Favorite Personal Finance Books....

[financepro]

Friends, yes I agree that books help - often they do because there are quite a few good one's out there. However when you are looking for personal finance guidance, it is probably better to find a financial planner or financial advisor. That is because the person is a professional and since he or she will be charging money, you can held the pro accountable. Books does not serve the purpose. Also, can you be sure about the credential of each and every author?

So the best solution is to really get personal advice from a financial planner or financial advisor. Books can at the most help you get informed.

Thanks & Regards.

[Philip Brewer]

Originally Posted by financepro

That is because the person is a professional and since he or she will be charging money, you can held the pro accountable.

In what sense can you hold the pro accountable? If you lose 40% of your portfolio in a sharp market downturn, is the pro going to cover your losses? I don't think so. He or she probably won't even refund the fee you paid.

There are a bunch of wins for learning how to do this yourself--if you have the inclination and are willing to put in the time and effort.

First, you won't be confused about who's responsible--it'll obviously be you. Since it'll be you taking the losses anyway, this just makes sense.

Second, it's cheap. Three or four investment books cost very little (or nothing, if you get them out of the library).

Third, it's not really that hard. At least, the investment part isn't. The main thing a pro will help you with is in not getting distracted by the investing (which is kind of interesting) to the point that you forget about making sure you've covered yourself with insurance and an appropriately sized emergency fund. (That's important, but you can learn to do that yourself, too.)

Now, if you find it interesting, you can end up spending a lot of time learning about investing and managing your portfolio--but you don't need to. I'd start by reading The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need--that's got 90% of what you need to know right there. Spend four or five hours getting your portfolio balanced, and then spend one or two hours a year keeping it that way. That'll put you ahead of 90% of the general population. (It'll probably put you ahead of a substantial fraction of the people using a paid adviser, too.)

[Babalu]

One of my favorite books of the genre is "The Millionaire Next Door," about how many millionaires live cheaply, and may actually be your neighbor.

[johnu78]

Mine is Personal Finance for a Higher Purpose by John Ubele. Here's an excellent interview he did for the book a few years ago:

http://patrioticactivist.com/2008/04...th-john-ubele/