This Topic is Archived
Helen of Troy (original poster member #26419) posted at 2:23 PM on Wednesday, February 16th, 2011
Which of SO's books out there are on your must read list? I am curious as to why she is popular so going to check her out.
Local library has a long waitlist so I'm buying one & asking here for recommendations. Thanks.
bumbed ( member #31024) posted at 12:27 AM on Friday, February 18th, 2011
She is an easy read about a sometimes difficult subject. ALL women need information regarding the wise ways to handle money, invest money and save money. I don't have a specific recommendation as each has some ideas but I think there is a women and their money which may be a good place to start
[This message edited by bumbed at 6:28 PM, February 17th (Thursday)]
I rather suspect like all the worst things in life, making sense of it will not happen.
25 year relationship D day 1/28/11
The we door is closed but the ME doors are opening
Kjersti ( member #23316) posted at 1:56 AM on Friday, February 18th, 2011
Several years ago (2000-2003, give or take) I bought three of her books and thought that--for the most part--what she had to say about financial matters made great good sense...and much better sense than I was seeing, reading, or hearing elsewhere.
Just a few days ago I suddenly began thinking about checking out her newer/newest books.
I will be reading the suggestions and the comments about her most recent (post-2004 
) books with great interest!!!
Thanks for starting this thread, wgb!!!
[This message edited by Kjersti at 7:57 PM, February 17th (Thursday)]
lawyergirl25 ( member #13125) posted at 7:16 PM on Friday, February 18th, 2011
I read Young, Fabulous & Broke two years ago. Seriously changed the way I looked at money and I got my financial self in check. I wasn't altogether comfortable with everything she said in the book (e.g., running up credit card debt for living expenses is ok when you're first starting out in your career), but as with anything, I took what resonated and left the rest. She didn't say anything I hadn't heard before, she just said it in a way that I could fully grasp for the first time. Her book really changed my financial life - as of next week I will finally be "consumer debt free" (federal student loan and mortgage will take a bit more time) with a good start on my emergency savings and retirement accounts. Not bad considering I was up to my ears in debt (mostly marital) right after my D!
I wandered into B&N the other day to look for some other books by Suze. I feel like I'm getting past the YF&B phase and need more advice on what to do now that I'm out of the "young and dumb" crisis zone. I hope you get some great recommendations here so that I can check them out as well!
lawyergirl25 ( member #13125) posted at 12:37 AM on Monday, February 21st, 2011
Just thought I'd update. I checked Women & Money out of the library yesterday and read it today. Obviously it was a very fast read!
I wasn't too impressed with the first half of the book. She spends the first four chapters discussing the numerous reasons women haven't taken control of their finances in the past and outlining exactly why it's important to do so. Which is a worthy discussion, but I think it could have been condensed into one chapter. Then the first two chapters for her 5-step Save Yourself plan cover topics you have already covered extensively if you've read any personal finance books - savings and credit cards.
I appreciated the second half of the book a lot more than the first. She spends the last 3 chapters of the 5-step plan discussing wills and trusts, life and home insurance policies, and retirement investment. Even if some of the information was redundant from her other books (and others' personal finance books), there was at least one new point that I took away from each chapter, so I feel like it was a worthwhile read. The best chapter, I felt by far, was the second to last chapter in which she discusses the impact our personal relationships have on our relationship with money, and vice versa. It was really interesting and inspiring, especially if you're someone who is struggling to take some power back over your finances and your relationships simultaneously.
The book is written as a general overview - it appears more in-depth exploration of the topics is available on Suze's website. (There's a code in the book that gives you access to the W&M section of her site.) Like I said, some of the information was redundant from her other books, but I think it was worth the few hours it took to read.
Hope that helps!
[This message edited by lawyergirl25 at 6:39 PM, February 20th (Sunday)]
This Topic is Archived
