Books to build your financial IQ

Check out these book to build your financial IQ.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad (Robert Kiyosaki)
Personal-finance author and lecturer Robert Kiyosaki developed his unique economic perspective through exposure to a pair of disparate influences: his own highly educated but fiscally unstable father, and the multimillionaire eighth-grade dropout father of his closest friend. The lifelong monetary problems experienced by his "poor dad" (whose weekly paychecks, while respectable, were never quite sufficient to meet family needs) pounded home the counterpoint communicated by his "rich dad" (that "the poor and the middle class work for money," but "the rich have money work for them"). Taking that message to heart, Kiyosaki was able to retire at 47. Rich Dad, Poor Dad, written with consultant and CPA Sharon L. Lechter, lays out his the philosophy behind his relationship with money. Although Kiyosaki can take a frustratingly long time to make his points, his book nonetheless compellingly advocates for the type of "financial literacy" that's never taught in schools. Based on the principle that income-generating assets always provide healthier bottom-line results than even the best of traditional jobs, it explains how those assets might be acquired so that the jobs can eventually be shed. --Howard Rothman

Multiple Streams of Income (Robert G. Allen)
The author of the rags-to-riches real estate bestseller Nothing Down for the '90s presents advice drawn from 20 years of writing and promoting get-rich books through seminars, infomercials, and home-study courses. In Multiple Streams of Income, Robert G. Allen shows you how to create income with little or no investment. Says Allen: "Today, very few families can survive on less than two streams of income. In the volatile future, you will need a portfolio of income streams--not one or two--but many streams from completely different and diversified sources."

Beginning with advice on controlling spending and increasing savings, Allen hits his stride in chapters on stock market and real estate investing. He draws on the investment advice of others, including Peter Lynch, and even suggests that you invest in Berkshire Hathaway and let Warren Buffett manage your money. Allen also shares his real estate strategies for finding motivated sellers, securing creative financing, and buying foreclosures and tax liens. Additional chapters cover multilevel-network marketing, information and product licensing, and marketing on the Internet. Throughout are checklists, work sheets, and testimonials, as well as pointers to more articles and materials on the author's Web site. It's useful to have so much information so concisely and well explained, and many who read this book will find it hard to resist implementing one, if not several, of Allen's recommended income strategies. --Scott Harrison