Money Matters: Women and Finances

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According to an article written by Chelsea Brennan for Chimebank.com , only 22% of women can successfully answer 3 basic finance-related questions correctly.  The TODAY show did a feature on women’s feelings about money and finances by taking  this quiz to discover attitudes and habits regarding their relationship with money. Women UN published the statistics and benefits of economic empowerment women have in the world.

With the recent popular focus in closing the gap between the sexes, now looks like a good time to learn the art of managing money.  If you are interested in learning the skills to make you a better money manager, these titles listed below might be for you:

 

women with moneyWomen with money : create the joyful, less stressed, purposeful life you want with the money you have / Jean Chatzky

Get paid what you’re worth, build secure relationships, and make your money last with this valuable guide from the TODAY show financial editor and bestselling author.  Ask successful women what they want from their money and they’ll tell you: independence, security, choices, a better world, and–oh yes–way less stress, not just for themselves but for their kids, partners, parents, and friends. Through a series of HerMoney Happy Hour discussions (when money is the topic, wine helps) and one-on-one conversations, Jean Chatzky gets women to open up about the one topic we still never talk about. Then she flips the script and charts a pathway to this joyful, purpose-filled life that today’s women not only want, but also, finally, have the resources to afford.

 

rich bitchRich bitch [electronic resource] : a simple 12-step plan to decoding financial jargon and having the life you want / Nicole Lapin

In RICH BITCH, money expert and financial journalist Nicole Lapin lays out a 12-Step Plan in which she shares her experiences—mistakes and all—of getting her own finances in order. She talks to you not like a lecturer but as your friend. And even though money is typically an “off-limits” conversation, nothing is off-limits here.   Lapin rethinks every piece of financial “wisdom” you’ve ever heard and puts her own fresh, modern, sassy spin on it.

Sure, there are some hard-and-fast rules about finance, but when it comes to your money, the only person who can tell you how to spend it is you. Should you invest in a 401(k)? Maybe not. Should you splurge on that morning latte? Likely yes.  Instead of focusing on nickel-and-diming yourself, Nicole’s advice focuses on investing in yourself so you don’t have to stress over the little things. But, in order to do that you have to be able to speak the language of money. After all, money is a language like anything else, and the sooner you can join the conversation, the sooner you can live the life you want.

 

optimistThe optimist’s guide to divorce : how to get through your breakup and create a new life you love / Suzanne Riss & Jill Sockwell

For the more than one million women who get divorced each year, welcome to your support group.  Wise, comforting, and uplifting, The Optimist’s Guide to Divorce captures the experience of sisterhood through the voices of its authors and their community of women in the Maplewood Divorce Club—women who understand what you’re going through, who know the practical issues as well as the emotional ones, and who can help you keep a sense of hope and a sense of humor.

Brimming with stories and insights, valuable resources and smart strategies, in-the-trenches tips and sanity-saving takeaways, this book prepares you for each phase of divorce, from having “the talk,” to breaking the news to family and friends, to figuring out where to live, to co-parenting with an ex, to rebounding and rebooting your life. It’s divided into three sections that cover the process from start to finish—Deal, Heal, and Reveal—and make it easy to jump in wherever you are in your journey. And even better, to make the choices that will help you develop a better relationship with the one person you’ll be with for the rest of your life—yourself.

 

smart women love moenySmart women love money : five simple, life-changing rules of investing / Alice Finn

Women have made strides in so many areas and yet we still have a blind spot when it comes to managing our money. Why?  A myriad of factors cause women to earn less than men over a lifetime, making it all the more imperative that we make the money we do have work for us as much as possible. And here’s a reality check: as many as nine out of ten of us will have to manage our finances and those of our family at some point in our lives.

A lot of us think that means keeping our money “safe” in savings accounts, and not investing it. But not doing so has an opportunity cost that will lead to opportunities lost—the ability to pay for a college education, own a home, change careers to pursue a dream, or retire. Alice Finn wants to change how you think about your money, no matter how much or little you have. In Smart Women Love Money, Finn paves the way forward by showing you that the power of investing is the last frontier of feminism. Drawing on more than twenty years of experience as a successful wealth management adviser, Finn shares five simple and proven strategies for a woman at any stage of her life, whether starting a career, home raising children, or heading up a major corporation.

smart cookiesThe Smart Cookies’ guide to making more dough : how five young women got smart, formed a money group, and took control of their finances / The Smart Cookies with Jennifer Barrett

Inspired by an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show on personal finance, the Smart Cookies, five dynamic young women who weren’t always so savvy about money, formed a “money club,” and together developed strategies for turning their financial lives around – without surrendering their sanity or their social lives.

In this guide, the Cookies demonstrate how women of all ages can achieve financial security. They share their own stories, offer easy-to-follow steps, and lay out simple plans for meeting any goal, whether it’s eliminating debt, making good investments, becoming a smart spender or saving up for a big-ticket purchase.  The Smart Cookies’ Guide to Making More Dough invites every reader to become “the sixth cookie,” to take control of their financial lives and have fun doing it

kiplingersKiplinger’s money smart women : everything you need to know to achieve a lifetime of financial security / Janet Bodnar

From their first job to their retirement years, women face unique challenges when it comes to managing their money.  Because women play so many different roles — and sometimes leave the workforce to raise children and care for family members.  They need specific financial advice tailored to each stage of life. In her new book, Kiplinger’s Money Smart Women – Everything You Need to Know to Achieve a Lifetime of Financial Security, Janet Bodnar, wife, mother and deputy editor of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, outlines what every woman needs to know to be financially independent, from breaking out of the paycheck-to-paycheck rut to living comfortably in retirement.

Kiplinger’s Money Smart Women covers it all with real-world advice and practical strategies, and includes “how-to” action steps for everything from investing in mutual funds to boosting retirement income. This is every woman’s essential guide to financial security.

nice girls dont get richNice girls don’t get rich : 75 avoidable mistakes women make with money / Lois P. Frankel

Borrowing on your credit cards? Saving instead of investing? Caring for others financially and ignoring your own needs? The things you learned as a girl may be preventing you from becoming financially independent and following your own dreams. Now bestselling author Lois Frankel tackles the outdated concepts that keep you from having the wealth you deserve, and she offers tried-and-true coaching tips to help you take control of your money and your life. Discover all the “nice girl” behaviors-and how to overcome them today!