Featured Articles
Browse the blog section for articles and how-to guides about saving, investing, and money mindset, all designed to help you on your wealth-building journey towards financial independence.
Resources
Find here my curated resources on investing and financial independence: from books, podcasts, videos to other blogs or websites
Books
Books are a great way to stimulate and expand your knowledge about a certain topic. You’ll find here my own favorite books about saving, investing, money mindset, and financial independence.
While I only recommend here books that I have read, enjoyed and benefited from myself, it is my duty to disclose that as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means that if you use my link to buy a book on Amazon, I earn a referral bonus at no extra cost to you.
by Andrew Hallam
If there‘s a single book on personal finance you would read, pick up this one. Yes, it’s that good!
The majority of investment books (including the ones recommended on this page) are mostly catering for an American audience. Millionaire Expat tackles the topic with the perspective of people living overseas, which is applicable for those living in the Middle East. In his book, Andrew does not pull any punches when it comes to naming and shaming the financial sharks that are taking advantage of unsuspecting expats and wrecking havoc on their financial future. Here’s what you’ll learn in this book:
- Grow wealth over time using the compounding magic of the stock market without any effort.
- How global investors are being fooled into buying expensive offshore saving plans.
- Don't try to outsmart the market.
- Couch potato investing: how to implement a passive index investing strategy.
- Choosing your offshore brokerage.
- Sample portfolio models for expats of various nationalities.
by Mel Lindauwer, Taylor Larimore, and Michael LeBoeuf
The Bogleheads are investing enthusiasts who follow the “uncommon” investing wisdom of John Bogle, the founder of Vanguard and the pioneer of index funds. This book captures the essence of the Bogleheads investment approach. It’s a handy resource written for the “DIY” investors who want to manage their own finances with a proven strategy that actually works. Some sections are targeted at US investors, but the investment principles discussed are universal. Here are the key topics covered in this book:
- Choose a sound investment lifestyle.
- Understand the various types of investments available
- Determine how much you need to save.
- Minimize costs and taxes.
- How to build a simple, diversified and effective portfolio using the right asset allocation.
- How to manage a windfall.
- Do you really need an advisor?
- How to manage and rebalance your portfolio.
- How to manage your emotions, tune out the noise and avoid investment mistakes.
- How to protect your assets with the right insurance.
- How to effectively pass your money to your heirs.
by Tony Robbins with Peter Mallouk
This was the book that started it all for me. Tony Robbins is mostly known as one of the world’s leading life and business strategist. In this book, he teams up with Peter Mallouk, the president of Creative Planning, a fiduciary financial planning firm in the US. Together, they reveal how to become unshakeable – maintaining peace of mind in a world of financial and economic volatility. Robbins is a master of human psychology and explains that while the stock market is unpredictable and scary, putting in place a simple, actionable plan for passive investing in index funds can lead you to true financial freedom. Although the book content is universal for the most part, there are quite a few sections that are targeted for a US audience. Here’s what’s covered in the book:
- Seven facts that will free you from the fear of market corrections and crashes.
- Hidden fees and how Wall Street fools you into overpaying for underperformance.
- How to rescue your suboptimal 401K plan.
- Financial advisors: who can you really trust?
- Four principle to guide every investment decision.
- How to navigate stock market corrections and crashes.
- Six mistakes investors make and how to avoid them.
- The psychology of true wealth.
by Peter Mallouk
Peter Mallouk is the president and Chief Executive Officer of Creative Planning, a fiduciary wealth management firm in the US. A huge proponent of index investing, Mallouk discusses in his book the 5 typical mistakes that investors make and how to avoid them:
- Market timing and why it's so hard to predict and/or beat the market.
- Active trading and how amateurs and professional traders alike fail to beat the market over the long term.
- Misunderstanding performance and financial information and how investors get it wrong all the time.
- Letting your behavioral biases get in the way.
- Working with the wrong advisor.
by JL Collins
JL Collins has been investing since 1975. He is known as the godfather of financial independence. In 2011, he wrote a series of letters for his daughter about investing. These letters were then compiled in his blog, jlcollinsnh.com. The Simple Path to Wealth is basically his way of organizing his letters and blog posts into a more structured book format.
The funds he recommends are again US-focused and therefore not accessible or suitable for non-US investors; however, his general investment advice remains pretty much universal.
by Burton Malkiel
Initially published in 1973 and currently at its twelfth edition (in 2021), this is a timeless classic by Burton Malkiel, a professor of economics at Princeton University. In this book, Malkiel examines popular investing techniques including technical analysis and fundamental analysis and notes significant flaws in these techniques based on academic research, concluding that investors would be best served by investing passively in index funds.
Podcasts
Podcasts are another great way to consume content on the go and at your convenience.
Here’s my favorite podcasts on investing and financial independence.
Rick Ferri
This is the official Bogleheads® podcast, hosted by Rick Ferri, a long-time Boglehead, an investment advisor and best-selling author. Ferri releases an episode each month in which he interviews a guest to discuss all matters related to investing using the Bogleheads® investment philosophy.
Brad Barrett & Jonathan Mendonsa
Fantastic podcast by Jonathan and Brad, two Americans dedicated to the pursuit of Financial Independence. Very informative and although the general concepts are universal, their investing advice is mostly US-centric and therefore might not be appropriate or directly applicable for non-US investors.
Afford Anything
Paula Pant
Another impressive podcast on Financial Independence by Paula Pant. A former journalist, Paula is an amazing host. She’s entertaining and insightful, covering topics from investing in real estate to index funds. She has been branching out lately into some other interesting topics besides financial independence, such as mindset and personal development. I particularly like her way of summarizing the key takeaways at the end of each episode.
Sound Investing
Paul Merriman
Paul Merriman is a retired former wealth manager. He is now dedicating himself to financial education targeted namely for the Do-It-Yourself investors using his podcast. He’s also writing for various financial publications in the US, including MarketWatch. While his ultimate buy-and-hold portfolio might not be the easiest to implement and manage, Merriman still offers interesting insights about factor investing. He is a huge fan of “small-cap value” funds.
Videos
YouTube might be one of the most engaging way of consuming content.
You’ll find below my favorite list of YouTube channels about investing.
Ben Felix
Ben Felix is a portfolio manager at PWL Capital Inc. in Canada. His channel “Common Sense Investing” is actually my favorite investment channel on YouTube. His videos are relatively short (~15 min), but are packed with value and super informative. The illustrations he uses are also spot on. In brief, highly recommended!
The best selling author of Millionaire Teacher and Millionaire Expat has his own YouTube channel. He publishes there short videos about index investing and financial independence for individual investors around the world.
Blog & Websites
Blogs and websites are another great way to learn about a topic.
You’ll find below my own favorite list of blogs and websites about investing, from guides and reference materials to portfolio simulation tools.
justETF is primarily an ETF screener site for ETFs traded in Europe. It provides a comprehensive knowledge base on all European ETFs, including their factsheets, KIID and other technical documents. You’ll also find plenty of educational articles on ETFs and relevant investment strategies.
Portfolio Charts provides research info including performance charts and historical and comparative data about the most popular index fund portfolios. The site is completely free and is brought to you by Tyler, a Boglehead and individual investor who happens to be an Excel wizard with a flair for data and charts.
Understand the devastating impact of hidden fees and avoid overpaying for underperformance.
To help you overcome your fears, we’re going to explore key facts about the stock market that will enable you to win the investment game.
In this guide to a healthier financial lifestyle, Andrew Hallam shows us how to live a well balanced and fulfilling life.