Top takeaways from these personal finance books that you must read

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While bookworms don’t mind reading almost anything ink and paper, books on personal finance are still considered alien and often listed under academics. You generally pick a book out of curiosity to discover new stories, alien perspectives, and historical concepts that are unknown. With personal finance, most of us like to believe that we already know the tricks and there isn’t anything new to discover.

However, the tricks to manage your finances aren’t a set of mugged principles that can swiftly flow like an age-old tradition. It’s affected by practically everything in the society – changing economic standards, infusion of technology, political dominance, employment rate, and even a pandemic!

Here is a list of some key takeaways from three books that you can choose to begin a journey towards managing your personal finances in the current times.

‘The Broke Millennial’ series by Erin Lowry

Just when you’re out of college and about to earn your first paycheque, either of these two possibilities are more or less certain – freaking out about managing your money just the right way or burying your head in the sand to ignore any investment dilemmas whatsoever.

In any case, you’re wasting time that can be utilised to plan a smart strategy to distribute your earnings in a way that you continue to spend on your likes and also figure a secure future. To those confused youngsters, Erin Lowry’s Broke Millennial series is the perfect book to get your financial life on track before you face a mid-life crisis.

The book presents a detailed step-by-step guide on how to go from flat-broke to silk-stocking. Threaded with some brutally honest financial mishap short stories, Lowry teaches you to take the correct road towards budgeting. It’s a great book that sticks to basics while encouraging you to aim for the stars.

‘The Richest Man in Babylon’ by George S. Clason

George S Clason’s masterpiece often referred to as the ‘Bible of financial freedom’ talks about some immortal principles to manage your money. Consisting of a series of interesting short stories, the best one is about ‘Arkad’, the richest man in Babylon who shares his “seven cures to a lean purse” to equally benefit individuals and the society so everyone can reap the benefits of fiscal growth.

The main takeaway of this book can definitely be argued upon but I’d like to state my favourite – it’s the two laws that Arkad teaches his son about how wealth can easily be lost. He talks about the importance of understanding investment tools and not following buzzing trends. A must read!

‘The Psychology of Money’ by Morgan Housel

Perennial lessons on wealth management and discovering the chaotic relationship between man and money are some high points of this classic.

Housel talks about human behaviour and how greed and power dominate decision-making when it comes to finances. The book also unravels absolutely strange ways people think about one’s own money. It teaches you how to make better choices when talking about money through a series of 19 short stories.

My greatest takeaway from the book has to be in this quote – “You are one person in a game with seven billion other people and infinite moving parts. The accidental impact of actions outside of your control can be more consequential than the ones you consciously take.”

A book –  good, bad or ugly – isn’t capable of wasting your time. It only gives you an insight into things beyond your limited understanding. So if you’re sitting locked up inside, pick any of these books and you’re sorted for the day.