Women With Money

Women With Money:The Judgement-Free Guide to Creating the Joyful, Les Stresses, Purposeful (and, Yes, Rich) Life You Deserve by Jean Chatzky          AudioBook:  8 hrs., 30 mins    Hardback Book: 288 pgs.

This was a very user friendly book.   It addresses women’s attitude about money – that topic that is not spoken of often enough and should be.   Women can get lost in the web of financial talk if they try to ignore finances, bills, savings expenditures, budgets or worse yet, let their husbands handle all of the money, banking statements, bills, etc. until one day they are left on their own without a clue how to handle any of the afore mentioned aspects of their financial situation but have no idea where they currently find themselves.   Ignoring financial pertinent information is well PERTINENT!   Ladies, we can’t go through life thinking someone else will always be around to take care of us.    Life has a bunch of gut punches to teach us differently.    Now is the time to make sure you have working knowledge of what you have in the bank, what you are responsible for, benefactor of and what is and is not in place for you and any children you may have in the event tragedy strikes and your spouse/partner is no longer in the picture.   Know your first and next step at all times.    Surprises are only fun when they benefit you in some way, not when tragedy strikes and it is now you against the world.    Jean Chatzky sites examples of and don’t we all know people who have been in similar situations where someone else was always in charge of the responsibilities particularly keeping an eye on all financial accounts, insurance policies, bill paying, mortgage paying then in the blink of an eye their lives are changed, now they must become the breadwinner and/or take on the responsibilities for upkeep on the home, handling all outgoing income and trying to sort out what must be taken care of and when.    Stay an equal partner in all things, ladies.   Being in shock from the loss of a spouse (death, divorce, whatever) is no time to have to take a crash course in what all you need to do yourself now.    Jean Chatzky walks women through coming to terms with it isn’t someone else’s responsibility – its yours!   You may have children to feed, clothe and keep a roof over all of your heads don’t go through life wearing blinders – this is your reality, too.   She talks about all the financial issues a woman needs to address:  should we have one joint bank account or a joint account for household bills and repairs then separate accounts for each spouses personal expenditures; our parents are getting older we need to think about what if they can no longer live independently – move them in with us or assisted living or a nursing home situation?   College funds for the kids, how much insurance is required to pay off the house and aid the other spouse in the event they are on their own to cope?    Do we have plans and plan Bs in place so that life continues on with relative smoothness or do we need to work on that?    Jean Chatzky discusses things in very understandable terms that helps women put their financial futures in a realistic perspective.   Jean takes women through her 3 part plan to achieve financial security by exploring your relationship with money, taking control of your money then using your money to create the life you want to live.    Assess what you have ie.  where you are – be proactive in budgeting know where you are and how much it takes to keep you comfortable – then decide how comfortable you want to be and do everything you can go strive for that good life.   Wishing for it to happen won’t cut it.   Making it happen is what we have to do.    Jean Chatzky shows how she suggests you get there.    She discusses how to assess if you are being paid your worth and if not,  how to negotiate getting more pay.   She talks about having the drive to become an entrepreneur and open your own business.   She discusses the work involved in establishing yourself, how to prepare for the lean times in the beginning when profits tend to need to be put back into the business but how to profit from solid work and being aware of your market, trends in the market, competition, etc.    She talks about how to invest your money for the future and how to make your money last and provide for you and yours now as well as continuing to grow for the future.   She talks about how to guide your children financially so they too grow up savvy about money and don’t blow every penny they get without weighing it against upcoming needs.   This also breeds confidence.     And Jean Chatzky also shows you how to do it and leave a legacy for your children and grand-children.    Well layed out book with friendly not forced advice.    I would definetly recommend this book to all young girls through elderly women.   It is never too early nor too late to learn the financial information you need for a better life.   Well done, Jean Chatzky.

 - Shirley J.