Money Diaries with She’s on the Money: The power in rewriting your money story

She's on the Money

by Victoria Devine

Do you know what your money story is - your personal set of beliefs and experiences around money that directly influence how you earn, save and spend?

Could your story be holding you back from the financial life you dream of?

Meet 25 incredible real-life Money Diarists who are digging deep, opening up and sharing their intimate money stories with finance expert Victoria Devine - to lift the lid on how money really works in our lives so we can all understand it better.

It's honest, it's eye-opening, and it's more juicy than you'd ever expect a book about money to be!

These inspiring and motivating stories will help you work out your own money story, how it impacts your behaviour, and how you can change your mindset about money to feel more in control. Plus there are money win tips from the savvy She's on the Money community in every chapter to help you pocket some easy savings (you're welcome!).

Money Diaries with She's on the Money will help you align your finances with your values, feel proud of your progress and gain confidence on your journey to financial freedom.

PLEASE When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

Genres: Nonfiction, Personal Finance

336 pages, Paperback

Published September 21, 2024

Reviews

[Naomi Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this! So insightful. Loved the questions in it to get you thinking

[Smitchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first of the "She's on the money" books I have engaged with so I am coming at this without being a fan. I also have not listened to more than a couple of the podcasts. Maybe if you are a podcast regular you will feel differently. This is a collection of people who have engaged with the "She's on the Money" podcast and shared their diaries. As might be expected it is full of people who have had tranformative money stories - form several hundred thousand in debt / bankruptcy / abuse / etc. to owning a home / massive income / financial stabilty. Of course, the stories in this book are the big changers. Just like a platform selling weight loss, a financial advice platform isn't going to centre stories of people who are just muddling along in the middle. I know this, you know this. There is nothing wrong with this as a motivational tool (or a selling tool, for do not mistake this: this book is one big advertisement to listen to the podcast). But if you don't keep that in mind as you read / listen, it might make some readers feel inadequate.

As I said, there is value in these stories but my issues with the book are manifold. Firstly pretty much every person interviewed either is or has been on incomes of more than $100,000 a year - sometimes significantly more. No shade, these women have worked hard to get where they are. But the average (Median) income in Australia is $75, 000 - that means 50% of Australians earn LESS THAN $75,000 a year. And for a lot of those people that is for their entire working life. I understand highlighting crazy success, but I would have love to hear some stories of people who make do with far less. I feel like someone who is not on that income level might well feel like there is something wrong with them. One of the many educational asides in the book might have dropped a little education about income disparity. There is a little bit at the end that talked about 'it is not what you earn but how you manage it' that makes your "money story" but the fact is in these days of insane rents and skyrocketing goceries you cannot budget your way out of a black hole, and there are many people who, through no fault of their own, have had their income stripped by inflation.

A lot of these people (not all) also had significant family assistance (either direct investment or indirectly through free accommodation, etc.) Again no shade to these people, I would not be in the financial position I am in with out my own family's assistance - but I did feel that this book would have benefited from a few more stories (I counted 2) of people who did not have these things. What about the single parents who have reduced earning capacity due to small children and / or disbility? What about the people who are slogging away in an average job, or in a small town with limited employment or education?
My other issue is some of the asides to give more information came across to me as fairly patronising - I don't know if it was just because I was listening to the audio and the tone of voice got me, or if it is because I already know a lot of the info given, so it might just be me feeling this way?

Anyway, there is some value here but I do also feel like anyone reading / listening also needs to keep one eye on the perspective that this is essentially an advertorial for a financial advice podcast.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I flew through this book, so that alone should attest to its quality. This was a fascinating read and somehow didn't feel repetitive despite going through story after story of people's relationship to money and the narrative they create about it. I appreciated how short and succinct each was, which I think helped minimize any potential to be redundant. In a matter of minutes, we got to walk through the highs and lows of how people struggled with money, turned their habits around, and reflect on how they can do better going forward. I not only found it helpful to hear from them and pick up on things I want to implement in my own life, but I also found myself cheering on these strangers and feeling proud when I heard about what they overcame to get there.

A couple of quirks:
- I did think it was strange that there wasn't a more diverse pool of stories; for instance, only one guy was selected
- I understand that Devine's role is to hype people up, and I'm sure they appreciated it, but I didn't find those kind of comments useful or helpful as a reader. In some cases, the storyteller was demonstrating a real desire to think critically about their privilege and circumstances, and Devine interjected to assure them that the reason they'd gotten there was due to their hard work alone. I get it; sometimes, we can be too hard on ourselves and need someone to remind us that we do deserve good things. At the same time, I think Devine's comments in this case just rang hollow and didn't add anything. I will say that Devine did add helpful context about financial concepts in other sections, which I appreciated.

[Michele Cecillia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I unfortunately found no benefit in it and learned nothing useful I didn't already know. Multiple times I was concerned that this book may be mistaken by young women as financial advice. Nothing in the book you won't find for free in a Facebook group or on Reddit if you just join the right groups and engage in the discussions - which is far more productive given the opportunity for discourse. I love that She's On The Money has given young women the tools they need to achieve financial empowerment. This book, however, isn't one of those tools and feels more like a money grab than anything helpful.

[Elisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a written version of the money diaries SOTM does via podcast each week. Love the power of understanding money stories, and think it's really valuable to understand multiple experiences and perspectives, but I think this works better as an audio exercise generally. However the journal prompts to help you understand your own money story do work well in book format. If you haven't heard the podcasts give it a read.

[Yelleana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some inspiring information but nothing groundbreaking. I find the “author” at times condescending but I do believe in the ethos of promoting financial literacy to women and celebrating wins. You won’t learn anything groundbreaking but it is encouraging to read about positive steps in the lives of individual women within their financial journey.

[Sophie Pentecost · Rating 5 out of 5]

She’s on the Money by Victoria Devine is a super relatable, no-nonsense guide to budgeting, saving, and investing. It breaks things down in a way that actually makes sense, making it perfect for anyone who wants to get their money sorted without the boring finance talk.

[tahliareadstoomuch · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 ⭐️

Do not read this if you are looking for financial information/help. It’s more a book of stories of people in many different and how they’ve set themselves up financially. Is a good read for if you are feeling a bit down about your financial situation; reminder there is always a way out.

[Tegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am an avid listener to the SOTM Money Diaries podcast episodes. When I'd learned about the SOTM Money Diaries book, I had to jump on it right away. This was a great read!

[BingeReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about other people’s money stories.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top notch book. With some great motivation.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very Aussie focused which made it less useful for me but loved some of the stories regardless

[A.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

My local library saved me $3379.39

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one much more than the first book. Interesting to hear sooooo many examples of real people’s salaries, debts, and stories.

[Akhilla Kakivai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Detailed and well explained as usual