10 must-read books on money management !

If you’re looking for a good way to spend your lazy weekends, we suggest you get yourself a cup of steaming cutting chai in one hand and one of our recommended money management books (mentioned below) in the other.

Process: Park yourself comfortably on a cozy corner of your sofa by the window, attain a tranquil Zen-like state of mind, and transport yourself into a dreamy financial land – one where you are the master of your finances (yes, it is possible!).

1. The Science Of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles – Having been published way back in 1910, this book is segregated into 17 short, to-the-point chapters that talk about how you can overcome mental hurdles, and how creation, and not competition, is the key to overall wealth creation. Based on the Hindu philosophy that One is All and All is One, Wattles, through this book, expounds what he calls ‘the Certain Way of Thinking” and how your thinking is directly proportionate to your ability to create wealth for yourself. Better start sending out those positive vibes.

2. Retire Rich Invest Rs. 40 A Day by P. V. Subramanyam – Providing a wealth of insightful knowledge on retirement planning, this book is a must-read for all above 21 years of age. Subramanyam delicately, yet lucidly, talks about how saving for retirement is critical; and that Rs. 40 for that very purpose will suffice. Illustrating using the help of easy-to-understand numerical tables and charts, this financial guru will make you a believer when it comes to his book’s title.

3. The Money Book For The Young, Fabulous and Broke by Suze Orman – Another paragon in the financial world, Orman covers everything from credit card debt, student loans and credit scores to your first real job, buying your first home, insurance and financial issues for the self-employed in this book. Written with the primary aim of addressing the mounting issue students face fresh out of college with student loans to be paid off in a downward spiralling job market, Orman communicates with this generation in an understanding, honest fashion, signalling them to take certain steps so that they’ll never be broke again.

4. All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi – When you’re being advised by a Harvard Law School professor and United States Senator (Mrs. Elizabeth Warren), you know you can’t go wrong. Along with her daughter, Amelia, the Warrens outline methods conducive for the creation of personal financial balance and harmony. Having been published after 20 years of intensive, in-depth research, the mother-daughter duo reveals how you can achieve that crucial balance when walking on the tightrope that is your finances. Compartmentalizing your money into three categories – the Must-Haves (the bills you pay every month), the Wants (some fun money to blow up in the now) and the Savings (to build for a happier tomorrow) – rather than complicated budgets and money-tracking, is their solution when it comes to achieving this fine balance.

5. Dave Ramsey’s Complete Guide To Money by Dave Ramsey – Coming from the genius behind ‘The Total Money Makeover’, this book is yet another must-have that addresses the how’s, what’s and why’s about money. Flipping through the pages of this book, you’ll learn everything there is to know about money – from budgeting and saving to washing your hands off debt and investing. Above all, though, the saving/investing done, the climax focuses on the most important bit of all – giving. Yes, we all have that charitable bone in us; it’s important we leverage that at some point in our lives.

6. I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi – I bet the title’s got your eyes popping out of their sockets! Finally, there’s a practical, simple book for the materially hungry yet financially clueless generation. As far as finance is concerned, Sethi hoists his book up on the four pillars of banking, saving, budgeting and investing. Speaking frankly on a host of issues, Sethi very pointedly and non-judgmentally puts his views across. If you’d like to know how to save time by not wasting it on managing money, or how to get a CEO to take YOU out to lunch, or something as simple as the difference between cheap and frugal, then grab a copy of this book today. If you’re particularly intrigued and fascinated by the book, you can join Sethi on his website, Iwillteachyoutoberich.com, where you can use interactive charts, read up on miscellaneous posts of his, and join the community, all of which will help you unearth the mystery behind wealth creation and financial security.

7. Seven Steps To Financial Freedom: A Family’s Guide To Managing Money by Monika Halan – Revolving around the concept of financial planning in India, this book is a good read for individuals, insurance agents, mutual fund agent, wealth managers and students alike. Charting out the seven steps essential to the financial planning process, this book is a user’s guide to effective money management. With ample worksheets and tables vis-à-vis complex formulae, Halan lets you work out – for yourself – your long-term goals, helps you understand your risk profile, and then helps you quantify your goals as well as your targeted savings to finally achieve your goals.

8. The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways To Stop Doing Dumb Things With Money by Carl Richards – Aptly put by Richards, “It's not that we're dumb. We're wired to avoid pain and pursue pleasure and security. It feels right to sell when everyone around us is scared and buy when everyone feels great. It may feel right – but it's not rational.” A successful financial planner, Richards grew increasingly frustrated watching people he cared about make the same mistakes time and time again. This happened, because they let their emotions get in the way of their financial decisions. This phenomenon was labeled by him as ‘the behavior gap’ – the distance between what we should do and what we actually do. With fairly plain drawings and diagrams, he was able to explain this gap to people, and found that once understood, those people refrained from foolish, emotional decisions, and started doing better, financially. By way of this book, Richards will teach you many-a-thing about being smart with your money. It’s like he says, “We've all made mistakes, but now it's time to give yourself permission to review those mistakes, identify your personal behavior gaps, and make a plan to avoid them in the future. The goal isn't to make the ‘perfect’ decision about money every time, but to do the best we can and move forward. Most of the time, that's enough.”

9. The Money Book For Freelancers, Part-Timers, And The Self-Employed by Joseph D’Agnese and Denise Kiernan – An eye-opening book for the freelancers, part-timers and self-employed out there, D’Agnese and Kiernan propagate an entirely refreshing, all-encompassing system for earning, saving, spending and surviving as an independent worker. Replete with interviews with financial experts, anecdotes from real-life freelancers, and handy charts and graphs to better elucidate vital concepts, this book blanket-covers everything under the sun that a freelancer, part-timer or self-employed individual needs to know when venturing out to make a living on his/her own.

10.  The Richest Man In Babylon by George S. Clason – Of the slightly more archaic variety, being published in 1926, this book by Clason is undoubtedly a classic. By way of parables set in ancient Babylon, the book’s characters, through their experiences in business and managing household expenditures, dispense simple financial advice and wisdom. The richest character in the story talks about The 7 Principles of Riches, which to this day, stand true. And, while you might wonder how financial principles of the days of yore could have even a remote smidgen of relevance today, this book will show you how. Plain, simplistic and in free-flowing story form, Clason’s book is an overall delightful read with great financial lessons.