5 Finance Books That Influenced My System For Building Wealth

When I wrote Making Money Simple, my goal was to give people a blueprint for turning career success into financial success.

People who experience success in their careers often dedicate years acquiring knowledge and honing their craft. But enjoying professional success does not directly translate to financial success for most people, even as you earn more and more.

Without the right knowledge, systems, and processes, earning more typically turns into spending more. That means countless people miss easy opportunities to build wealth.

This was the inspiration for writing Making Money Simple, which outlines steps I’ve personally taken to reach my own goals along with the advice I provide to others in my role at one of the country’s premier wealth management firms.

The clarity I had around what to do with my money – and how to advise others what to do with theirs – came from not only a formal education through the CFA and CFP® programs, but also a number of other personal finance books that influenced and inspired the systems I eventually built to use.

Obviously, I recommend picking up a copy of Making Money Simple if you want to make the most of opportunities across your financial life to grow wealth. But I’d also recommend checking out these books that made a big impact on me and influenced the final product in my first book.

#1: 30 Minute Money Solutions

The first book is 30-Minute Money Solutions: A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Your Finances by Christine Benz

This is the first personal finance book that I purchased out of college that made a lasting impact on me. The premise and outline of the book drew me to Ms. Benz’s work, because I sought to improve very specific areas of my financial life. The table of contents laid out a litany of places that I could tidy up in 30 minutes or less, making it easy to get in action.

Each chapter is short and easy to read. A lot of personal finance books are filled with information, and this book is no exception – but along with all the knowledge it imparts, it includes workbook pages you can leverage to actually get things done.

#2: The Automatic Millionaire

The second book is The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich by David Bach

Automation is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal for creating systems that take you out of the process.

The biggest takeaway I had from Mr. Bach’s book is that anyone can achieve financial success, but they are more likely to make mistakes if they are required to exercise discipline.

Automating your finances eliminates the need to constantly exercise that discipline and willpower to always make the right choices. Automation also helps you manage money in less time, and more free time is arguably the most valuable asset of all.

With the number of fintech apps, programs, and solutions available today, it’s never been easier to automate processes in your financial life – and Bach’s book keeps up, with an updated edition released in December 2016 that takes newer technology into account.

#3: I Will Teach You To Be Rich

The third book is I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi

This book came out shortly after the U.S. stock market bottomed out in March 2009 and provided an easy to use framework for building wealth. Aimed at people in their 20’s and 30’s, Ramit Sethi’s style makes it feel like you are talking to a good friend over drinks.

The idea of creating a system that manages your money with a minimal amount of ongoing effort made intuitive sense to me, but I also appreciate Mr. Sethi’s focus on defining what being “rich” means to you.

A revised edition of Mr. Sethi’s book was recently released and is sitting in my queue. It will be interesting to see how the core messages of start now, automate as much as possible, and be wary of so-called financial experts are adapted given the explosion in fintech and digital media.

#4: Happy Money

The fourth book is Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton

Unlike the first three titles, this book fits in more with the behavioral science category than personal finance. But an understanding of what type of spending is likely to derive the greatest amount of happiness is hugely important when developing a personal financial plan.

While personal-finance books tend to focus more on how to save and invest your money, this book helps teach you the best way to spend your money.

This is helpful as you try to prioritize your savings toward experiential goals like a vacation versus buying a luxury car.

If you are making a big effort to optimally save your money, then you ought to make a similar effort to get the biggest bang for your buck when spending it.

#5: The Richest Man in Babylon

The fifth book is The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

If you learn better from stories, this book is for you. This classic draws on parables from ancient Babylon and exemplifies the idea that good money advice is timeless.

Originally published as a series of pamphlets, each story has one or two concrete points explaining how to get ahead financially. These rules for conquering money are easy to understand and applicable to anyone.

The idea that influenced my own book most is that people often say they want to accumulate wealth, but they fail to actually do something about it.

The intentionality required for building wealth is the key reason I believe in writing down goals with expected costs and completion dates, and then committing to an automated savings program to ensure you meet those goals.

I also like that Mr. Clason suggests you should enjoy life while you are here and not overly stress about saving. In my opinion, building good financial habits is all about making incremental changes that are painless in the moment due to their small size, but have a dramatic impact on your long-term success due to the power of compounding.

Want More Resources For Growing Your Wealth?

Here are a few other resources you may find helpful:

Take my financial wellness assessment and learn in just 9 questions your biggest areas of opportunities you should be focusing on in your finances.
Get my book Making Money Simple for a step-by-step process to simplify your finances and make smart decisions with your money.
Read popular posts How to Automate Your Finances and How to Deal With Lifestyle Creep.