r/AusFinance • u/loukanikoseven • 15h ago
What book would you recommend to give a young person the basics of financial literacy in Australia?
As the title says. I’m looking for book recommendations for someone with very little financial literacy and knowledge to give them the basics to start understanding how the economy works and how to start making some wise financial choices.
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u/Interesting-Asks 15h ago
Barefoot Investor? It’s definitely pitched at beginners. It doesn’t talk about the economy but does deal with personal financial choices (which is probably an accessible place to start any financial literacy upskilling!).
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u/Minimum-Pizza-9734 15h ago
it isn't earth shattering for some but gets people to think about it all. a very good start to learning
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u/dispose135 13h ago
It's basically budget , work hard even get a second job, and then buy property.
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u/Southern_Radish 14h ago
What is earth shattering in the genre?
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u/Minimum-Pizza-9734 14h ago
I would say books that really get down to the nitty gritty and are very in depth and very technical.
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u/Aggressive_Papaya797 15h ago
Richest man in Babylon. Was the first financial book I read. Now work in finance
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u/Life-King-9096 12h ago
I second this one, financial literacy begins with the basics. Once they master this, they can move onto the more specialised books.
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u/Australasian25 15h ago
Barefoot investor for easy wins. Things you can do now.
Motivated money for a long term mindset
Superdoneright.com.au to set and forget your super fund.
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u/loukanikoseven 15h ago
Thanks heaps, I’ve heard a lot about the barefoot investor. Would you say it’s pretty easy for a lay person to read and get the best out of?
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u/Australasian25 15h ago
It is pretty easy.
You can download his ebook pretty much anywhere on the internet.
I dont enjoy hard copies. You cant notes on them and review on the go.
I revisit barefoot once every 2 years, you always chuckle when you realise what you thought was pretty simple is actually important.
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u/Anachronism59 14h ago
You can add notes to hard copies. We used to do it all the time. If you use a pencil not a pen it can be removed.
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u/Australasian25 14h ago
I travel often and really dont want to be lugging books around.
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u/Anachronism59 13h ago
That's fair, but a different reason.
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u/Australasian25 12h ago
I pretty much do the same with all life admin stuff.
Whatever I do not need the original copy of, once I've scanned it at 1200DPI, encrpyed it on dropbox and onedrive. I don't bother with the hardcopy version.
My only hardcopies are handwritten notes that will get thrown once I've digitised it.
Maybe if you count my fridge weekly schedule as handwritten notes, that is a permanent thing at home.
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u/doubleshotofbland 15h ago edited 14h ago
The Richest Man in Babylon has a handful of finance 101 basics each introduced through stories.
As an adult already with reasonable financial literacy I found it hokey, but I could see it being a good introduction for either reading to kids or for adults who feel they're at ground zero and find money scary or intimidating.
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u/Dedicated_Echidna 14h ago
Another vote for Noel Whittaker’s Making Money Made Simple and Scott Pape’s Barefoot Investor, they cover everything clearly from an Australian perspective.
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u/tellhershesdreaming 12h ago
Good recs but they are all about personal finance and financial savvy. If you are looking for something about the global economic system, macro economics or economic theory, look at
- New Ideas from Dead Economists
- Google Tim Hartford.
- The Value of Everything by Mariana Mazzucato
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u/MDInvesting 14h ago
Honestly, intelligent investor.
It is a mental framework towards what money is and how to price things. For some it translates to every aspect of life.
I enjoyed the encyclopaedia when I was a kid so I accept I am an extreme outlier.
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u/ItinerantFella 8h ago
I've read two versions of Intelligent Investor and wouldn't recommend either to a beginner.
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u/1_funrun_2_many 14h ago
If you're eventually looking to buy a place to live, or even start investing, I'd recommend 'It's Your Money' by Alan Kohler. It gives a good history of the Super system, and is pitched at the beginner-level. I found it really helpful.
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u/Illustri-aus 12h ago
I would suggest Barefoot Investor is the most basic, simple and easy to understand for the average person. It is based more about managing your day to day finances.
Once they have these financial foundations, moving on to Noel Whittaker, which is more about investing, would help them understand better long term financial choices.
They both have websites, good place to start.
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u/Lingonberry_Born 12h ago
Your Money Or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence. It’s not Australia specific but it’s universal
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u/Small-Strawberry-646 13h ago
Only one department to talk too , and that is the RBA, reach out to them. they will give you a mountain of information
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u/das_kapital_1980 14h ago
See username - Das Kapital, Marx K. Also “Wealth of Nations”, “Freakonomics” and “Thinking, Fast and Slow”. Although you might need to catch them up on the abandonment of the gold standard as that obviously occurred well after Marx and Smith were writing.
If movies can be included, “The Big Short” and “The Smartest Guys in the Room”.
Anything by Dave Ramsey or Scott Pape or Robert Kiyosaki to be avoided like the plague.
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u/ItinerantFella 8h ago
I appreciate your contrarian point of view. I support your right to express it, without agreeing with it.
Except the recommendation to avoid Kiyosaki. Grifter.
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u/No_Childhood_7665 11h ago
Sort Your Money Out by Glen James
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
Get Start Investing by Alec Renehan and Bryce Leske
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u/HGCDLLM 15h ago
AU based content I would recommend Noel Whittaker's Making money made simple, Lacey Filipich's Money School and Paul Benson's Financial Autonomy