More Current Personal Finance Books

[BigBangWeary]

I am currently loading up my Kindle for summer holidays, and while I have a healthy dose of fiction, and a few of the 'classic' personal finance books yet to read, I was wondering if anyone could recommend some more time-relevant finance reads. I am looking for anything post-2008 (or at least post 2001) that covers wealth accumulation, or investing with the present environment in mind.

I have really benefited from reading books like The Millionaire Next Door, Stop Acting Rich, The Richest Man in Babylon, Think and Grow Rich, Rich Dad Poor Dad, A Random Walk Down Wallstreet, etc. but I feel that they are all a little dated now. I often feel like saying, 'Sure, that would work then, but this is now'.

Has anyone read anything good that would guide an early-30s investor in this era of low interest rates, QE, secular bear market, asset bubbles, and government-intervention?

 

[tulak]

I'm a big Bernstein fan and although I prefer his earlier investment books, Investor's Manifesto isn't bad and covers the post 2008 recession. The recession was actually one of the reasons he cites for writing this book.

 

[BigBangWeary]

Thanks Kiki, I will put that on my list.

 

[SunGuy]

The Intelligent Investor, Security Analysis, The Millionaire Fastlane, The Single Best Investment

These are all great books.

 

[nash031]

Yes, if you can get a copy of The Intelligent Investor with updated info (inferring what Graham would say now)... that's my go to manual.

 

[Koogie]

This one is slightly more personal finance than investing but it might appeal to others interested in summer reading...
The Wealthy Barber Returns: Amazon.ca: David Chilton: Books

Believe it or not, his original book was one of the best selling books of all time in Canada (yes, a personal finance book was one of the best selling books of all time in Canada !)
He is also featured on Dragons Den now (the CDN version. Inspired from the UK version. Now the Canadians have started a version in the US called Shark Tank).

He's a good author and a very personable guy. Mind you, you must appreciate Canadian humour... as evidenced by his personal bio:
"""About the Author
David Chilton is an economics graduate from Wilfrid Laurier University. In 1985, he won the award for the highest mark in the country on the Canadian Securities Course. Cheating was never proven but widely suspected. In 1989, he released The Wealthy Barber. It went on to sell an astonishing two million copies in Canada. After milking his one and only good idea for years, Dave left the personal-finance field to home-school his children. His daughter escaped after a few months, but his son served out his entire sentence of three years less a day. Both children somehow overcame the experience and are now attending university. Over the years, Dave also published the bestselling cookbooks Looneyspoons, Crazy Plates and Eat, Shrink & Be Merry! along with authors Janet and Greta Podleski. Adding no value but taking a third of the profits, guilt finally overwhelmed Dave and he left the sisters’ business in 2007. They just recently noticed. His true professional passion, however, remains the field of personal finance, where he tries to mix humour and common sense to help people handle their money more wisely. A frequent guest on national TV and radio shows, and a much sought-after speaker, Dave lives just outside Waterloo, Ontario."""
"""P.S. Yes, I know The Wealthy Barber Returns isn’t the most creative title. My daughter asked, “What’s next, Dad? The Wealthy Barber Goes to Hawaii? It’s like the old Gidget series.” ......I closed her RESP."""

 

[siamond]

Agreed with the comments about Bernstein, this is really the best author imho.

Maybe something about asset allocation strategy (since you refer to 'classic' books, you already read about passive investing, and might be willing to go one step further?). I learned a lot from Rick Ferri's book in this respect (All About Asset Allocation), but the numerous typos are a bit annoying, and a few assertions are not substantiated. I expect that the corresponding book from Bernstein (The Intelligent Asset Allocator) is more rigorously written.

 

[Onward]

Wealthy Barber is one of the very best personal finance books, IMO. It might even be THE best.

But it's a terrible title, and I can see people's interest die when I recommend the book and then give them the title.

Haven't read the sequel, but it's on my list.

What's it going to take to get this guy to give his books appealing names?

 

[Brooks Saddle]

I agree with the Investor's Manifesto by Dr. Bernstein.

 

[arebelspy]

Wealthy Barber is one of the very best personal finance books, IMO. It might even be THE best.

But it's a terrible title, and I can see people's interest die when I recommend the book and then give them the title.

Haven't read the sequel, but it's on my list.

What's it going to take to get this guy to give his books appealing names?

I enjoyed the original quite a bit, but felt the sequel was very disorganized - he was just rambling and jumping between topics frequently. For someone who already was familiar with the topics, it was fine. I wouldn't recommend it to a beginner, unlike the original (which I would).

 

[Midpack]

I'm a big Bernstein fan and although I prefer his earlier investment books, Investor's Manifesto isn't bad and covers the post 2008 recession. The recession was actually one of the reasons he cites for writing this book.

And the 2010 second edition of The Four Pillars of Investing by Bernstein includes a "Postscript on the Economic Collapse." Still my #1 investing book, YMMV.

 

[tulak]

And the 2010 second edition of The Four Pillars of Investing by Bernstein includes a "Postscript on the Economic Collapse." Still my #1 investing book, YMMV.

I was lucky enough to have Bernstein sign my copy of Four Pillars when he was in town for a book tour. This is also my favorite investing book.

I didn't realize he updated Four Pillars with a postscript of the latest crash. I'll have to find a copy to read his summary.

Thanks!

 

[BigBangWeary]

Oh nice Kiki, an autographed version! I actually have read the Intelligent Investor (excellent) and the Wealthy Barber (as I am originally from Canada). I actually did not enjoy the Wealthy Barber Returns and also found it disjointed. Thanks for all of the suggestions though! So far this summer I am through Never Eat Alone and the latest What Colour is Your Parachute. More career oriented, but still good reads when it comes to FIRE. Cheers all!

 

[MBAustin]

I just saw this book mentioned very positively on Vanguard's website
The Missing Semester

The authors' premise is that personal finance is the course that isn't taught in high school or college but should be.

Haven't read it but thought it might be of interest to the OP and others.

 

[segfault]

Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder: Nassim Nicholas Taleb: 9781400067824: Amazon.com: Books

Currently reading Antifragile by Taleb. It's a very long read, and not completely related to personal finance, but very interesting nonetheless. Taleb is quite a contrarian.