makes you feel any better, I am still singing that song, 3 days after writing this post…
I took a Wade Cook investment seminar almost 20 years ago. While I don’t agree with some of his ideas, I was finally able to truly understand options afterwards. My dad had enormous success with calls when he was trying to unload Phillip Morris a while back.
I am starting a reserve list at the library to check these books out before I add them to the personal library. Thanks for the response!
I’m interested to know what other readers recommend since I haven’t read that many finance books (historical romance, on the other hand…). The one that has really made a difference in my life is “The Millionaire Next Door” by Thomas Stanley and William Danko.
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The Millionaire Next Door is the book we give as a graduation gift or wedding present. Along with some cash, too. This is an excellent book!
I cannot wait to see what others suggest. I will recap next week.
The first financial book I read was Smart Couples Finish Rich by David Bach. It inspired me to save, but didn’t really kick my butt into gear as far as debt was concerned. Also, his “couples latte factor” idea was foreign to me–my husband and I didn’t have any expensive daily habits that we could quit to save money instead.
More recently I’ve read Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover. I can’t say I agree with absolutely everything he says, but it really helped me see things from a different perspective, and I credit that book for my “ah ha!” moment when it dawned on me that I could pay off the rest of our debt very quickly. I do think his advice is a little too simplistic once you get to the later steps, though.
Other than that I’ve just been exploring blogs and learning from non-famous people who have figured things out. I don’t think I’ll ever find one single person that I want to copy exactly.
I like hearing of all these different authors, and more importantly, why they are effective.
I have listened to Dave Ramsey’s radio program, but have not read any of his books. I will add them to the library list, too.
Thanks for reading!
Rich Dad Poor Dad had the biggest impact on me. I realize now that some of the advice in the book is not practical and outdated however it changed the way I think about money, assets and business.
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I read that book several years ago, and was a little confused in the beginning. I really liked some of his concepts, though and would recommend it, too.
Things that got me started – any of the “nice girls” books by Frankel. Good for women just starting out to be reminded not to be pushovers and look out for yourself.
Timeless Read of sort – Millionaire Next Door
More recent influence – Good to Great. It’s compares traits of good companies and great companies and is very evidence based. It’s affected how we look at our own finances, since we approach our household like a business money-wise.
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I think that Ramit Sethi’s “I Will Teach You To Be Rich” has influenced me a lot. His advice is very sound for young, just-out-of-college folks like me and his humor/sarcasm is hilarious! Definitely makes you want to keep reading and also makes you want to make yourself better!
Travel is definitely my weakness. Fortunately there are some good ways to save on trips these days. But there are some things you just don’t want to get a deal on. Like, say, sushi. I’ll pay full price, thanks!
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It doesn’t look like anyone has mentioned it yet, but Your Money or Your Life has to be one of the best personal finance/early retirement books out there. Couple that with A Random Walk: Investor’s Guide (by Burton Malkiel) and you’ll be in the money. Basically one book teaches you how to spend less and the other teaches you to grow wealth through index funds.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a pretty cool book too. It’s a super easy read, but a lot of the concepts are way above what the normal person can do. The author tries to say that all you have to do is risk a little bit and your rewards will be great, but unless you had $500,000+ in cash to play around with you wouldn’t be able to participate in most of the money-making transactions that he promotes.
The next two books on my radar (and my Kindle) are The Millionaire Next Door and Ramit Sethi’s I Will Teach You to be Rich.
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I just picked up Your Money or Your Life at the library. I have seen this one mentioned on many different blogs, and wanted to check it out. Plus, Sethi’s book was out already. Thanks for the suggestions!
My first PF book was Smart Couples Finish Rich by David Bach. Opened my eyes to the financial world.
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I am so glad I asked this question. I thought I would get a new book or two out of it, but I am finding a ton of new books!
The man that made me and more Americans millionaires than anyone else…………John C. Bogle…….any of his books will do……
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Common-Sense-Investing/dp/0470102101
I surprisingly haven’t read too many books on dividend growth investing which is my main investing style. Peter Lynch’s “One up on Wall Street” was a good read and nowhere near as hard a read as Ben Graham’s “The Intelligent Investor” which was still great. “The Millionaire Next Door” was very influential to going for early financial independence.
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I’ve read The Millionaire Next Door (Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko) which I really enjoyed as well as both The Wealthy Barber and The Wealthy Barber Returns by David Chilton. I don’t really have any PF heros but I do enjoy reading some good books now and then. In fact it’s on my May list of goals so I’d like to learn what I can read next as well.
Cheers
Mr.CBB
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The Millionaire Fastlane all the way for me. Not necessarily a book on a certain specific financial activity (i.e. strictly investing/saving etc.) but a profoundly perspective-changing one. I wish I’d read it earlier and I am definitely giving it to my kids when they’re in middle school. A real eye-opener on the nature and mechanisms of wealth, debt, delusion and much more.
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Great list so far! I’d like to add The Wealthy Barber and the Wealthy Barber Returns by David Chilton, as well as anything relevant by Gail Vaz-Oxlade (I like her no-nonsense style).
Yes, they’re Canadian authors but the information is pretty universal. Besides, if we Canucks can wade through CDs, 401Ks and IRAs, Americans can translate GICs, RRSPs and TFSAs. 🙂
And while it won’t help you improve your finances per se, Dollars and Sex is a fun way to learn about economics.
Several years ago I had no money plan and my debt was growing. I watched Gail Vaz Oxlade’s Til Debt Do Us Part and I was changed. Watching stupid people do stupid things with their money was a wake up call. I like to learn from other people’s personal experience and seeing how people just like me started sliding down the slippery slope to poverty was enough to scare me in to better behaviour.
I need a lot of encouragement and I am often inspired by personal finance blogs just like this one.
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A few others mentioned Smart Couple Finish Rich. One of the first financial books I remember is Smart Women Finish Rich by David Bach. Most of the tips can apply to anyone and it covers a wide range of topics.
I would recommend Rich Dad Poor Dad. It’s certainly a little bit different, and I’m not sure I agree with all of it. But it gets you thinking differently about how you make and spend money, and how the economy works for or against people. He recommends picking winning stocks which I think is a fools errand, but other than that its good.
Warren Buffett, despite his vast resources, has great advice on building wealth.
He sure does. I wish that I would have started paying attention to him when I was 4.
I’m definitely a Dave Ramsey Girl (I think one of the hardest concepts was credit cards and consumer dept. but I’m a believer now). Dave is coming out with a second phase to his plan on investing and I’m no where near investing but when I am, I plan to look into that.
From Dave, I found Millionaire Next Door and lately, I’ve been just following the Personal Finance Blogs. It’s amazing the information that’s out there and the stories of success that are shown that just show you that everyday people are do this and you can to!
And here are two more for my list. Many people have suggested Ramit Sethi’s book, and I have never even heard of it. I might have to put that at the top of the list.
Thanks for the suggestions!
When we started to get out of debt, I read every financial book I could find (from the library, or course!). I took bits from all of them, and I think they are all mentioned above. There is also a book called Who Moved My Cheese?, which isn’t really financial, but has a good message in my opinion.
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