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informative
inspiring
fast-paced
I finished this but I feel as though it’s not the right time in my life for me to read it... but I’ll probably revisit it when it’s time. I found the money diaries interesting, and pretty compelling and interesting. I do think that it would be useful for the right people though and I did take some tips from it!
(Leaving without rating because i don’t feel the need to rate it just because I personally read it at the wrong time, that says nothing about the book or content in the book itself.)
(Leaving without rating because i don’t feel the need to rate it just because I personally read it at the wrong time, that says nothing about the book or content in the book itself.)
As a huge fan of Refinery 29s money diaries series, I just had to get this book and luckily I wasn't disappointed. I think that this is an excellent introduction to dealing with money. This has a great combination of personal anecdotes (although I kind of don't like the author's husband now, but that's another story) and practical advice. This had just enough detail to make the book actually useful, while not being too intimidating for someone brand new to finance. I loved the addition of the mini savings challenges, and of course the extra money diaries. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to take more control of their money.
I have always been a fan of the lifestyle website, Refinery 29, and its Money Diary series, which follows women ranging from their early 20s to late 30s working at different levels in different career industries. Each anonymous diary breaks down what each woman spends on a daily basis for a week and what they spend it on in addition to their salaries, rent, debt, and monthly expenses.
In this book, there are brand new diaries which features follow up interviews with the diarist and professional advice from a financial advisor..Depending on where you are at in your financial portfolio, some of the advice is elementary, but either way, it is very informative.
These diaries serve as transparency to see what someone in a similar position you is making. It is natural to feel jealousy and judgmental after reading some of the diaries, but they should be read as inspiration, to force you to be honest about your spending habits and your financial situation. And it's also fun to be a voyeur and see how other people live.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a review.
In this book, there are brand new diaries which features follow up interviews with the diarist and professional advice from a financial advisor..Depending on where you are at in your financial portfolio, some of the advice is elementary, but either way, it is very informative.
These diaries serve as transparency to see what someone in a similar position you is making. It is natural to feel jealousy and judgmental after reading some of the diaries, but they should be read as inspiration, to force you to be honest about your spending habits and your financial situation. And it's also fun to be a voyeur and see how other people live.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a review.
3.5
If you're nosy like me, you've read some of the Money Diaries on Refinery29. I think it's interesting to see how other people spend their money and compare it to my spending habits.
I like that this book works in a seemingly linear fashion, from affording day-to-day life to saving for retirement. The book has information for every stage in the process. If you're a younger millennial or older Gen Z, this book is a great resource to have handy for your basic money questions. I also like that the book has a Money Diary at the beginning of each chapter to tie it in with the popular series on R29.
I disagree with some approaches to money management in this book, but it could be a matter of different philosophies. I think it's better to pay student loan debts aggressively once you have your emergency savings in order. I'm not sure you can consider student debt "good" debt when it's something that plagues so many people and doesn't always guarantee a higher income later.
The author seemed uncomfortable giving investment advice. Most of this chapter was less in-depth and practical than the other topics covered in the book.
Overall, I think this is a good book to start with in your foray into personal finances.
If you're nosy like me, you've read some of the Money Diaries on Refinery29. I think it's interesting to see how other people spend their money and compare it to my spending habits.
I like that this book works in a seemingly linear fashion, from affording day-to-day life to saving for retirement. The book has information for every stage in the process. If you're a younger millennial or older Gen Z, this book is a great resource to have handy for your basic money questions. I also like that the book has a Money Diary at the beginning of each chapter to tie it in with the popular series on R29.
I disagree with some approaches to money management in this book, but it could be a matter of different philosophies. I think it's better to pay student loan debts aggressively once you have your emergency savings in order. I'm not sure you can consider student debt "good" debt when it's something that plagues so many people and doesn't always guarantee a higher income later.
The author seemed uncomfortable giving investment advice. Most of this chapter was less in-depth and practical than the other topics covered in the book.
Overall, I think this is a good book to start with in your foray into personal finances.
This is a book on personal finance for people who have never previously heard the phrase “personal finance.” If you have heard of personal finance, warning: you may rip your hair out upon reading.
Money Diaries is a book-ized version of the popular Money Diaries Refinery 29 web series, wherein millennial women spend a week recording every dollar they spend and then share it – along with their salary, debt, and other monthly expenses – with strangers on the internet. The series was started to increase transparency around personal finance and spending. While I wholeheartedly agree this mission, it does not automatically align with wise personal finance decisions. Many, many of the money diaries regularly feature poor understandings of finance and alarming spending habits (I think the avocado toast guy probably used these journals for the basis of his argument).
This isn’t necessarily problematic on the website: its goal is to share what people are spending, and that’s accomplished each time a new diary gets published. But the book version isn’t merely a collection of those journals in print: it’s a money diary, followed by financial advice in some arena of life (e.g. debt, relationships, education).
Now, if you’re going to write a book with the ostensible purpose of helping people get their personal finances in order, you need to do some actual analysis of spending and say: this is what worked, this is what didn’t, this is where you could improve. It’s not enough to present a diary, physically place it next to some financial information elsewhere on the page, and then hope the reader magically makes the connection between the two. Doing the analysis and making the connection is why you’re writing the book. But this poses a problem, because the entire point of the original Money Diary series was to present people’s spending sans judgment. These two goals are at odds: presenting what someone spends, no comment, makes it difficult to educate the reader; writing a personal finance book means educating the reader but analyzing and judging the diary.
An example: one featured couple’s diary sees them throwing extra payments at their 0% APR credit card debt while paying the bare minimum on their interest-bearing student loans. Many chapters later, in a spread of less than 2 pages that discusses paying down debt, it’s briefly mentioned that, hey, paying high-interest debt first might be a good idea. Having spent much time reading about personal finance, it was obvious – to me – that this couple’s strategy wasn’t the strongest and they’re going to spend significantly more than they need to in interest. But if you’re a newcomer to this world, you’ll read the couple’s diary, think, “Huh! What a nice couple!” and never make the connection that they’re screwing themselves over. An effective personal finance book would have pointed out for you: by paying interest-bearing debt first, this couple will save X amount of money over the coming year. As a bonus, it could run those savings through a compound calculator and see how much they’ll have in 30 years if they could have invested it instead.
(Also noted: the couple has a high enough income to wipe out both debts completely in less than a year, but chose not to – nor does the book even hint at such a possibility. Money Diaries is heavy on the “debt is serious but hey you’re still young and should have fun! Tee-hee!” philosophy, which makes me grit my teeth and roll my eyes and beat my chest in despair all at the same time and may be contributing to why I’m spending way too much a chunk of my life writing this review at all.)
All this stems from the fact the book itself doesn’t truly understand personal finance. There’s no cohesive philosophy: instead, it’s numerous other financial approaches – e.g. Your Money or Your Life, Dave Ramsey – repackaged and thrown at the reader in a manner that makes it feel knowledgeable but isn’t detailed enough to allow one to do anything with the information. It’s like throwing a whole bunch of mud at the wall and hoping some of it sticks. I get the sense that if I was new to personal finance, I would have read the whole thing, felt really inspired, and then walked away and never thought about this again because it’s too many concepts in too little detail to truly apply to any area of my life.
Finally, while the cover lists Lindsey Stanberry as the author, it should say, “with Priya Malani,” because at least 80% of the advice sections start with, “I asked Priya to tell me how…” or, “Priya helped me…” or, “Priya told the best way to…” and then proceeds to simply repeat whatever Priya said. This may explain the lack of depth. (Poor Priya gets nothing except a brief callout in the acknowledgements section, and even then her name is lumped together with a bunch of other people.)
I gave this book 2 stars because for the truly, absolute beginner whose money is a disaster, the process of seeing other people’s spending might encourage them to at least do their own money diary for a week and become more aware of their habits. And also because, if nothing else, it was entertaining to read (but in a train-wreck kind of way. On the website, the comments section has a culture of “people read this series just to write judgy comments.”) But in the hands of someone who actually wants to get their financial life in order, the cavalier, “oh you’re fine!” attitude without any philosophy or clear approach may actually lead to the kind of passivity and lack of improvement that will set you back.
Money Diaries is a book-ized version of the popular Money Diaries Refinery 29 web series, wherein millennial women spend a week recording every dollar they spend and then share it – along with their salary, debt, and other monthly expenses – with strangers on the internet. The series was started to increase transparency around personal finance and spending. While I wholeheartedly agree this mission, it does not automatically align with wise personal finance decisions. Many, many of the money diaries regularly feature poor understandings of finance and alarming spending habits (I think the avocado toast guy probably used these journals for the basis of his argument).
This isn’t necessarily problematic on the website: its goal is to share what people are spending, and that’s accomplished each time a new diary gets published. But the book version isn’t merely a collection of those journals in print: it’s a money diary, followed by financial advice in some arena of life (e.g. debt, relationships, education).
Now, if you’re going to write a book with the ostensible purpose of helping people get their personal finances in order, you need to do some actual analysis of spending and say: this is what worked, this is what didn’t, this is where you could improve. It’s not enough to present a diary, physically place it next to some financial information elsewhere on the page, and then hope the reader magically makes the connection between the two. Doing the analysis and making the connection is why you’re writing the book. But this poses a problem, because the entire point of the original Money Diary series was to present people’s spending sans judgment. These two goals are at odds: presenting what someone spends, no comment, makes it difficult to educate the reader; writing a personal finance book means educating the reader but analyzing and judging the diary.
An example: one featured couple’s diary sees them throwing extra payments at their 0% APR credit card debt while paying the bare minimum on their interest-bearing student loans. Many chapters later, in a spread of less than 2 pages that discusses paying down debt, it’s briefly mentioned that, hey, paying high-interest debt first might be a good idea. Having spent much time reading about personal finance, it was obvious – to me – that this couple’s strategy wasn’t the strongest and they’re going to spend significantly more than they need to in interest. But if you’re a newcomer to this world, you’ll read the couple’s diary, think, “Huh! What a nice couple!” and never make the connection that they’re screwing themselves over. An effective personal finance book would have pointed out for you: by paying interest-bearing debt first, this couple will save X amount of money over the coming year. As a bonus, it could run those savings through a compound calculator and see how much they’ll have in 30 years if they could have invested it instead.
(Also noted: the couple has a high enough income to wipe out both debts completely in less than a year, but chose not to – nor does the book even hint at such a possibility. Money Diaries is heavy on the “debt is serious but hey you’re still young and should have fun! Tee-hee!” philosophy, which makes me grit my teeth and roll my eyes and beat my chest in despair all at the same time and may be contributing to why I’m spending way too much a chunk of my life writing this review at all.)
All this stems from the fact the book itself doesn’t truly understand personal finance. There’s no cohesive philosophy: instead, it’s numerous other financial approaches – e.g. Your Money or Your Life, Dave Ramsey – repackaged and thrown at the reader in a manner that makes it feel knowledgeable but isn’t detailed enough to allow one to do anything with the information. It’s like throwing a whole bunch of mud at the wall and hoping some of it sticks. I get the sense that if I was new to personal finance, I would have read the whole thing, felt really inspired, and then walked away and never thought about this again because it’s too many concepts in too little detail to truly apply to any area of my life.
Finally, while the cover lists Lindsey Stanberry as the author, it should say, “with Priya Malani,” because at least 80% of the advice sections start with, “I asked Priya to tell me how…” or, “Priya helped me…” or, “Priya told the best way to…” and then proceeds to simply repeat whatever Priya said. This may explain the lack of depth. (Poor Priya gets nothing except a brief callout in the acknowledgements section, and even then her name is lumped together with a bunch of other people.)
I gave this book 2 stars because for the truly, absolute beginner whose money is a disaster, the process of seeing other people’s spending might encourage them to at least do their own money diary for a week and become more aware of their habits. And also because, if nothing else, it was entertaining to read (but in a train-wreck kind of way. On the website, the comments section has a culture of “people read this series just to write judgy comments.”) But in the hands of someone who actually wants to get their financial life in order, the cavalier, “oh you’re fine!” attitude without any philosophy or clear approach may actually lead to the kind of passivity and lack of improvement that will set you back.
Lots of fun! A few good tips and interesting money diaries. It reads exactly like the website.
Really really enjoyed this book. Unlike other personal finance books I didn’t get lost. In fact, I felt I understood every chapter and instead of closing this book feeling like a failure at my personal finances I walked away feeling empowered and knowledgeable. A huge thank you to the author for writing it in a way that is relatable and easy to process!
3.5 stars*
Money Diaries is a nonfiction, finance book inspired by the popular series on Refinery29 aiming to inspire millennials to take control of their debts, budgets, emergency funds, and savings for the future.
I'm not familiar at all with the popular web series so I found it very interesting to see how the 9 women included spent money. Each chapter focuses on a particular aspect of personal finance and explores a women's finances for a week, day by day and hour by hour. Much of these sections read like journal entries complete with day to day thoughts and mundane activities. I liked that a Money Diary was included per chapter because I can imagine how boring financial advice could be for a beginner. It was smart to disperse the Diaries throughout because this could get redundant if the entirety of the book followed the diary format.
I thought the book was easy to follow and very introductory for young women that haven't had much experience with finance. In other areas, that I was more knowledgeable about like mortgages and 401ks, I felt validated because the author never talks down to the reader. The weight and pressure of my student loan debt is difficult to bear but throughout these stories I felt a sense of justification for my decisions. Sometimes it's just nice to hear about women with similar struggles and issues as your own. While some may find the financial goals of saving for a rainy day fund depressing (this is a huge take away), I found it inspiring and within reach. I'm going to a bank soon to open up a high yield savings account.
Other chapters and advice annoyed me. It's really insulting to give advice to save money by trading in your daily Starbucks coffee order for a free coffee at the office. As if all millennials ridiculously spend their money at Starbucks every morning or have the luxury of free coffee at their place of work. These blind spots and assumptions are throughout and warn against going out to eating and drinking out all the time. I could see how older generations could get frustrated with the advice given in this book too because it's clearly aimed at easing the worries of millennials, specifically. If that means taking a less aggressive route to paying off student loan debt so you can live a little, then so be it. I like that message but I know some won't.
There's also an interesting chapter about finances in relationships and dating and I appreciated the bisexual women's accounts here. However, there were some eye roll inducing white people problems when discussing prenups, inheritances, and the horror of a breeder clause. I'm noisy though so I still read it all and learned a lot.
This book is very basic in it's format and advice. I found the audiobook entertaining with the diary portions so I still recommend it if you are interested and new to finance.
Money Diaries is a nonfiction, finance book inspired by the popular series on Refinery29 aiming to inspire millennials to take control of their debts, budgets, emergency funds, and savings for the future.
I'm not familiar at all with the popular web series so I found it very interesting to see how the 9 women included spent money. Each chapter focuses on a particular aspect of personal finance and explores a women's finances for a week, day by day and hour by hour. Much of these sections read like journal entries complete with day to day thoughts and mundane activities. I liked that a Money Diary was included per chapter because I can imagine how boring financial advice could be for a beginner. It was smart to disperse the Diaries throughout because this could get redundant if the entirety of the book followed the diary format.
I thought the book was easy to follow and very introductory for young women that haven't had much experience with finance. In other areas, that I was more knowledgeable about like mortgages and 401ks, I felt validated because the author never talks down to the reader. The weight and pressure of my student loan debt is difficult to bear but throughout these stories I felt a sense of justification for my decisions. Sometimes it's just nice to hear about women with similar struggles and issues as your own. While some may find the financial goals of saving for a rainy day fund depressing (this is a huge take away), I found it inspiring and within reach. I'm going to a bank soon to open up a high yield savings account.
Other chapters and advice annoyed me. It's really insulting to give advice to save money by trading in your daily Starbucks coffee order for a free coffee at the office. As if all millennials ridiculously spend their money at Starbucks every morning or have the luxury of free coffee at their place of work. These blind spots and assumptions are throughout and warn against going out to eating and drinking out all the time. I could see how older generations could get frustrated with the advice given in this book too because it's clearly aimed at easing the worries of millennials, specifically. If that means taking a less aggressive route to paying off student loan debt so you can live a little, then so be it. I like that message but I know some won't.
There's also an interesting chapter about finances in relationships and dating and I appreciated the bisexual women's accounts here. However, there were some eye roll inducing white people problems when discussing prenups, inheritances, and the horror of a breeder clause. I'm noisy though so I still read it all and learned a lot.
This book is very basic in it's format and advice. I found the audiobook entertaining with the diary portions so I still recommend it if you are interested and new to finance.