Books We Love
We regularly recommend these books, and we think they provide great value for our clients.
The Psychology of Money
Morgan Housel
We love this book because it shows that financial success has less to do with what you know and more to do with how you behave. Housel breaks down how emotions like fear, greed, and ego drive money decisions far more than spreadsheets do.
For our clients balancing high income with demanding schedules, it’s a reminder that discipline and patience beat trying to time or outsmart the market. It’s a great gateway to understanding why we spend so much time on behavior coaching, not just portfolio construction.
Die with Zero
Bill Perkins
This one challenges the default assumption that more saving is always better, pushing readers to think about maximizing life experiences instead of just net worth at death.
We like it because many high earners, especially physicians who delayed gratification through years of training, tend to over-save out of habit rather than need.
Perkins makes the case for intentionally spending on experiences while you’re young and healthy enough to enjoy them, rather than leaving it all for a “someday” that may never come. It’s a useful counterbalance to traditional retirement planning that only optimizes for the number, not the life.
The Richest Man in Babylon
George S. Clason
This is a classic for a reason: it distills timeless principles like paying yourself first, living below your means, and letting your money work for you into simple parables anyone can absorb.
We recommend it because the fundamentals never go out of style, even for sophisticated earners with complex W-2/1099 income situations. It’s an easy, quick read that reinforces habits worth building early, sometimes the basics are the foundation everything else gets built on.
Giving Done Right
Phil Buchanan
This book reframes charitable giving as something that deserves the same rigor and intentionality as any other financial decision, rather than an afterthought.
We like it because many of our clients, especially those with growing incomes, want their giving to be meaningful and effective, not just tax-efficient. Buchanan pushes readers to think about impact over feel-good gestures, which pairs well with strategies like donor-advised funds or QCDs. It’s a great resource for clients ready to move from “should I give” to “how do I give well.”
Myth of the Rich Doctor
Dr. Vickie Rackner, forward by Ben Yin
We like this book because it directly confronts the disconnect between a physician’s high income and their actual financial health, a gap that trips up even top earners.
Dr. Rackner frames the book around the forces that shape physicians’ relationship with money, the common financial mistakes physicians make, and the habits that separate wealthy physicians from struggling ones.
It’s aimed at physicians and dentists in their fifties and sixties, making it especially relevant for pre-retirement clients thinking about accelerating their timeline. She draws a clever parallel between clinical standards of care and financial standards of care, encouraging doctors to apply the same disciplined, evidence-based thinking to their money that they already use with patients.
It’s a great fit for GenFi’s physician-focused clients since it speaks their language and validates that earning well and being financially healthy aren’t the same thing.
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