14 Comments to this entry.

1. David C on July 20, 2008 at 2:21 am
   

   Personally, its Wallstrait’s Investing Basics book.

   Its the one book that got me started into fundamental investing, and the one book that made me some profit in my first year.

   David Cs last blog post..ST Takes Liberties with Maid

2. TheFinance.sg » What is the most influential book in personal finance? on July 20, 2008 at 10:07 am
   

   [...] here to enter your comments and take part in the [...]

3. Justina on July 20, 2008 at 11:03 am
   

   I have to say it’s ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’. Although his examples and background are debatable, the underlying concepts are reasonable, and it did make me look at personal finance differently.

   Financial freedom is something everybody yearns for, and indeed it does take money to make money.

4. Collin on July 21, 2008 at 2:42 am
   

   Most influential book would be “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki.

   But an influential personal finance book would be “Personal Financial Planning” by Benedict Koh.

   Collins last blog post..Right knee getting better

5. Drizzt on July 21, 2008 at 3:18 pm
   

   As a personal investor, I read much books in my 4-5 years in this and gotta say its hard to point out one that is considered influential.

   I read books from Rich Dad Poor Dad’s when i was 18-19 and it sorta get me expose to this but its such a conflicting series of books because i felt it tries to empower you but doesn’t really tell you how to go about doing it (other than bloody real estate)

   If I were to name one it would be The Richest Man in Babylon. Many have read that book and i have passed it to many and they told me that it has helped them realise the place money in their lives and how it should work for them.

   The book gives the few standard personal finance guides such as

   1) Compounding Returns
   2) Insurance
   3) Paying yourself first
   4) Debts

   in very simple stories and examples that it makes grasping these concepts easy.

   Finally, I would say the best places to learn about personal finances are actually online nowadays. some of the recomended sites i would i give are:

   http://www.thedigeratilife.com/blog/
   http://www.milliondollarjourney.com/

   Drizzt
   http://www.investmentmoats.com

6. la papillion on July 21, 2008 at 11:32 pm
   

   I am at wits end trying to pinpoint a book that encompasses all that I know now. It’s the journey of reading many books, musing over important points mentioned in some but neglected in others, that one learns rather than reading any single important book.

   The first book I read should be Antony Robbin’s book - that guru in motivation. The books motivates and empowers, but as he said, action must spring from it. From that motivation, I jumped to Robert Kiyo’s Rich dad poor dad series. While reading it, I think it’s very enlightening and inspiring - but somehow I feel it doesn’t teach you how to deal with personal finance. It just showcases how his rich dad deals with his. Nothing wrong, we all can learn from modeling his rich dad’s ways..not my style too.

   I would say the most influential book that defines my personal finance knowledge isn’t any book that I’ve read before. Surprising? It’s the book PG recommended - Your Money or Your Life. A summary of the book (it’s here: http://www.yourmoneyoryourlife.org/fom-about-summary.asp) resonates so strongly with my internal frequency that my gut feeling is that this MUST be the book of all books in personal finance. It doesn’t matter that I haven’t read it. Reading the summary gives so much insight, imagine reading the book itself!

   So PG, if I were to win the contest, don’t give me the $10 popular voucher. Give me an amazon $10 voucher so that I can get this book, haha!

   la papillions last blog post..Liar’s Poker and Confessions of a Wall street analyst

7. Seen This Scene That on July 22, 2008 at 12:03 am
   

   I have kept ‘A Singapore Guide To Personal Financial Planning’ since it was published in 1999 by Financial Perspectives. This book may be a little outdated now but the concepts and details are geared towards our local investment scene that I have found to be really useful.

   Seen This Scene Thats last blog post..Make Money: Singapore Nature Parks Show You How

8. Derek on July 22, 2008 at 7:17 am
   

   The most influential personal finance book that I have read has to be “Rich Dad’s Guide to Becoming Rich Without Cutting Up Your Credit Cards”. The book on its own is not the best book I have come across and neither will I recommend it as a must read or even recommend to buy any of his books but this is the first book on personal finance that I have read and got me into the world of personal finance and investing.

   I got to know this book about 2years ago in the Invest Section of The Sunday Times. Since the book can be found in the library, no harm in reading it. I thought it will be a difficult book to borrow but I managed to find it easily and the rest is history.

   Dereks last blog post..Liar’s Poker and Confessions of a Wall street analyst

9. 8percentpa on July 23, 2008 at 12:26 am
   

   Hihi,

   Responding to your request I went back to do a list of finance books that I have read and realized actually it’s quite short. < 15 books, quite disappointed with myself.

   I tried to think of the most influential but none of them fits the bill. So I think I will list out the other mosts first

   Most entertaining: Liar’s Poker
   This is definitely the funniest read and I always re-read parts of it in bookstores. Never stop laughing! Big Swinging Dicks and stuff. Haha!

   Most educational: Random Walk
   Gives very good history of the world of finance and advice.

   Most Valueable: Essays of Warren Buffett
   Written by the Guru himself. What more can I say.

   Other Recommended Good Read
   1.One Up on Wall Street
   2.When Genius Failed
   3.Inside the House of Money

   If you put a gun to my head, probably it’s Random Walk that would be the most influential. Hehe.

   8percentpas last blog post..Choosing Numbers, Beauty Contests and Stock Markets

10. panzer on July 23, 2008 at 8:41 am
    

    Thanks everyone for participating in the contest! You are welcome to tell me what other books are of value to you but further entries after this comment will not be eligible for the contest.

    I will draw the winner and …

11. panzer on July 23, 2008 at 7:57 pm
    

    The winner as drawn using random.org’s random integer generator from 1 to 8 is…

    Lucky Number 4: Drizzt!

12. What is my most influential personal finance book to date? | Investment Moats - Stock Market Investing on July 24, 2008 at 8:52 pm
    

    [...] was pose this question by Panzer here in his poll and i think it is a good idea to post my answer to him [...]

13. Five Cents Ten Cents » Blog Archives » National Day Weekend Personal Finance Blog Carnival on August 3, 2008 at 2:19 am
    

    [...] What is the most influential book in personal finance? [...]

14. SPchong on August 6, 2008 at 12:47 am
    

    for me, it is the “Intelligent Investor” by Benjamin Graham.

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