We continue our tradition of proposing books on investment for this Book Day 2025, which coincides in Catalonia with a deeply rooted holiday coinciding with Sant Jordi (Day of the Book and the Rose). If you’ve never experienced it, I recommend you visit Barcelona (my city) on this date, as it’s a beautiful holiday (it has nothing to do with the fact that it’s also my saint’s day). The streets are filled with books, authors signing books, and… roses.
According to available data, in 2024, approximately 1.98 million books were sold, generating a turnover of €25.4 million. In addition, around seven million roses were distributed. These figures reflect the cultural and economic importance of Sant Jordi in Catalonia.
In 2025, we’re expanding our investment library with additional books that will not only help you better understand the world of investing and financial markets, but also help you make informed decisions in a field—investment—that is inherently fraught with complexities and technicalities.
Before we get to this year’s list, let’s remember: Why should you read finance books?
No financial guru will do it better than you
Personal finance and the functioning of financial markets are rarely taught in school, and even in careers like economics or business, they are covered only in a limited way. However, managing our finances well is key not only to achieving financial goals, but also to achieving life goals such as starting a family, starting a business, buying a home, traveling around the world, living off the income, or enjoying a good retirement.
Talking about money is often still a taboo subject. Therefore, reading books about finance and investing can become a powerful tool to improve your financial education and get closer to your long-term goals. Learning to invest better isn’t optional; it’s essential. And reading good books is, without a doubt, one of the best ways to achieve this and to build your own judgment over time.
Developing your own judgment will allow you to make increasingly informed decisions and rely less on the opinions of others, which are often biased or unreliable. Believe me: if you acquire good knowledge, no financial guru, advisor, or manager will do it better than you. I can tell you this from personal experience.
We also recommend that you read our weekly blog posts as much as possible. inbestMe’s mission has always been to educate its clients and followers (and best of all, it’s free).
Structure of the book recommendation for 2025
These three books we recommend this year can complement other books we’ve been recommending in previous years, at least the first one.
In addition to suggesting three new books, you’ll see that at the end we’ve compiled a collection of books classified into three categories:
- Beginner books (to learn the basics of money and investing; if you’ve already completed this, skip to the next level)
- Must-read books (which you must read at some point to gain a solid understanding). If you have a basic understanding, you can skip to this section.
- Additional interesting books (although not essential, they help us build our knowledge)
The chart below shows this structure more clearly:
If you have little knowledge, start with the “beginner books.”
When you feel your level of understanding of investment and money-related topics has improved, continue with the essentials. You’ll see that the list is quite long. Don’t get overwhelmed. Reading one a year or one every two years is more than enough. If you read and understand them, I guarantee you’ll be able to be very independent in your finances and investment decisions.
Most of the books have appeared in our posts about books that we’ve published in previous years.
Others haven’t. We’ve simply seen that they deserve to be included for one reason or another.
In each section, we’ve also included the three new books we’re suggesting so you can see where we’re placing them.
Let’s start first with the three new books suggested for this year.
Three New Finance Books for 2025
1-How Not to Invest: The Ideas, Numbers, and Behaviors That Destroy Wealth—and How to Avoid Them. Barry Ritholtz (Read and recommended by Jordi Mercader, CEO and Co-Founder of inbestMe) ENGLISH LANGUAGE
In his book “How Not to Invest,” Barry Ritholtz takes an unconventional approach by challenging conventional financial norms. He criticizes financial experts, the media, and gurus, arguing that much conventional financial advice is flawed and that investors shouldn’t blindly follow the financial media. Ritholtz uses entertaining anecdotes and pop culture references to illustrate his point that “nobody knows anything” and that investors are often influenced by misinformation and sensationalism.
Ritholtz advocates a more rational, evidence-based approach to investing. He suggests that rather than seeking “fad” investment advice or trying to time it, investors should focus on proven strategies such as diversification through low-cost index funds. He also emphasizes the importance of avoiding unforced errors and making rational financial decisions, emphasizing that the world is already challenging enough without creating additional obstacles for oneself.
The book concludes by recommending 10 steps to becoming a better investor. First, using Direct Indexing to optimize taxation isn’t as necessary for a Spanish resident (if we invest with funds, they are inherently tax-efficient in Spain). The others seem applicable to any investor.
According to the author, if you implement them, you’ll be a good manager of your assets.
Promising, right? That’s why I recommend it.
2- “Hazlo Bien Con Tu Dinero” Celia Rubio Book read and recommended by Jordi Martinez (Jordi Martinez is partner and co-founder of inbestMe and Director of Financial Education at the IEF and BFS)
Does money keep you up at night?
This book challenges long-held beliefs and teaches you how to break the cycle of uncontrolled spending.
With practical advice, real-life examples, and additional resources, you’ll learn how to invest and differentiate assets from liabilities.
3- “Invierte en ti: Cómo organizar tu economía en 11 pasos para vivir mejor” por Natalia de Santiago Book read and recommended by Jordi Martinez (Jordi Martinez is partner and co-founder of inbestMe and Director of Financial Education at the IEF and BFS)
The book is a practical guide written by Natalia de Santiago that offers accessible advice for managing personal finances effectively and enjoyable. Throughout 11 chapters, the author addresses topics such as budgeting, smart savings, understanding financial products, and retirement planning. She uses clear language and a humorous approach to demystify complex financial concepts, making them easy to understand for readers without prior knowledge of the subject.
Books to get started:
- Finanzas para frikis por Jordi Martinez (Socio y Co-fundador de inbestMe).
- Hazlo bien con tu dinero por Celia Rubio
- Invierte en tí: Natalia De Santiago
Essential books that you should read (ideally) at some point:
- Un Paseo Aleatorio por Wall Street” por Burton Malkiel
- Stocks for the Long Run: Jeremy J. Siegel The Definitive Guide to Financial Market Returns & Long-Term Investment Strategies, Sixth Edition” por Jeremy J. Siegel
- Ganar Jugando a No Perder” por Charles D. Ellis
- La Guía Boglehead De Inversión (Autores varios)
- Unconventional Success A fundamental Approach to Personal Investment de David F. Swensen
- Un Paso Por Delante De Wall Street por Peter Lynch
- Batiendo a Wall Street Por Peter Lynch
- Common Sense On Mutual Funds por John C. Bogle
- “El Inversor Inteligente” de Benjamin Graham.
- “The intelligent Investor” por Benjamin Graham y comentada por Jason Z.Weig
Additional interesting or complementary books:
- Pensar Rápido, Pensar Despacio” de Daniel Kahneman
- Un hombre para todos los mercados de Edward O. Thorp
- La Psicología del Dinero por Morgan Housel
- The one-page financial plan de Carl Richards
- The Little Book of Valuation por Aswath Damodaran
- How Not to Invest: The Ideas, Numbers, and Behaviors That Destroy Wealth—and How to Avoid Them. Barry Ritholtz
- Recuerdos de un operador de bolsa Por Edwin Lefrevre
- Reminiscences of a Stock Operator By Edwin Lefrevre
Appendix: books in English or Spanish
You’ll see that some of the recommended books are only available in English. This is partly due to the increased interest in investing in the US, driven by several factors: a pension system more geared toward individual savings, a more widespread financial literacy, a more accessible and dynamic market, favorable tax incentives, and a strong presence of media influencers that normalize investing from an early age. All of this makes investing a common part of life in the US, while in Europe this habit is still evolving.
Therefore, some of the reference literature is only published in English, at least initially. When a Spanish version exists, we have included it; if not, we have kept the original title. In some cases, if we believe the edition is important and is only available in English, we have left that version, but you are likely to find a previous Spanish edition. In some cases, we show both versions (because we know that the English edition is an annotated edition that adds additional value).
In any case, if you have an intermediate or upper-intermediate level, reading about investment in English is usually more accessible (I may be biased by my training) than reading fiction, and it is also an excellent way to improve your language skills and become familiar with technical terms that, in many cases, are already in global use without translation.
