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Nice Girls Don't Get Rich!

What kind of relationship do you have with your money?

Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich – 75 Avoidable Mistakes Women Make With Money by Lois P.Frankel is a book about financial thinking and not financial planning. I had to get that out before you think that this a quick guide to wealth – something we all know doesn't exist.

“This book is dedicated to every woman who works too hard, earns too little, and never seems to get ahead financially”.

That dedication line from the author caught my attention because it is a story most of us share. We have the careers, look the part, live the life but we don’t see ourselves moving ahead financially at the pace we would love to.

I picked up this book: Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich because of two words on the cover “rich” and “mistakes”.  From what’s written on the cover I figured that she meant we can get rich from what we have but we make mistakes with it. That caught my attention because I’d rather be told how to make the most with what I have and not what I must still get.  

How do you think about your money?

“Being rich is about having the ability to live your life abundantly – however you define abundance.”

A great amount of time is spent on the concept of what rich is and she makes it clear that the definition of "rich" is a personal thing. Basically, are you eating from hand to mouth or living comfortably? Whatever “comfortably” is to you.

Frankel breaks the 75 mistakes into 9 chapters. Most of the advice is on point and we’ll have you thinking. There are a couple of pages dedicated to married women. If you are planning to get married or are already married; there are some awesome tips on how to deal with the topic of money. And there is also a chapter for you if you are considering cohabiting.

The book we’ll challenge how you think about money. If you've read Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner office; you’ll see that the messages are interlinked. Just like the work-place is a game. How you view money is a game.

Do you read financial books, websites or business pages of newspapers? That is part of investing in you. The road to wealth is a road about investing in you. As women we are taught that men know more about money but that is a myth. If we took more responsibility in knowing the terms and financial jargon we’d have better control of our hard earned money.

Financial thinking is a habit according to Frankel. She points out that small things like getting your dress fixed and taking clothes to the dry-cleaner is part of taking care of your assets. You bought them – they cost money – don’t disregard them and not maintain them.

I’d recommend this book if you are ready to change your relationship with money.

The mistakes that stood out for me were:
  • Striving for Survival not wealth
  • Not Knowing your Net Worth
  • Not Making Your Financial Well-Being a Priority
  • Choosing to Remain Financially Illiterate
  • Not Attending to Your Existing Material Assets
  • Giving in To Social Pressure
  • Paying Bills, Not Managing Money
  • Giving Away Your Time
  • Not Charging for your services
  • Failure to Negotiate 


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