One of the best decisions you can make for yourself is to start investing your money.
The challenge is, understanding how to invest can be confusing and quite intimidating. After all, this is your hard earned money and you might be afraid of losing it all.
However, buying and reading some of the best investing books will put you at a HUGE advantage over others.
And many of the top books about investing money are very easy to understand, that you can have zero previous knowledge and still manage your own investments.
Stick with me below, as I share my favorite investing books for beginners and beyond, plus why they are worth your time.
Teach Yourself How To Invest
Since 2014, I’ve taught myself personal finances and continue to do so. I don’t have a background in finances and was only aware of the basics of money growing up.
But after wanting to make serious financial and life changes, I was a bit reluctant and unsure where to start. This was especially true with investing, as there was just so much information and it seemed challenging to understand.
The first thing I started doing was buying some investing books for beginners and diving in. Afterall, books can be a great way to learn and start shaping your mindset.
After reading some of the investment books I bought, I started to realize that it’s not as complicated as it seems. Sure, there is plenty to learn about and understand with investing strategies — but anyone can teach themselves how to invest.
In the next section, I’m going to share the best investing books everyone should read this year. These are books that will teach you everything you need to know and will get you thinking about putting your money to work.
Best Investing Books for Beginners and Beyond
The first step with investing is to further your education. And one of the best ways to do that is to start reading books from experts.
The challenge is that there are TONS of investing books, which should you pick from? Well, I narrowed it down to fifteen top books about investing that I think will help you.
Many of these books I read early on when I was just starting, which led me to self-manage all my investments currently. Other books on this list are a bit more advanced, but can provide even deeper investment education.
1. The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing
When I began exploring investing in the stock market, a recurring theme was mentioned among a few friends and articles — Vanguard.
The financial company pioneered index funds and was founded by John C. Bogle in the 1970s.
Over the years, the founder gained a loyal following of investors that called themselves Bogleheads, which led to this investing book by Taylor Larimore, Mel Lindauer, and Michael LeBoeuf.
The book covers the philosophy of John Bogle, index funds, ETFs, types of retirement accounts, the three fund portfolio, and why investing should be simple.
If there is one important investing book you read this year, make it The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing.
2. I WIll Teach You To Be Rich
I think it’s impossible to come across a list of most influential financial books and not see I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi. Personally, this is THE essential finance book everyone should read to control their money.
Although this book is about all personal finances, there is a solid section that covers investing that can also teach you quite a bit.
What you’ll find in this book is a no-nonsense approach to all things finances and insights to help shift your mindset.
In the investing section, you’ll learn about the best investment strategies, understanding financial advisors and why you probably do not need one, and the basics to get you on the right track.
3. Broke Millennial Takes On Investing
Although Broke Millennial Takes On Investing: A Beginner’s Guide to Leveling Up Your Money is tailored towards my generation (millennials), there is plenty to learn for anyone that is new to investing or looking to step up their game.
Author Erin Lowry does a wonderful job navigating investing with student loan debt, exploring robo-advisors and investing apps, how to buy stocks and invest, and basics that will ensure any noob can be successful.
What makes this investing book different, is it’s a more modern approach to the changing times of investing. I have not read many books that go into robo-advisors and investing apps like this one. Plus, I think it’s more relatable and interesting to the younger generations.
4. The Simple Path to Wealth
While some of the investing books will be about strategy and how things in the stock market work — sometimes you need life lessons from others to formulate your own path.
This is why I included The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins, another essential read to add to your collection. The book is formed from a series of letters that Collins wrote to his daughter over his 40+ years of investing. It covers money, financial independence, and lessons from his own investing.
You’ll also learn everything from managing debt, the stock market, ways to invest, asset allocation, how to avoid investing scams, how to achieve financial independence, and more.
5. Rich Dad, Poor Dad
Although the story might be made up, I found Rich Dad, Poor Dad to be one of the books that resonated with me.
It’s the first personal finance book that started to mold my mindset differently about money — plus it’s a quick and easy read.
I always recommend this book to beginners or those who have never read a book about money before. And it’s sold millions of copies over the years, which clearly the story and ideas connect with readers.
In this book you’ll learn that you don’t need a high income to build wealth, assets versus liabilities, why you can’t rely on schools to teach money, and how to teach your kids about finances. Although it doesn’t directly focus on investing, it’s an essential book that helps open your mind.
6. Money Master the Game
No matter what you might think about Tony Robbins, he did an incredible job on his investing book called Money Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom.
If you ever wanted to get insights from the greatest investors of all time, extensive research about money, and simple breakdowns of succeeding with investing money — this is your book.
It’s a jam-packed book, but everything is broken down so simply that anyone can dive in and finish with an insane amount of knowledge.
You’ll learn about making smart financial decisions, creating a saving and investing plan, myths about investing, best practices, and cool insights from people like Warren Buffett, John Bogle, Carl Icahn, and many more.
7. The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need
As you begin diving into investing further, another great read to step up your knowledge is the classic, The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need by Andrew Tobias.
The book first came out over 40 years ago, but has been updated and republished over the years.
In this book, you’ll learn all about retirement planning, how to invest wisely, choosing your investments, and saving money without needing an insane income.
What I like about this book is the author takes mundane concepts and makes them more intriguing and easy to understand. You’ll find some humor and simple breakdowns of topics that might otherwise put you to sleep in a classroom.
Hands down, one of the best investing books of all time.
8. The Four Pillars of Investing
For many beginners, the idea of building an investment portfolio can be daunting. I mean, what are the right funds? How do you invest in assets that generate long-term results?
The book, The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio by William Bernstein, covers the four important topics all investors must master in their lifetime: understanding risk and reward, the history of the stock market, the psychology of investing, and avoiding bad financial advice from investment salespeople.
But besides those pillars, you’ll learn how to diversify your investments, some dangers with individual stock picking, how your mindset affects investment choices, strategies for your investments and retirement accounts, and more.
9. Bogle On Mutual Funds
I’ve already mentioned Vanguard and founder John C. Bogle in a previous book in this list, but I had to include one that he wrote himself as well. Because you get to learn from the index fund pioneer directly!
In the book, Bogle on Mutual Funds, you’ll learn about Bogle’s views and approach to mutual fund investing.
Now of course the book goes much deeper than that!
You’ll learn additional investing tips like: why index fund investing is a better option, risks and rewards of mutual funds, how to choose the funds for your portfolio, finding lower cost options that are reliable investments, what to avoid and how to catch misleading information.
10. The Coffeehouse Investor
Right when I was taking an interest in the stock market and investing, I was still feeling timid about how to learn without being overwhelmed.
Luckily discovering books like The Coffeehouse Investor would remove some of that initial anxious feeling.
The Coffeehouse Investor: How to Build Wealth, Ignore Wall Street, and Get On with Your Life by Bill Schultheis helps you simplify investing and your understanding of the stock market.
You’ll learn about keeping your investments simple, why you need to stop trying to beat the markets, predictions and information about the economy, easy principles to remember with investing, and more.
But the big takeaway you’ll get from this book is when you focus on your passions and creativity and less on the daily ups and downs, you will actually build more wealth.
11. A Random Walk Down Wall Street
As you begin exploring more about your 401k, contributing to your retirement, and looking to understand Wall Street — A Random Walk Down Wall Street will be a must read.
The author, Burton G. Malkiel covers quite a bit about investments and in the latest addition, even discusses cryptocurrencies and “tax-loss harvesting” to maximize results in volatile financial markets.
I didn’t read this investing book until later on in my journey, but it is one I still recommend for others to read. And over 1.5 million copies have been sold, so you know it’s got some juicy information.
12. The Essays of Warren Buffett
I’m willing to bet most people know who Warren Buffett is, but if you are completely new to finances and investing then his name might not be familiar.
He is considered one of the greatest investors of all time, he is a philanthropist, and the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. And happens to be one of the wealthiest people in the world!
And in this book, The Essays of Warren Buffet, you get an inside look into the mind and thoughts of Buffett’s in letters about investing, business, the economy, and much more.
Author Lawrence Cunningham has made this into a series, with the latest being the Fifth Edition, but you can find value in the past books too.
13. The Intelligent Investor
Another classic investing book that has stood the test of time is The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham.
Originally published in 1949, this book has become a staple to the investing community and a highly recommended read.
On Amazon alone, the revised edition from 2006 has over 11,000 reviews!
Graham was one of the greatest investors in the 20th century and in his book, you’ll get insights into his philosophy of “value investing.” Additionally, he discusses how this strategy helps remove errors and teaches people to develop long-term investing strategies.
14. The Millionaire Real Estate Investor
While this list really focuses on the stock market and investor mindset, I still wanted to include a real estate book in here as well.
When it comes to building wealth and passive income, investing in real estate can be a great option too.
I’ve found The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller, Dave Jenks, and Jay Papasan to be one of the most comprehensive books written about the topic.
If real estate interests you, then you’ll find it all in this book. Learn everything from developing a millionaire mindset, how to create a plan to find great real estate deals, terms to know, building a team you can rely on for real estate, strategies, and more.
15. Principles: Life and Work
Before getting into Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio, I’d stick to the others on this list first.
While this one is still a great investing book, it’s a bit more complicated than the others. But there is plenty to learn here from one of the greatest investors and entrepreneurs of all time.
The book is essentially an insight into what Dalio learned during his career when it comes to business, economics, investing, and more.
Dalio lays out the most effective ways for individuals and organizations to make decisions, approach challenges, and build strong teams.
In the overview from Amazon:
“While the book brims with novel ideas for organizations and institutions, Principles also offers a clear, straightforward approach to decision-making that Dalio believes anyone can apply, no matter what they’re seeking to achieve.”
Not everyone will love this book compared to others, but it can still be an interesting read.
What Is the Best Book to Read About Investing?
I don’t think there is just one best book to read about investing. Instead, the list above should all be taken into consideration.
I was not taught about money or investing in school, I knew some basics of money and credit, and did not have a financial mentor.
Yet, reading all these investing books above gave me the education I needed to start building wealth, better prepare for retirement, and become self-sufficient with investing.
“A lot of people with high IQs are terrible investors because they’ve got terrible temperaments. You need to keep raw, irrational emotion under control.” — Charlie Munger