The Tech Advantage
The average American pays $772/month for a car. You buy one for cash and keep it running for pennies. That one difference alone, invested over 30 years, is worth $1.7 million.
Every repair you do yourself — brakes, AC, whatever — is money that stays in your family's pocket. Not hundreds. Hundreds of thousands over a career.
You can't be outsourced. You can't be replaced by AI. You're recession proof. And flat rate is the only pay structure where you can earn 60 hours of pay in a 40 hour week.
This trade isn't a dead end. It's a financial cheat code. The techs who figure that out retire richer than half the college graduates in this country.
Pay Yourself First
You worked too hard to have nothing to show for it.
Financial literacy is not taught in trade school. It is not taught in most schools period. But it is the single biggest factor in whether you retire comfortable or broke. These six books are the foundation. Read them in order. Apply what you learn. Your future self will thank you.
APEX Tech Nation does not provide financial advice. The books listed here are educational recommendations only. Consult a licensed financial advisor for personal financial decisions.
The Richest Man in Babylon
George S. Clason
The oldest lesson on this list and still the most powerful. A part of all you earn is yours to keep. Start here. Read it once a year.
The Total Money Makeover
Dave Ramsey
Simple. Direct. No excuses. A step by step plan that works. Get out of debt, build an emergency fund, and start investing. The foundation every other book builds on.
The Millionaire Next Door
Thomas Stanley
How wealth is actually built in America. Ordinary working people with discipline and a plan. You will recognize yourself in these pages. Read it twice.
The Simple Path to Wealth
JL Collins
Stop overthinking investing. Buy a low-cost S&P 500 index fund, keep adding to it, and leave it alone. This book makes it that simple because it really is that simple.
The Psychology of Money
Morgan Housel
Why we make the money mistakes we make and how to think about wealth in a way that actually leads somewhere worth going.
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
John C. Bogle
Written by the man who created the index fund. Stop paying Wall Street to lose your money. Buy the whole market, keep costs low, and let compound interest do the work.