Book recommendations

[Carol1862]

Looking for some recommendations for books for my son. He has put his 401K on autopilot with Fidelity in their Target Fund. I’d like to buy him some basic books on insights and understanding of the importance of saving and investing. Thank you.

[Stormy Kromer]

It's an old one, and pretty basic, but I enjoyed "The Wealthy Barber". Not real detailed but it lays out the basics of disciplined investing over time.

[FANOFJESUS]

The one I like the best is the millionaire next door.
Another good one is I will teach you to be rich. https://www.amazon.com/Will-Teach-Yo.../dp/B07GNXPP4P
It is great because he gives a lot of details.

[OldShooter]

Here is a sort of yin and yang:
"If You Can" by William Bernstein https://www.etf.com/docs/IfYouCan.pdf (free 16 page download)
"The Coffee House Investor" by Bill Schultheis https://www.coffeehouseinvestor.com/
Bernstein is a little strident and harsh, but his paper is aimed exactly a young people and includes book recommendations. Schultheis is laid back to the point of including a recipe for pumpkin pie. Read together, they are a pretty good combination and a launching point for more reading.

Re "autopilot," as a commercial/instrument rated pilot I can tell you that it is not enough to just turn the AP on. You must tell it where you want to go. Specifically, your son does not want his autopilot fund to be using stock-pickers for the equity portion. This will result in high fees and diminished performance. The equity investment should be in a total market fund.

Here is an example, at Fidelity in fact, of the AP steering dangerously in the wrong direction : https://www.reuters.com/article/us-f...-idUSKBN1GH1SI

[pdxgal]

Years ago a boyfriend suggested I read "A Random Walk Down Wall Street" by Burton Malkiel. It's now considered a classic by many. Explains the rationale for index funds and why it's very difficult to "beat the market".

+1 for "The Millionaire Next Door". Another classic.

[RonBoyd]

Not necessarily a book on investing but useful just the same: "Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts" by Annie Duke.

https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Bets...s%2C179&sr=8-1

Quote:

"A big favorite among investors these days." –The New York Times "A compact guide to probabilistic domains like poker, or venture capital... Recommend for people operating in the real world." –Marc Andreessen “Outstanding.” –Jason Zweig, The Wall Street Journal "Duke’s discussion is full of wisdom and also of fun, warmth, humor and humanity. Her sharp, data-driven analysis comes with a large lesson, which is that losers should be willing to forgive themselves: Sometimes the right play just doesn’t work." –Cass Sunstein, co-author of Nudge "An elegant fusion of poker-table street-smarts and cognitive science insights. This book will make you both a shrewder and wiser player in the game of life." –Philip E. Tetlock, author of Superforecasting "Thinking in Bets offers a compelling, and eminently useful, new way to think about life's decisions. Annie Duke has written an important, and often hilarious, book that will help you understand your own shortcomings--and make smarter choices as a result. You can bet on it." –Maria Konnikova, author of The Confidence Game and Mastermind "The insights Duke offers in this book are incredibly helpful when we contemplate decisions in the face of multiple possible outcomes, and that renders her book enormously applicable to the world of investing." –Howard Marks, co-chairman, Oaktree Capital Management and author of The Most Important Thing "Through wonderful storytelling and sly wit, Annie Duke has crafted the ultimate guide to thinking about risk. We can all learn how to make better decisions by learning from someone who made choices for a living, with millions on the line." –Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better "Brilliant. Buy ten copies and give one to everyone you work with. It's that good." –Seth Godin, author of The Icarus Deception "A mind-bending and indispensable book for entrepreneurs, leaders, and anyone who faces risk on a regular basis." –Olivia Fox Cabane, author of The Net and the Butterfly “A highly-readable balance between memorable, real-world analogies and hardcore behavioral science studies... The book is packed with insights.” –John Greathouse, Forbes

[TheRunningMan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stormy Kromer It's an old one, and pretty basic, but I enjoyed "The Wealthy Barber".

+1! I have shared this and "The Automatic Millionaire" with many young people.

[Koogie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stormy Kromer It's an old one, and pretty basic, but I enjoyed "The Wealthy Barber". Not real detailed but it lays out the basics of disciplined investing over time.

It's been updated: The Wealthy Barber Returns

The Wealthy Barber Returns


The one I always recommend to people that want a beginners guide to both personal finance and investing is The Millionaire Teacher by Andrew Hallam.
It is very approachable and written with the beginner in mind.

Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned in School - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/...onaire-teacher

[Ian S]

Good basics for a young person starting out from Andrew Tobias: https://www.amazon.com/Only-Investme.../dp/0544781937

[OldShooter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian S Good basics for a young person starting out from Andrew Tobias: https://www.amazon.com/Only-Investme.../dp/0544781937

People seem to like that one, so I include it in the reading list for my Adult-Ed investing class, but with the following comment: "A quick tour of almost everything you could do, almost none of which you should be doing" YMMV, of course.

[Carol1862]

Thank you all so much. Now I have a good assortment to pick from and they all sound great. Truly appreciate it!

[FANOFJESUS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carol1862 Thank you all so much. Now I have a good assortment to pick from and they all sound great. Truly appreciate it!

If you don't mind buying used. Books on ebay and abebooks are a good deal.

[OldShooter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FANOFJESUS If you don't mind buying used. Book on ebay and abebooks are a good deal.

I can almost always get a "Like New" or "Very Good" copy of whatever book I want on Amazon. I have probably bought twenty or thirty and had only one real disappointment. When I decide I want a book I will buy new if I have to, but it is rarely necessary.

LBYM, baby!

[mrfeh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carol1862 Thank you all so much. Now I have a good assortment to pick from and they all sound great. Truly appreciate it!

Lots of good suggestions here.

Another option: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Getting_started

[Masquernom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldShooter People seem to like that one, so I include it in the reading list for my Adult-Ed investing class, but with the following comment: "A quick tour of almost everything you could do, almost none of which you should be doing" YMMV, of course.

Why do you say "almost none of which, you should be doing"? The book actually has bad advice?

[racy]

How about taking him to a bookstore, find the personal finance section and let him pick out his own?

[OldShooter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Masquernom Why do you say "almost none of which, you should be doing"? The book actually has bad advice?

It's been several years since I read it and we are at our lake place this weekend, 200 miles from my copy, but: My recollection is that it is kind of a survey going far beyond the stock market, to include stamps, coins, collectables, gold, real estate, etc. IIRC it is not at all a bad book and he pretty well achieves his goal of covering everything, but a lot of it is irrelevant or possibly dangerous to his target market of unsophisticated investors. Hence I left it on my list but with the warning. I do not want someone in my class to sink his retirement savings into a 1963 Corvette Split-Window coupe or a bunch of gold coins bought from a dealer who advertises in sports and gun magazines.

[ArmchairMillionaire23]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carol1862 Looking for some recommendations for books for my son. He has put his 401K on autopilot with Fidelity in their Target Fund. I’d like to buy him some basic books on insights and understanding of the importance of saving and investing. Thank you.

My favorites:
The Millionaire Next Door (Stanley, Danko)
The Armchair Millionaire (Lewis, Schiff)
The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing
The Bogleheads' Guide to Retirement Planning
How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free (Zelinski)
The Joy of Not Working (Zelinski)

I read the first two when I was around 30, set up my 401(k) per the Armchair Millionaire strategy for 15 years, Added in some bonds when I hit 45 (25% total) and added a few more bonds the first of this year. (40%total)
I hit 7-figures earlier this year and plan on retiring in 2025 at age 54 or 55.
You've come to a good place for retirement advice. So many people here have so much helpful information for others. I wish your son the best of luck!

[CoolRich59]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stormy Kromer It's an old one, and pretty basic, but I enjoyed "The Wealthy Barber". Not real detailed but it lays out the basics of disciplined investing over time.

This is the book that made the difference for us. I can trace the seed of my FIRE mentality to reading this book.

I'd also add "The Richest Man in Babylon" (I required each of my kids to read it when they were in their teens) and "The Millionaire Next Door". Some people knock the latter, but I like it because it does a great job of promoting the LBYM mentality.

This summer I read "The Simple Path to Wealth". I thought it was terrific. I would recommend it to any young person.

[ArmchairMillionaire23]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoolRich59 This is the book that made the difference for us. I can trace the seed of my FIRE mentality to reading this book. I'd also add "The Richest Man in Babylon" (I required each of my kids to read it when they were in their teens) and "The Millionaire Next Door". Some people knock the latter, but I like it because it does a great job of promoting the LBYM mentality. This summer I read "The Simple Path to Wealth". I thought it was terrific. I would recommend it to any young person.

I also own & recommend "The Richest Man In Babylon". It's very simple, yet the formula works. The books that made the difference for me were "The Millionaire Next Door" for inspiration and "The Armchair Millionaire" for giving me a How-To-Do-It-Yourself plan.
I never heard of "The Simple Path To Wealth" but will add it to the list of books to look for.
Thanks.