Despite all the options for online content, sometimes it’s nice to have a book. You can make your notes and highlight things that interest you, and you don’t have to try remembering where you found a specific tidbit of information on various websites!
A book is charming if you’re looking to give a gift to someone, such as a college or university graduate just starting in life! Getting a book focusing on Canadian finance planning is essential, as many savings options (such as RRSPs and TFSAs) are specific to Canada!
This will be a multi-series post, as I’ll cover several different books. I’m going to start with these two:
- The Wealthy Barber
- Millionaire Teacher
The Wealthy Barber
The Wealthy Barber, by Dave Chilton, is a personal finance book that’s been around for over twenty years. One of the reasons it’s so popular is that it provides financial lessons in an easy-to-understand manner.
The Wealthy Barber contains a series of stories told by the author’s barber about how to become financially secure. He covers various topics, from retirement to investing, and is very down-to-earthly. He doesn’t get into complicated financial terms that may seem intimidating or confusing – he explains things in a way that an everyday person can understand.
This is an excellent book for anyone just starting on their financial journey. Even if you’re comfortable with some aspects of financial planning (such as buying a house) but not others (such as investing for retirement), it’s a great introductory book.
Millionaire Teacher
The full title of this one is “Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules Of Wealth You Should Have Learned In School,” and Andrew Hallam writes it. Andrew was a teacher who noticed that most of the people he knew who we financially successful were also teachers. While teachers get paid reasonably well and have a good pension, they found that their success went beyond that.
So he looked at what he was doing and what his successful friends were doing and diluted it into the nine lessons in his book. He provides excellent, easy-to-understand advice and some general guidance on how to start investing (tip – try index funds!) Whether you need to know what to look out for in a financial advisor (although you don’t necessarily need one) or what to avoid when investing (if it seems too good to be true, it is!), this book is a good choice for you.
These Are Both Great Introductory Books
If you’re unsure about the books, you can always take them out from the library and buy them once you know they’re a good choice for you. Have you read either of these books? Tell me in the comments!
