Autumn! What better time to cozy up for a book. Let me set the scene...
You are in your comfiest clothing, with maybe a nice blanket wrapped around you. You've just curled up into a chair, a bay window or your designated reading nook, and you're sipping on a nice hot something. Tea? Hot Cocoa? A hot toddy? Whatever wets your whistle. You sigh in delight and pick up your latest new read. And to no one's surprise, its a financial book. That's right! You're cozying up to knowledge on how you can better yourself financially. So I'll give you some options as to what you could be reading.
Secrets of Six-Figure Women: Surprising Strategies to Up Your Earnings and Change Your Life by Barbara Stanny: I've got to be honest with you, reading financial books (or any nonfiction books) is not my cup of tea. They tend to be pretty dry and contain arcane knowledge. So imagine my delight when I picked up this book and the first chapter captured my interest immediately! This was the fastest I've ever read a financial book. Stanny interviews a plethora of women who are making six-figures to understand what their secret is. The women interviewed come from all walks of life, all races, and all industries. There are coaches, investment bankers, event planners, scientists, philanthropists and more. And all of them have used the same seven strategies to make it to six-figures. Stanny walks you through them all, in very easily understood language, so that you can put them into practice and expand how much you can earn. She also includes the clearest overview of investing I have ever read. Although I don't agree with every single word in the book, what Stanny provides overall is a clear path to increasing your self-worth and your net-worth. Definitely pick this book up.
We Should All Be Millionaires: A Woman’s Guide to Earning More, Building Wealth, and Gaining Economic Power by Rachel Rodgers: If Barbara Stanny (quoted in this book) starts you off on your journey to six figures, Rachel Rodgers will help you get to seven. Rodgers is a go-getter, there is no two ways about it. And she wants you to be too! Rodgers walks you through the real historical, societal and numerical data as to why women, especially women of color, have been systematically excluded from pathways to building wealth. And then she challenges you to do it anyways. By addressing your mindset first (wealth coaching anyone?!), and then the practical steps second, Rodgers walks every person, woman or otherwise, through a path of becoming a millionaire. For those of you who don't want to be kept down by restrictions, this book is for you. Rodgers entertainingly explains ways to expand and enter abundance rather than shrink and reduce yourself, financially or in any other way. After reading this book, I've already got some great ideas of how to expand my wealth. I definitely recommend this book.
The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason: Written in 1926, this book is considered a classic on the laws of prosperity and building and maintaining wealth. The money principles in this book still very much hold true today. Clason begins the book with an insight into Babylon in its heyday, and then spend the rest of the novel imparting wise truths about money through fables of rich and prosperous men in Babylon, who hadn't always been that way. He provides the seven cures for a lean purse, and the five rules of gold. There is only one principle I disagree with: paying yourself first. I pay God first and then myself second. (Trust me on this one, it hasn't failed me yet.) Other than that, his principles about putting aside money for yourself, investing it upon wise counsel, and controlling your desires is spot on. The book is easily digestible because it is told through the frame of stories, which repeatedly have the same moral. If you're looking for a simple (but not necessarily quick) way to build and retain wealth, this book is for you.
your money counts (now more than ever) by Howard Dayton: It is no secret that I have a strong belief in and relationship with God. After reading many of the other books on this list, I felt led to read a book that deals with how God wants us to manage finances, and Howard Dayton did not disappoint. He spends this (relatively) short book walking through the principles of financial faithfulness and dispelling a lot of myths society (and many Christians!) believe about what God says around finances. Money is one of the most discussed subjects in the Bible because of how important it is in our lives. This book brought me back to my roots and reminded me of the principles I'd used to become financially fit in the first place. For those of you looking for a spiritually-led way of handling your money, read this book. You will be challenged, but you won't be disappointed.
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