I'm still learning myself, so take this as advice from one n00b to another.
It seems that there's no lack of financial advice books out there. Every author has their own viewpoint; buy stocks or don't buy stocks, get into the blah industry or avoid the blah industry and go for the blahblah industry, mutual funds will make you wealthy versus avoid mutual funds like the plague... Each author looks at known past events (whether they're downturns or upswings) and comes to completely different conclusions...
Then there are the infomercials telling you to log in at whateveropportunity.biz and to have your credit card handy.....
It's enough to drive any new person batty-- I know because it drove me batty. I finally decided that there was at least a grain of truth in most books and researched the known names online. My goal was to find out if they made more money selling books or if they made more money with the investments and ideas that they pushed. (I'd much rather go with the person who makes more money with the advice they offer rather than the one who makes more money hawking the advice that they offer.)
It's time for some full disclosure: Trying to pin down another person's finances is not easy. I was only somewhat successful; my guess is that the authors are bright enough (or has people who are bright enough) to know how to hide crap using the incorporation shell game. But after researching, I went off to eBay and Half.Com (never buy new books when you can save big by buying used ones) and started shopping. Here's what I got:
1.
The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason. While the book can be criticized for being overly simplistic, it's great for the beginner and can't be said to offer controversial advice.
2.
The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko. Much more in-depth and sometimes harder to understand. It's also been criticized by some for having conservative political leanings. However, it's the ONLY book I've heard of that actually goes straight to the wealthy (1,300+ if memory serves) and asks how they became wealthy.
3.
The Millionaire Mind by Thomas J. Stanley. Some argue over whether it's a companion to or a progression from the aforementioned Millionaire Next Door, but that's not truly important. This book (which I'm still reading) is more insight into how the wealthy think about life, purchases, etc. (As I'm not totally through this book, I don't feel it right to truly offer a review beyond this little bit.)
4.
Some of the
Rich Dad, Poor Dad series by Robert T. Kiyosaki. This author and his series of books are controversial here on Arfcom and elsewhere. Many of the criticisms are valid; earning money peddling his ideas versus actual implementation of his ideas, possible storytelling (did this Rich Dad ever exist among other things), mostly focusing on real estate while ignoring (some would say short-changing) other investment vehicles, concentration on inspiration versus perspiration, etc. At the same time, no one gains legions of devotees (or keeps them) if they're an out-and-out fraud. I will defend his views of how the tax system is set up to screw the individual over the business owner. Forming a legitimate business really does help one mitigate taxes and bring home more at the end of the day. I also appreciate his views (that are echoed by other authors) that you should spend some time each day/week/money/year reviewing all of the financials from your investments. There is no autopilot for those who want to get ahead. Finally, as I am seriously mulling the purchase of investment property within the next 12 months, his fixation on real estate does not bother me overly much.
My next move is to purchase some of the dictionaries offered by Barron's. These small books explain common (and not-so-common) terms used in various industries. They've got one specific to Finance and Investment, one for Banking, another for Real Estate, a dictionary of legal terms, and a bunch of others. Frankly, I think it's good policy to know just what in the hell people are saying when they want your money!
Seeing that no one ever writes a prospectus in plain english, I figure that I'll be using these little dictionaries in my future.
Anyhow, from one n00b to another, that's my advice.
Good luck to you,
Mike