Personal Finance books to read

Last updated on 7 February 2021

I don’t really read as much as I should, but here are some personal finance books I’d like to read. Why, you may ask. Surely I know it all? LOL – if only. We can always learn something.

#MoneyMonday – short to-the-point money thought every Monday to give you motivation, perspective or action for the week.

Personal finance South Africa

We have a great personal finance community in South Africa, and it’s growing! From bloggers, authors and investors who share their knowledge online. There’s a lot in the Twitter space and you can follow my Twitter list of personal finance people in South Africa.

Besides the growing community, there are several personal finance books to read by South African authors. The advantage of this is that they are more relatable and the examples are actually in Rands. I sometimes get frustrated when reading books by international authors as I don’t actually know what a “normal” income is in America, or what it costs to go out. So those types of illustrations are lost on me.

Why not set a goal to read one this year?

Personal finance books to read

This is by no means exhaustive and it is in no way sponsored. It’s just some good books I have found.

What’s your move – Nicolette Mashile

In What’s Your Move? Nicolette Mashile, founder of Financial Bunnies and a champion of personal-finance education across the African content, shares stories from her own life and journey with money in order to redefine personal-finance management. 

An intimate and deeply personal book, in What’s Your Move? Nicolette talks openly about her experiences with money and the way she was brought up. She shares her beliefs about how our everyday behaviour influences how we manage our finances, and how, in spite of knowing better, we sometimes make the wrong financial decisions. 

What’s Your Move? is a challenge: a challenge to you to make a move that will be financially rewarding. A promise to yourself that you are more than capable of managing your money.

You’re not broke, you’re pre-rich – Mapalo Makhu

“I wrote this book because I believe the road to financial freedom is a journey everyone can embark on. I wrote this book with you in mind. You, who perhaps have never been taught anything about how money works. You, who have been too intimidated to pick up and read a book about personal finance because you were too scared of the jargon. And you, who want to #getyourmoneyright. I had you in mind when I wrote this book.” – Mapalo Makhu

How to get a SARS refund – Daniel Baines

Increase your chances of getting a refund from SARS!

If you derive your income from salaried employment and wish to utilise the tax laws in South Africa to minimise your tax liability and maximise your refund from the South African Revenue Services (SARS) upon filing your annual tax return, this book is for you. How To Get A SARS Refund will help you understand why you are taxed the amount that you are, and will assist you in reducing your tax liability. It will also help you to navigate your way through the annual income return (ITR12) for individuals as you complete your return via eFiling.

Topics covered include the basics of understanding individual tax, deductions from taxable income and medical tax credits. The guide also deals with the following types of taxes a salaried taxpayer may become liable for:

• Dividends tax;
• Tax on interest earned;
• Capital gains tax; and
• Provisional tax.

With plenty of informative, practical examples, How To Get A SARS Refund sets out in a simple, effective way how to get the most bang for your buck from the taxman.

Manage your money like a f*cking grownup – Sam Beckbessinger

In this clear and engaging basic guide to managing your finances, Sam Beckbessinger covers topics from compound interest and inflation to “Your brain on money”, negotiating a raise, and particularly local South African phenomena like “black tax”.

The book includes exercises and “how-to’s”, doesn’t shy away from the psychology of money, and is empowering, humorous and helpful.

The book you wish you’d had at 25, but is never too late to read.

The South African’s guide to global investing – David Joshua

Too many South Africans are excluded from the benefits of the international marketplace. This book aims to change that, by showing how to grow your wealth through simple, sustainable investment principles, and how to harness the fundamental drivers of global growth.

Drawing from a career providing international investment solutions to global clients, David Joshua addresses the most common and costly blind spots individual investors have, and lays out the key fundamentals everyone can learn to transform their financial future.

This book provides the tools to understand:

• Why South Africans have a unique mindset when it comes to investing, and why what you think you know about investing might be wrong because of it.
• The power – and necessity – of investing in global assets rather than only in South Africa.
• How to harness global growth and generate compounding, Einstein’s ‘eighth wonder of the world’.
• How and when you should exchange your rands for hard currency.
• What your financial goals are, and how to invest in the best solutions to meet them.
• How to manage yourself when managing your investments.

This book aims to bring global best practice to South African investors, addressing the specific challenges South Africans face when investing to secure their financial future.

Destination Wealth – Dave Fisher

Destination Wealth is the definitive guide that you need, to tackle your personal finances. Drawing on his thirty-year career in financial planning, author Dave Fisher imparts five powerful financial success secrets that will make your money work for you. The book begins by revealing how you can cultivate your winning money mindset and redefine your financial context. Then, Dave simplifies seemingly complex financial concepts on earning, budgeting, saving, spending and investing. Moreover, he does this by drawing on real-life success stories that inspire you to take action. As a result, you are empowered to be your own financial planner. Learning the secrets to lasting financial success in Destination Wealth will launch you on a path of wealth creation that will leave you with a powerful legacy.