The Best Investment Books for Beginners: Learn The In’s and Out’s of Investing (2024)

You saw the story about how a handful of Reddit investors became rich from buying Gamestop stock and Dogecoin, and now you want in on the cash grab. Unfortunately, stories like that are a flash in the pan. But if you really want to build financial wealth without getting lucky on some meme stock anomaly, reading a book for investors is a smart place to start. More sp

Building real wealth through investing rarely happens overnight, and retail investment apps can be a minefield for beginners. It’s a long-term game that requires patience, good financial practices and a basic knowledge of the stock market. Putting your money in a shoebox under your mattress or even in a high-interest online bank (which currently is not very high interest) isn’t going to grow your wealth. Investing smartly will.

Below you’ll find our recommendations for the 10 best investment books for beginners. Each book explains how the stock market works, how to evaluate companies and how to make emotionally sound decisions with your money in a way that even the most novice investors will understand.

Don’t bank on being the next meme stock millionaire, more often than not, you lose money that way. Learn how to invest smartly with these investment books for beginners.

1. The Little Book That Beats the Market

BEST OVERALL

This is a great investment book for beginners. It teaches you the real differences between stocks, how to evaluate stocks and learning when to buy. It builds a strong foundation for any beginning investor, and it does so in a easily readable way. The overall premises is rather simple: buy good companies at low prices. Pretty simple stuff, right? This book shows you how to find those companies and prices.

2. The Simple Path to Wealth

EASILY UNDERSTANDABLE

This book is comprised of letters that the author wrote to his daughter about the best practices and importance of investing, and why it’s a smart idea to start young. Beyond investing, it sheds light on financial basics like understanding debt, and the true value of money. Of course, you’ll also learn the basics of the stock market as well. It’s a really easy read that breaks down key information on how to live a better financial life.

3. A Random Walk Down Wall Street

GREAT FOR LONGTERM INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

The not-so sexy thing in the world of investing is long-term investment strategies. But in reality, it’s one of the smartest and tried and true ways to build actual wealth. This book helps you learn about 401Ks and retirement strategies. But it also shines light on a number of different investment opportunities, like bitcoin.

4. Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned in School

GREAT INVESTING PRACTICES

This book was written from a person who went from English teacher to millionaire, and this book teaches you how he did it. The author claims that you can spend less than an hour per year on your investments and still do better than professional investors. It breaks down how the market works, the importance of index funds and making smart investment decisions all without spending your precious free time staring at the ticker.

5. The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing

TOOLS TO BE FINANCIALLY SMART

The term “Bogleheads” refers to invnestors who live by John Bogle’s — The Vanguard Group’s founder — investment strategies and practices. This book keeps it light, but provides smart investment insight on practices like living below your means, diversification and keeping your emotions at bay when it comes to investments. Not only is this a good book for investing, but also for being overall financially responsible and smart.

6. Broke Millennial Takes On Investing

GREAT FOR YOUNG INVESTORS

This book helps young investors know where to seek credible advice online (that’s where millennials get all their news, isn’t it?) and how to invest for retirement. The author provides an easily digestible breakdown of the basics that beginning investors need to know which millennials can then apply to buying and selling stocks. And if you slide into the Gen Z category, don’t worry, this book applies to you as well.

7. The Psychology of Money

BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE BEHIND INVESTING

According to The Psychology of Money, it’s not necessarily the smartest person in the room who makes the best investor, it’s the most emotionally intelligent. A lot of bad investment moves are made from emotion, whether that’s panic selling or buying in at the worst time. This book teaches you how to manage your emotions and behave correctly to reduce bad financial decisions and make better investments.

8. The Intelligent Investor

MORE ADVANCED FRAMEWORK

If you want to take a deep dive on how to evaluate companies, this is the book. Benjamin Graham is an OG in the investing world and teaches the ways of “value investing.” You’ll learn about “margin of safety” as well as really understanding the long-term financial value of a company, which equates to better investments. Admittedly, it’s a little dense, but there’s a well of knowledge packed inside this 500+ page book.

9. The Essays of Warren Buffett

LEARN FROM THE MASTER

If there is one name you should be familiar with from the investment world, it’s Warren Buffet. The investment genius is CEO of Berkshire Hathaway made his billions through investment and the stock market. These essays provide insight on Buffet’s best practices with how to manage a portfolio, and how to invest over time. Listen to Warren — he knows what he is talking about.

10. How To Invest In Real Estate

BEST FOR REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT

Especially when the stock market becomes extra volatile, real estate investments provide more of a safe haven, or less volatile style of investment. How To Invest In Real Estate isn’t the first book by the authors, but it is one of their more robust on the topic as they talk about the legalities of real estate investments, what kind of deals to look for and the different investment types like direct ownership vs investment trusts. This book teaches you far more than just buying houses and flipping them.

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