Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny [Hardcover]

First of all, I like Suze Orman because her previous books have actually helped me go from not much money to a nice nest egg in an amazingly short time. Her advice works. She encourages you to ask yourself and your spouse the right questions--and I was really surprised at the answers sometimes. I even went on to become a financial advisor for others because of the knowledge and experience I gained from Orman's first book. And, even though I have been a financial advisor, I still bought this book. Why? For one thing, it has current information about laws and changes that will happen as far in the future as 2010. And for another, the large majority of people who came to me for advice were women. Women who had been suddenly divorced or widowed and who didn't know what to do. That is NOT the time to have to take a crash course in finances. But, that's usually what it takes.

"Women and Money" is loaded with action steps that anyone can do. This latest book is divided into 8 chapters, including "For Women Only", "Imagine What's Possible", "No Shame, No Blame", "You Are Not On Sale", "The 8 Qualities of a Wealthy Woman", "The Save Yourself Plan", "The Commitments", and "Say Your Name". These chapter titles do not indicate how much real information is given--this is not just an "ideas to get you started" book. Orman gives a month by month description of things for women to do to put themselves in a good financial position. She has boxed information entitled, "I Would Be Thrilled If You..." and then gives specific things to do. She also has an Action Plan for each month of her 5 month plan. And, there is an opportunity to open an account and save for a year, after which you would be given $100 (assuming you follow the plan--which is not hard!) She's already found a way to make you more money! (The offer is good between the dates of 2/27/07 and 3/31/08)

It's not that hard to do and it works. It really does. Thank you again, Suzy!

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, COMPLETED, PUT TO BED, and then move on.

4) "Learn to say NO to people". Suze's right on this one. You have to put YOU first. Think about it, for many of us, there are many others who are counting on us. Women especially since they are nurturing by instinct, tend to put themselves second to the people they take care of. Here's what you have to get into your soul. Unless YOU ARE OKAY, you are not going to be here, to help everyone else be okay. Think of what they tell you to on the airplane in an emergency when the air masks drop down. You put the mask on your mouth first, and then you put a second one on the child's mouth. You have to be okay for everyone else to be okay. It's not selfish; it's what you need to do.

5) Make sure you read the "You are not on sale" chapter. Many women tend to under price their services, and also allow themselves to be paid a lesser salary for equivalent work done by a male. You need to get out of this loop, and quick. Suze shows you how.

6) Suze's advice on credit cards is completely accurate. If you are going to win in a system that is stacked against you, than you must learn the rules in order to know how to work the system. As an example once a credit card is open, never shut it down because creditors like to see long-term open lines of credit. This is the type of information, you will figure out on your own.

In conclusion, this is a FABULOUS book for you to get back on track, and in control of YOUR OWN LIFE FINANCIALLY. Women have just as much brainpower as men. It is inexcusable that many find themselves in the position they are currently in, but understandable too. After all what courses are given while growing up in managing money. They don't give us a course in human relationships or marriage either; maybe that's why the divorce rate is 50%. If we don't learn what we need to learn in school or from our mentors, than we have to learn it on our own - Suze is a good place to start, and GOOD LUCK.

Richard Stoyeck

First, a response to the person who wrote that she was "very disappointed" because readers "have to buy Suze's book and put in a special code to participate in the Ameritrade Save Yourself program". She felt this was duplicitous on Suze's part, after claiming she doesn't get "a penny from Ameritrade" but she DOES benefit from the required purchase of her book (in order to use the special code).
While I see her point, I think she is missing the larger picture...and that is that more Americans, including women, need to start saving more. Secondly, the Ameritrade offer is a good one, with a fair interest rate 4.59% as of this writing) and a bonus of $100 at the end of 12 months (more than enough for readers to cover the cost of the book and still make a nice profit).
Finally, the book and the program encourage readers to get into the habit of saving regularly, which I feel more than offsets any other issues people may have with the book and offer.
Yes, Suze profits from the book itself but who would expect her to write a book and NOT make a profit? On the other hand, readers have a great opportunity to save money and get a financial reward for doing so. Plus, the REST of the info in the book is solid, including the special challenges women face when it comes to money. All in all, I think the balance is in Suze's favor and readers will benefit from buying this book.
On balance, a LOT to be gained from for the price of this book ($14.50 as of this writing).

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