personal finance Book Summaries

Your Money Or Your Life is different from other personal finance books because it talks about choice, freedom and fulfillment—instead of deprivation and discipline. You'll learn how to use money to achieve your authentic dreams and escape the modern traps of consumption, clutter and debt.

The Millionaire Next Door is about the reality of how people accumulate extraordinary wealth. The authors conducted studies that found typical millionaires are not flashy consumers. Instead, they tend to be business owners who work hard, save money, and live middle-class lifestyles like you and me.

Unshakeable is Tony Robbin's guide to simple investing. He shows us how to achieve financial freedom and security. You'll learn about smart investing tools like index funds, compound interest and diversification. You'll also see how to avoid losing money due to fees and fear.

Millionaire Teacher shows how to start investing if you're middle class and want to retire wealthy. Andrew Hallam explains why index funds are great for growing your savings. They're much better than mutual funds—whose 1-2% extra fees will cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime.

Rich Dad Poor Dad is Robert Kiyosaki's story of growing up with a "Poor Dad" (his middle class biological father) and a "Rich Dad" (his best friend's father and a savvy entrepreneur). Kiyosaki learned rich people buy assets that make them money, rather than working for an income.

Think and Grow Rich is a classic self help book, based on Napoleon Hill interviewing 500 millionaires including Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. He says the formula for riches is first having a burning desire for them, then following a definite plan and having faith that plan will succeed.