When young people hear the word “retirement,” they often think, “I have no idea how any of that stuff works, but I’m pretty sure I have a 401k.” The truth is, the earlier you start planning for retirement, the sooner that retirement can start—at least, that’s the hope. It’s not something to put off. So, if you have a steady paycheck, now’s the time to get going. Here are the 6 best books to help you retire by 50:
I Will Teach You to be Rich
Ramit Sethi
Though it’s written specifically with the 20-35 crowd in mind, I Will Teach You to be Rich is one of those books that can benefit anyone who wants to take control of their personal finances and start making their money work for them at any age. Personal financial advisor Ramit Sethi outlines a 6-week no-BS course to get your finances together, create a budget, and make some goals. And even if you have your ducks in a row, he touches on things like saving and budgeting, to banking, investing, and everything in between. There’s a reason why this is a New York Times bestseller, and the information in it is indispensable. Buy
The Intelligent Investor
Benjamin Graham
You can’t write an article about making money and living easy without including The Intelligent Investor by Ben Graham—one of the most knowledgeable economists the world has ever known. Even though the book was written in 1949, his strategy for investing like you know what you’re doing is still taught on modern college campuses today. If that 401k isn’t paying out fast enough, this is the way to make your mountain. Buy
The Millionaire Next Door
Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko
If you’re like us, you’ve spent a near-embarrassing amount of time in your life fantasizing about how the other side lives. Like, what’s Matthew McConaughey doing right now? We bet he’s swimming in a pool of sterilized hundred dollar bills. And if he’s not, he’s a jackass. BUT ANYWAY, in The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy, authors Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko, talk about how the wealthy in this country truly live, and how they keep their fortunes. Hint: They’re frugal and safe and smart. There’s a lot of excellent information and advice in this book, and if your outlook on finances is in tune spiritually with the term, “Smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em,” then you definitely need to read this. Buy
Your Money Or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence
Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez
On the whole, we tend to think of money as a very singular thing. We acquire it, and then we spend it on things we want or need. Your Money Or Your Life offers money saving advice on getting out of debt, investing tips, managing revenue streams, and all the other stuff you’d expect from a good personal finance book, but it also takes a more philosophical, if not spiritual, look at money, our relationship with it, and what role it plays in our everyday lives. The overall goal is to think of money as your “life energy,” and demonstrate that we must be careful in how we spend that “life energy.” It’ll change the way you view money for the better. Buy
The Bogleheads’ Guide to Retirement Planning
Taylor Larimore, Mel Lindauer, Richard A. Ferri, Laura F Dogu
People spend so much time figuring out how to make money in the present that they generally drastically underestimate the value of retirement planning. And, if you know anything about investing, you know that thinking only in the short term is a potentially catastrophic mistake. The Bogleheads’ Guide to Retirement is an incredibly detailed book about the ins and outs of retirement planning—the most effective ways to save, the different types of accounts and methods there are, coping with setbacks, etc. It gets so detailed that it’ll even tell you the amount of money you should be saving, at what age, and at what wage. It’s an irreplaceable resource for those looking at the long game. Buy
Think and Grow Rich
Napoleon Hill
Think and Grow Rich author Napoleon Hill may have been a conman and a crook, but it doesn’t change the fact that Think and Grow Rich is the single-most influential business motivation book of all time. It draws on the classic stories of people like Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and other millionaires to demonstrate the tricks of becoming wealthy. It also takes readers on an exploration of what money is, why it’s so important, and how to apply that mindset and philosophy to our everyday lives. Just go read the Amazon reviews if you don’t believe us. They’re riddled with people talking about how life-changing and “awakening” it is—and they’re not wrong. Buy
