20 Essentials for Achieving Financial Literacy

6. Consider auditing: Auditing allows you to sit in and participate in a course (at a college or university), but without the possibility of receiving a grade or credit for the experience. As a result, the course fee is often significantly discounted.

Required Reading

When it comes to business and finance, there are three categories of books which are necessary to a read: Textbooks, historical literature and fiction.

The next few items on this checklist of essentials focus on tried-and-true, classic textbooks that have not only survived the years but continue to be updated by active professors and market professionals.

7. Economics by Paul Samuelson: Samuelson was the second recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. My father used this book, I used it, and I think that you should use it as well. Samuelson's Economics (now in its 18th edition) is by far the de facto standard textbook for introducing students to micro and macroeconomics, as it continues to be (as it has been for several generations) one of the most widely used textbooks on college campuses.

8. Principles of Financial Accounting by Jerry Weygandt, Donald Kieso and Paul Kimmel: Weygandt, Kieso and Kimmel know how to teach accounting. Their clear and concise approach takes the pain out of the process for those who are not interested in "the numbers." This and other textbooks by this team are widely used in accounting programs as well.

9. Investments by William Sharpe, Gordon Alexander and Jeffrey Bailey: This text focuses in on securities and securities markets, and it is another classic, which has been in print for decades and is a favorite among university professors.

10. Security Analysis by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd This is the bible of value investing. Warren Buffett lives by Graham and Dodd, and that should tell you volumes about this book.

11. Options as a Strategic Investment by Lawrence McMillan: By far, this is the best book on options. I use this in my MBA derivative course. McMillan's book explains everything you ever wanted to know about options in a way that doesn't require you to have a Ph.D. in mathematics. His practical approach to options comes with excellent charts and examples. I have a copy in all of my offices and homes. (I am still searching for the best textbook that encompasses futures, options and swaps.)