Best Books for Investing for Retirement
What are some of the best books for investing for retirement? After my mom died in 2013 with no money to her name, I started to read every book I could so I could change generational habits around finances. I read hundreds of books and started to change how I viewed money. I started to save my money and then eventually after I paid off some debt I took advantage of investing in my retirement accounts.
Fast forward years later and I have paid off all of my debt except my home. My wife and I are maximizing our 401k and 457 retirement accounts. And investing excess money in other endeavors like being our own bank and creating generational wealth for my granddaughter.
What books should you look into then for how to invest in your retirement? Let’s get right to it.
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These ideas are based on my personal experience and opinion and should not be considered professional financial investment advice. Furthermore, the ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

Best Books for Investing for Retirement

I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi. He lays out so much information about investments that it is a must-read if you don’t understand the stock market. He covers all the different types of investments you can make and gives very practical advice that will get you set up financially if you keep working on the process. Which honestly almost runs on autopilot.
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki: This book is a personal finance classic that teaches readers about the importance of financial literacy and how to build wealth through investing. It provides practical advice on how to manage money, invest in real estate, and start a business.
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. If you are drowning in debt and don’t know what to do next, this IS the book to read first. This is the only book to read on this list if you don’t have $1,000 in savings, credit card debt you don’t pay off every single month, and tens of thousands of dollars in car, and student loans. I am not a huge fan of the just cash system personally, but if you have impulse control with credit cards it is worth it to switch to cash only for a time.
“The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing” by Taylor Larimore, Mel Lindauer, and Michael LeBoeuf: This book is based on the investment philosophy of John Bogle, the founder of Vanguard. It provides a simple and straightforward approach to investing, including how to build a low-cost diversified portfolio.

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“The Millionaire Next Door” by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko: This book examines the characteristics of self-made millionaires and provides insights into how they built their wealth. It provides practical advice on how to develop good financial habits and make smart investment decisions.
“The Simple Path to Wealth” by JL Collins: This book provides a straightforward approach to investing and building wealth. It covers the basics of investing, including how to build a diversified portfolio and the importance of saving and compounding.
“The Intelligent Investor” by Benjamin Graham: This classic book is a must-read for anyone interested in investing. It covers the basics of value investing and provides practical advice on how to build a diversified portfolio.
“The Smartest Investment Book You’ll Ever Read” by Daniel R. Solin: This book covers the basics of investing and provides practical advice on how to build a diversified portfolio. It includes information on how to choose the right investments, minimize risk, and maximize returns.
“Your Complete Guide to a Successful & Secure Retirement” by Les Abromovitz and the Editors of Money Magazine: This comprehensive guide covers all aspects of retirement planning, including saving, investing, and budgeting. It provides practical advice and tools for creating a retirement plan that meets your needs and goals.
Join my free Facebook group to get a ton of free resources to help you get out of debt, learn how to invest your money, and work toward having the option of retiring early.
How best to set up your money
There is a proper way to organize the way you set up your finances and it isn’t too complex. There are several different ways to do it but I will give you what I did, which is a modified form of the Baby Steps from Dave Ramsey.
- Create a savings account and make sure it has $1,000 in it. This is an emergency fund that should be used for emergencies.
- Take advantage of any retirement account matching because that is free money. Most companies will offer a 401k / 457 or 403b matching program.
- Pay off your debt using the debt snowball method. If you want a free pdf to track your payments on the debt snowball join my e-mail list to get access to my resource library. You can find out more about that here. INSERT RESOURCE LIBRARY PAGE NEED TO CREATE
- After all debt but your home is paid off maximize your IRA (if eligible). See my article on what IRA is right for you here.
- Then maximize your retirement account. You can read all about 401k’s here with my 401k the ultimate guide. The rules for a 457 or 403b are similar.
- After that, you can pivot to pursuing the FIRE movement or look into being your own bank next.
Wow, you read a lot to get here. Can you do me a favor, please? Can you leave a comment if this was helpful to you or if I missed something? Alternatively, it would help me out a lot if you shared this content with those that might need to see it. Thanks, you are the best!

Choose your hard.
Obesity is hard. Being fit is hard.
Choose your hard.
Being in debt is hard.
Being financially disciplined is hard.
Choose your hard.
Communication is hard. Not communicating is hard.
Choose your hard.
Life will never be easy. It will always be hard.
But we can choose our hard. Pick wisely.”
About Dwight Scull
I have been married to my wonderful wife, Rebecca, who puts up with me since 1999. I am a proud father to my Gen Z, son, and daughter-in-law. Grandfather to my favorite granddaughter who was born in 2021.
I lost my mom, father-in-law, and 12 others in 2013 and was DEEPLY in debt. I started reading and watching all the financial info I could find.
I chipped away at my debt and went from a negative $105k net worth having one home paid off, no credit card debt, and saving/investing 45%+ of my gross salary.
I used these daily habits to lose 100 pounds and keep it off.
I believe that you can overcome any challenge you face if you just take small daily actions and be consistent with them. It is how you will be financially successful.
Join my free Facebook group to get a ton of free resources to help you get out of debt, learn how to invest your money and work toward having the option of retiring early.