Women & Money (Revised and Updated)

I never imagined in a million years I would pick up a book on personal finance. I had an idea that investments and numbers were just too hard, something I'd never understand. Reading Suze Orman's "Women & Money" turned that notion on its head. Her warm, funny and no-nonsense book is not only informative and empowering, it is also really enjoyable to read. While she offers plenty of detailed and helpful financial advice, the underlying theme throughout -and what really impacted me- is that control of your financial destiny begins with you. How you treat your money is an extension of how you treat yourself. Her 'Save Yourself Plan' is about letting go of the old excuses that say 'I can't' and letting go of the shame and blame of past decisions; it's about empowering yourself with knowledge and starting fresh from exactly where you are in this moment. A wonderful companion book to Ms. Orman's that expands on these ideas is Ariel and Shya Kane's Working on Yourself Doesn't Work: The 3 Simple Ideas That Will Instantaneously Transform Your Life. Their inspiring approach to living in the moment (instead of in a continuous loop of worry about the past and the future) gives you the tools to dissolve those old, limiting stories about yourself ("I'm not good with numbers!") and step into a life that is easy, alive, and full of possibility.

Le compre este libro a mi madre y estuvo motivada para hacer su dinero trabajar para ti y no trabajar por tu dinero. Un libro sumamente informativo y facil de comprender. Sal de dudas y deudas, librese de deuda y agarre control de su destino financiero.

Suze Orman is right on track with this overdue, and badly needed book directly aimed at women who in Suze's words are dysfunctional about MONEY. The same ladies that can earn doctorate degrees in esoteric subjects just shut their eyes when it comes to money. Although Suze takes shots at what the reasons might be behind this behavior, whether it's upbringing, cultural, or anything else, it doesn't really matter. What matters to Suze is DEALING WITH THE PROBLEM, and does she deal with it. In this entertaining, easily read book, Suze will teach you to EXECUTE SOLUTIONS to your money problems. I have to tell you, after spending 35 years in the money business myself, this best-selling author is spot on accurate - it's about EXECUTING. It's no longer about thinking about your money issues; it's about DOING SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR MONEY ISSUES. The author explains precisely what it is you have to do, and she does it in a motivational way, without laying blame or shame on the reader. This is a crucial point. Women and men for that matter feel bad enough about the financial position they may have placed themselves in. It's the old concept of should have, could have, would have coming home to haunt us. I should have done that. I could have done this. I would have done that. Jettison the blame, and get out of that game. You need to get a grip on yourself and follow Suze's moves. They are well thought out. Here are a few to take a look at. 1) You need an account of your own. Ladies whether you are married, divorced, single, or widowed, you need an account in your name, that you can call your very own. 2) To do this Suze has arranged with TD AMERITRADE, the online brokerage firm that if you fund an account with 12 monthly consecutive automatic electronic deposits of $50 or more, in the 13th month the brokerage firm will deposit $100 in your account as a gift, and an incentive to open the account. Although it's not in the book, the reason why the firm would do this is because on average it cost the firm $200 in advertising to secure an account. It's actually a good deal for them, and a better deal for you, because it will get you started. You save $600 over a year, and they add a $100. Ladies - GO FOR IT. Even if your husband is the President of the bank, get an account in your own name. 3) The heart piece of the book is a five-month plan that gets you back in control of your financial destiny. Yes, we both know the real question is what were you thinking when you allowed yourself to get out of control, but that really doesn't matter. What matters is today FORWARD, not looking BACKWARD. In this five-month plan Suze gives you the KEY TASKS that you have to get done. It's a number of things, and not fifty things. The key here, and it's not quite hitting you in the face is to CLOSE ON SOMETHING. This is crucial. Don't do eight things at once, and a little bit of each thing. You need desperately to bring things to closure. Get one thing FINISHED, COMP

Oh, what I would have given for this book the day I started my first job!! Absolutely everything a woman needs to know about handling money on her own is in this guide. Suze goes through the essential must-knows and talks in plain Enlish about complex financial terms. She even recommends how exactly to allocate your 401(k) and Roth IRA contributions, which I found incredibly honest and useful. Suze is never condescending, which I appreciated because these are the lessons no one ever gave us growing up. I finished the book in less than a week and have already started checking things off my financial to-do list (there's a great online component through her website to keep you on track). Thank you, Suze, for putting into words the things we all ought to know and for making it seem do-able.

Suze's latest is designed to get women to move past the point of good intention and into action. There is a reason this book has incredible word-of-mouth (I heard about it from three different friends who saw the ad in O magazine): Suze has put her finger on why it is that women who can do everything for everyone still can't get it together when it comes to their money. The stories of her friends -- successful women who were in debt, couldn't bring themselves to ask for a raise, or let documents sit unsigned on their desk -- rang so true to me. I let an IRA sit in cash for years because I didn't know I was supposed to choose investments for it and then didn't know which investments to choose. This book told me exactly what to do with that money -- I only wish I knew this years ago. Others can make snide comments on this site and take their shots but no one can argue with the fact that Suze tells it straight and has helped so many men and women with her no-nonsense approach. You want to take issue with the TD Ameritrade offer? You want to pass up $100 and a great interest rate because you think there's "something in it" for Suze? Do so at your own risk. This is a great offer and anyone would be a fool to pass it up. Brava, Suze -- and thank you so much.