Book Review: A Girl Needs Cash

Of course I loved this book! Joan Perry writes about how we women should take charge of our financial lives – with a “girl power” attitude. Joan sings the same song I do! Nobody is going to come along and take care of our financial life; banish that “White Knight Myth”. We are completely capable of knowing what we want, setting our priorities financially and taking action. We do this in our family lives, in our social lives, career lives, and I certainly hope our sexual lives! Joan points out that women are in a financial revolution and I sense that she is right -- I love that! Joan breaks through some of the misconceptions that maybe the culprit which keeps many women financially captive. Joan explains how to review spending habits and develop new sources of income to create the kind of life you want to live. Singing the same one again -- That is what I do in my class Personal Finance from the Inside Out (but I take a different approach). Ladies, no matter how old you are or where you are at in your life, it is time to take charge of your financial life. Learn some new attitudes and thoughts around money. A Girl Needs Cash is an important book to read and I think it should be in every woman’s library.

Enjoy,

Jules

Book Review: Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan

Last month the ladies of the investment club that I belong to chose to read Suze Orman's new book. I also suggested that the readers of my monthly journal (free newsletter) read it along with us. Well, I did indeed read it and here is what I think about out it.

Her usual message comes through loud and clear, "you must commit to taking action". There is just no room for taking the back seat when it comes to understanding your financial situation and knowing what you need to do with your money.

Suze first spells out very briefly the current global credit crisis. I love her parable, "Our economy is like a patient who was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. After months of aggressive intervention ... the patient is still in the Intensive Care Unit, but the prognosis is that eventually there will be a full recovery. In the meantime, the patient will move into a rehabilitation facility and start to get back on his or her feet. Before too long, the patient will be stable enough to go home, though it might be years before he of she is back to full health".

So what do you do with your money while you ride this "rehabilitation" time out?

The chapters in Suze's book are organized in nine (9) areas of money: Credit, Retirement, Savings, Spending, Real Estate, Paying for College and Family which includes insurance and job loss. Suze lists multiple scenarios for each of these area. So you must read through (a very easy read) to see which scenario might best fit your situation. Then she tells you what to do with an "action plan" for each scenario.

Please be diligent and research any advice no matter how "expert" someone maybe. For example, if you do not understand or know what a treasury money market fund is or an EFT is, then educate yourself and learn. It is important to understand why her action plans are good at this time during a general economic downturn. The economy changes and goes through its cycles; money grows well in one investment during a down turn but then may performs poorly when the economy is booming. Thus, through learning you will also see that money can grow through investments no matter how the economy is doing. I always say, "create your own economy"!

So Suze's book is a great place to start, but there is more work to be done. So get your 2009 action plan started if you have not done so already already.

When fear and doubt are in control you may make decisions that feel "right", but the biggest risk is giving in to your emotions. Do nothing rash". ~Suze Orman
Suze's Ormans 2009 Action Plan

Investment Club Meeting: February

Yep, that time again! Last night I went to my investment club meeting. Each month a member is assigned to be our education coordinator. She is in charge of organizing the education segment of our meetings. It was my turn last night and I invited a guest speaker to talk about empowerment. What an amazing hour of information and stories! I will be sharing some of what I learned in my upcoming monthly journal.

We did some journaling from the book The Energy of Money by Maria Nemeth, Ph.D. We worked on Life's Intentions which will eventually lead each of us to a list of goals. Personally, I set goals often and revisit them every few months. I even have some great tips and tools on how to set goals and achieve them. It is really nice to see a new way to develop goals; the way Maria Nemeth show us in her book. I would recommend to you to buy the book and start a group. It is a great way to be decifer what you might want in life and more fun do share the process within a group of supportive friends!

And the last item to mention is that many of us in the investment club will be reading The Great Depression Ahead by Harry S. Dent Jr. I have already started reading it. I am finding it easy to understand and most of all finding comfort in knowing that there are many directions to choose to prepare and ride out and even prosper during this upcoming downturn in our economy. Look for my book review in a few weeks!

Investment Club Meeting: December Holiday Party

The investment club had a regular meeting and annual holiday party this evening. Out of the 15 guests from last month's Open House, there were seven prospective new members who attended this regular meeting tonight (first of two meetings they are required to attend). That is such a good feeling to see so many interested -- that tells me we are group offering something very worth while!

At our December meeting we always vote the new officers in for the New Year. I will remain the treasurer. Our current secretary will remain as secretary. We will have a new president and new vice president -- which speaks volumes about the personal growth of these two ladies! ... And we got a lot of business done! I love productive meetings like this one.

Our hostess for this meeting had hidden a Christmas fairy in her living room and for whomever found it she had a gift. I found it! She gave me a book called Green Investing, A Guide to Making Money through Environment-Friendly Stocks by, Jack Uldrich. I'll read it and let you know what I think of it.

And we did a journaling activity this evening. All of the members agreed -- we were pleasantly surprised by how all the guests tonight openly shared their results of this journaling activity.