Books
What I'm reading and recommending, one pick at a time.
Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits
Warren Buffett credits this book for teaching him to look beyond the financial statements and focus on a company's management and long-term potential - a classic on evaluating what a business is actually worth holding onto, not just what its numbers say this quarter.
Get the book →The Tao of Trading
A practical guide to stock and options trading from a markets veteran with over 30 years in banking and finance - strategies aimed at building steady returns in any market condition, for someone chasing financial independence faster than a savings account alone gets you there.
Get the book →The Total Money Makeover Workbook (Updated Edition)
The hands-on companion to Ramsey's Total Money Makeover - worksheets and trackers for actually building the debt snowball, the budget, and the emergency fund the book walks through, instead of just reading about them and meaning to start.
Get the book →Master the Secrets to Building Generational Wealth
This one zooms out from "how do I manage my own money" to "how do I make sure the next generation doesn't start from zero." It's a practical look at building wealth that actually outlasts you - the habits, mindset shifts, and planning most of us are never taught, walked through in plain, approachable terms.
Get the book →Broke Millennial
Less a textbook and more a real conversation about the money stuff nobody teaches you - splitting bills with friends, talking finances with a partner, negotiating a salary, and just generally "adulting" with money without feeling behind.
Get the book →The Psychology of Money
Not a book about spreadsheets or formulas - it's about the behavior behind money decisions: why we spend, save, and invest the way we do, and why that has almost nothing to do with intelligence.
Get the book →Research
Studies and articles worth reading in full, not just cited in a post.
Long-Term Investments vs. Short-Term Investments: What's the Difference?
Western & Southern Financial Group on how your time horizon actually changes what "smart" looks like for your money - useful context before deciding where extra cash should go.
Read it →Understanding Money-Management Behaviour and Its Potential Determinants Among Undergraduate Students
Cappelli, Banks & Gardner's 2024 scoping review in PLOS ONE on what actually shapes how college students manage money - and why it's rarely just about knowing the "right" answer.
Read it →Why You're Better Off Not Borrowing
Arthur C. Brooks, in The Atlantic via the American Enterprise Institute, on the real cost of debt beyond the interest rate - and why avoiding it changes more than your monthly payment.
Read it →Living Debt-Free? It's More Possible Than You Think!
First Internet Bank on what getting to debt-free actually looks like day to day - less about willpower, more about a plan you can stick to.
Read it →What Is Lifestyle Creep and How Can You Avoid It?
Consumers Credit Union breaks down how rising income quietly turns into rising spending, and the habits that keep it in check.
Read it →Avoid Lifestyle Creep
RBFCU's "It's a Money Thing" series on spotting lifestyle creep before it eats into your savings and long-term goals.
Read it →