Das liebe Geld: Sei nett zu ihm, dann ist es immer bei dir

by Kate Northrup

Der liebevolle Weg zur Unabhängigkeit vom Geld Kate Northrup zeigt auf humorvolle und nachvollziehbare Weise, wie man mit Geld richtig umgeht. Bei ihr ist der Weg zur finanziellen Unabhängigkeit auch der Schlüssel zur existenziellen und spirituellen Freiheit. Es kommt nicht darauf an, wieviel man hat, sondern wie man es für die Selbstentfaltung nutzt. In die eigene Kraft kommen, auch finanziell erlernbar mit einleuchtenden Beispielen und in kleinen, achtsamen Schritten. Mit Geld muss man umgehen wie mit einem Partner, rücksichtsvoll, umsichtig und nicht zuletzt liebevoll. Praktische Vernunft ist ebenso wichtig wie die richtige emotionale Einstellung. Nur wer sein Leben und sich selbst liebt, kann auch mit seinem Geld klarkommen. Dieses Buch will nicht erklären, wie man reich wird, sondern wie man den Weg des Geldes so geht, dass man seine Lebensträume realisiert.

Genres: Nonfiction, Money, Finance, Self Help, Business, Personal Development, Personal Finance

288 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 2013

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is hard to rate. I was ready to love it. I opened myself to it. I did the first several exercises with soul and with gusto. If I had rated it one chapter in, I probably would have given it four or five stars. Then things got strange. The author started to lose me when she began talking about finding more money in what you already have and advised consigning some of those "designer outfits you have in your closet". What? I totally forgot to have any designer outfits in my closet to be able to consign! Then, she starts giving harmful advice, like when she suggests, in a money management book, that the reader go to Target and buy scrap-booking materials to decorate a budget. Can she not see the problem here? Someone who was really struggling with debt (and I'm thankful I'm not in that situation) is being told that she'll be able to finally get her money under control if she just buys the right organization tool. It's like giving an alcoholic a drink so that he can face his AA meeting. The worst part comes when you get to the end of the book and realize (or maybe someone less blindly, naively hopeful would have realized it sooner) that the whole production is really a soft-sell about joining the author's pyramid scheme hawking health products. I felt used and betrayed. Sure, I still have all of the insight I gained by completing those exercises, but it's like I let someone get me naked, only to find out she wanted to sell me body cream. Here's what I would recommend. Find the book in a bookstore and read the first chapter and the last chapter, and the appendix, stopping before you read her sales pitch in the section called "Network Marketing". There are definitely some helpful exercises, explanations, and suggestions in this book. The good ones, though, all seem to be recycled from other authors and practitioners. In the back of the book, there's a resources list of the books, websites, and courses of the authors she extensively and frequently quotes from. Since she openly admits that the advice, activities, and awareness come from other people, why not give your dollars to them instead of to this middlewoman? I am probably being over-dramatic, but I really resent that part of the mega-fortune she is making is from my $15.95.

[Allie Mullin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not finish this book.

The idea of positively reframing expenses is great, but not original. My own debt is from paying for school and medical bills, so I could not relate to her "saga" of escaping 20K of credit card debt on frivolous things.

Northrup is not very aware of her privilege, and selling this "I'm just like you and I got out of debt!" schtick reinforces her ignorance of what struggles people actually go through when faced with true poverty (choosing which utility bill to pay, spending the bare minimum at the grocery store, working multiple jobs) without a safety net of affluent parents or a passive-income business. This is not a very practical book.

[JH · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were a few unique ideas in here. What really stuck with me was just the info I heard from an author in an interview, which is that you should spend your money in line with your values. I took this to mean that, for example, as long as you are out of debt and spending responsibly in most areas you shouldn't feel bad if you enjoy going to Whole Foods and choosing organic produce because this is spending in line with your values. Worth thinking about.

In general, I didn't take a whole lot else away from reading this book. The author grew up extremely privileged, and I don't care how hard she may have worked to end up with passive income from her "network marketing" job, the fact is that she did start out riding her famous doctor/author/friend of Oprah mom's coat tails. It's easy to sell USANA products to your parents friends and your friends parents when you're 17 if you're living in a certain type of affluent community and your mom can afford to fly you to sales conferences. The author acknowledged her blessings, but she didn't seem to consider that the rest of us might not find much inspiration from that story. Being able to get out of $20,000 credit card debit in 6 months says it all- she curbed her spending on some travel and self-help stuff and was able to do that? Most people could only achieve that same thing if they quit buying groceries and paying their rent. Oh yeah, but she lived in an apartment that her mom paid for...in Manhattan. And student loan debt wasn't ever an issue because her Brown education was paid for by her mom's book royalties- very nice, and she seems super grateful, but she can't exactly relate to many of her readers. This made it hard for me to connect to her.

In general, if you want some inspiration for getting out of debt, or some general new age advice (of which I'm a huge fan) about money, give this book a try. At least it's a quick read.

[Ami · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kate Northrup has successfully used her privileged upbringing, her mother's fame and connections, and her obvious explorations into how to best market herself as an expert to gain a huge audience in a short period of time in order to try and recruit them into her network marketing (multi-level marketing or MLM) pyramid scheme.

I read the book. I did the exercises. I watched her videos. I signed up for her email list. I wanted to learn more about, and change my relationship to, money. And then I realized what was happening...

As many have pointed out, Kate has never had to deal with any real financial struggle. At some point though, she realized that she could turn her highly privileged shopping binges and the debt they accrued into a sob story that people would relate to, and that she could build an empire as a financial expert upon the "I once had debt and now I don't" story. Once she had successfully used her mother's fame and connections to publish a book, be interviewed by well-known lifestyle and spiritual leaders, and build a huge email list, she started using her status as an admired expert to recruit people to sign up under her in her MLM of choice, USANA.

She makes money off of every single person who signs up for what she calls "The Freedom Family," an endeavor she created which is just a disgustingly disguised and misnamed ruse to abuse the trust she has garnered from well-meaning people and profit off of it. According to USANA itself, her mother is already a millionaire in the company (thanks to her celebrity, much like John Gray with another MLM, Isagenix), and I am sure Kate is well on her way to becoming one too if she is not already.

The premiere watchdog group for MLMs and Pyramid Schemes, pyramidschemealert (dot) org, has exposed USANA as a scam and reports that by the company's own numbers 99% of the people who sign up for it never make a profit.

These numbers are public information. Kate Northrup knows the facts. And yet she uses her influence to sign as many people up under her as she can, ensuring that she is financially "free" at the expense of her admirers and those who trust her. If you google her name none of this comes up; I've only been able to find people calling it out here on Goodreads and on Amazon's reviews. Here's hoping the word spreads and that people stop falling for this scam.

[Marie Poulin · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was some good advice here... a lot of it I had encountered before in other books/workshops, though there were certainly some good reminders and suggestions.
I do enjoy Kate's blog and writing, but I did find it hard to relate to her money story. I know that she earned her money via Network marketing, and seemed to put in a lot of work to make it happen... so given that she has always earned a lot of money, it was hard to sympathize with her Money Story of getting into 20k in debt. The fact of the matter is, she always had steady income, and her apartment was paid for, and she never really needed to "worry" about money. Yes, of course, she wanted to be self-sustaining and not rely on her mother's money or success, but that is a pretty major security blanket that a lot of us don't have. Going into 20k worth of debt because you are buying beautiful clothes and flying around the world is a bit hard to relate to as a "sob story" about debt. That being said, her story doesn't negate the great advice, which did inspire me to pick up some projects I had put on the backburner.
I think it was a little heavy on the "biography" and could have used a bit more tangible/practice advice, or even general research on financial habits and practices. What I did like was the reframing of your money story to remove the guilt in order to move forward and change habits.
Overall, a good reminder, and could see how it would be very useful to anyone who might be new to some of the psychology behind money behaviour.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is ok. The tips she gives on adjusting one's attitude about finances are helpful - i.e. referring to bills as "IBARS" - Invoices for Benefits Already Received. The reframing of having to pay your cell phone bill to getting another month of easy access to connect with and talk to friends, family, and business colleagues is helpful.

I also toiled with her priviledge, which she does too. In one case, it's actually rather legitimizing that even though she has all the wealth in the world and her mother paid for everything, she was still getting into mountains of credit card debt. It's not about how much you have, it's about what you do with what you have.

That being said, there are some recommendations that she as a wealthy white female is able to easily adhere to that others simply cannot. We cannot all go out and chase our financial dreams if we're helping support our family or have been discriminated against because of race and class. There's zero discussion about the impact of those factors here.

Finally, her recommendations for transferring your earning income from one to one to residual is smart in a capitalist system. But not everyone can do that. A majority of the workforce works hours into income - we all cannot publish a book or run a pyramid system business. So though I found a lot of this helpful, many of the suggestions are completely out of my reach and I'm ok with that.

[Deana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm actually pretty happy with our financial situation at the moment, but I figure it can never hurt to learn more and make further improvements. This book was rated highly somewhere (I forget where exactly, didn't note it here like I usually do) and looked cute, so it's been on my TBR for a while. When it fit a challenge, I picked it up from the library.

But as you can see from my 2 star rating, I wasn't particularly impressed. Which is kind of interesting, because I seem to be the first person ever to select quotes (yes, plural! Not just one!) from this book to add to GoodReads. It does have some useful and interesting pieces, and did get me to think quite a bit about why I feel the way I do about some aspects of finance. It's very interesting how she pulls in your past personal life into your financial decisions.

Specific pieces that I really liked:
1. Help yourself before you help others, when it comes to money. As she points out, if you give money you can't really afford to help someone else, "we just get two people who are living sub-optimal lives". She likens this to the idea that you getting sick doesn't help a sick person. You going hungry doesn't help a hungry person. Similarly, you being poor doesn't help a poor person. But she is definitely in favor of helping others with your disposable money, assuming you have some. Charity ranks pretty highly.

2. I really liked this also, so much I'll just post the entire quote here:
“Before you start feeling bad about yourself for your debt, this would be a good moment to remind yourself that money doesn't exist--it's just a system of value exchange. That's it. Pure and simple. So, if you have debt, you've received value and you've not given the equivalent value back to the particular party in the exchange yet. That's all it means. It doesn't mean you're a bad person. It doesn't mean you're a screwup. You're not hopeless. You're not a mess. You simply have more value to give.”

While I didn't do ALL of the exercises that she recommends, I did a few of them that I thought would be useful for my personal situation. I even printed out a few of the worksheets from her website. There are definitely some good takeaways there, especially the idea of "Invoices for Blessings Already Received" (IBAR). Even though that is one of the corniest names EVER, the idea is a good one. It's really just a shift in thinking -- you have to pay your bills anyway, but rather than thinking of it as money down the drain, you try to recall what you are actually paying for in the first place. As an example:
"Take your car loan, for example. You’ve likely traveled thousands of miles in your car and had the opportunity to do tons of things you would not have gotten the chance to do if you didn’t have your fine set of wheels. This step is about taking inventory of all the ways your life is better because of the debt you’ve incurred or the overspending you’ve done."

And yet, I give the book only 2 stars. Why is this?

Well, first of all, the book isn't for everyone. It makes the assumption that you have a good (or really good!) income at your disposal, but you chose to live outside your means buying too many designer purses and a sports car and traveling all over. One of her main tips is to remove these types of things from your life for a while until your debt is in a more reasonable place. At one point she recommends consigning some of the designer outfits in your closet that you never wear. Some of the activities that she has in her book she recommends that you go to Target and buy a bunch of scrapbooking materials and markers and colorful stickers and paper in order to create a "cute" board to display things on to make doing the activities more fun and less of a chore.

But the thing is, not everyone HAS designer outfits in their closet that they DO wear, let alone ones that are just gathering dust. And spending money on a "cute" board to help with your finances is a little bit counter-intuitive if you really ARE hurting for cash. I'd imagine many of the people who pick up a book to help with their financial situation are living paycheck to paycheck, making piddly while they work some crap hourly wage job.

But of course, if you do have an upper middle class income but somehow manage to spend it all on clothes and purses and a fancy car, this book is probably helpful to you.

And the final major complaint: the book eventually turns into a promotion of her suspiciously-pyramid-scheme-sounding business, especially in the second half of the book. Come join my company! This is the best way to earn money and give yourself financial freedom! I'd be especially wary of these claims...

[Lorilin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. Like the author, I, too, love reading financial advice books. Your Money or Your Life, The Millionaire Next Door, and The Total Money Makeover have all helped me get out of debt, build an emergency fund, and contribute monthly to my IRA. I have a much better handle on my money now than I did five years ago, and yet I still enjoy a good book about finances--and especially a good financial come-back story.

Unfortunately, Money, A Love Story fell flat to me. It isn't that Northrup gives terrible money advice all the way through. In fact, she gives some really good advice at parts...but it is mostly regurgitated from other books! And even the advice that is more about encouragement and self-help (and less specifically about money) still originates from self-help books she's read and seminars she has attended. She quotes so often from other books that her own book reads like a college essay: yes, there are a lot of ideas in there, but they aren't original to her, and she hasn't added anything unique to the discussion.

I suppose other readers might argue that Northrup shares her personal story, and THAT is what makes this book unique. But Northrup's personal story is one that I simply cannot relate to at all. She is unbelievably privileged--and, honestly, in and of itself, who cares?! People are born into poverty and people are born into wealth; that isn't something we can control. However, it became irritating to me to keep reading how she had "struggled" to pay off her $20,000 in debt and get right with her money, when all of her debt was accumulated through shopping trips at high-end department stores and the way she eventually paid off that debt was by selling and moving out of her condo (paid for by her wealthy mother) and moving into said mother's comfortably accommodating home. Northrup acknowledges at several points that she is lucky to have the parents she has and privileged to have had the experiences that having money allowed her, but I feel like she also tries too hard to push a "I am you, you are me, we are the same, and we are in this together" mentality. It just doesn't work, because it isn't true. And the more she focused on that, the more distant I felt as a reader.

In short, I did not enjoy this book like I thought I would. However, if you are just starting to learn about money, haven't read many other books on the subject, and grew up wealthy, you honestly may enjoy it. Still, I would highly recommend the three books I listed above before I would ever suggest reading Money, A Love Story.

See more of my reviews at www.BugBugBooks.com!

[Mounica · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book irritated me quite a bit and I'll tell you why. I picked it up since it's a different subject matter from what I usually read and I genuinely am curious to learn more about financial literacy and independence.

First off, the author is a wealthy white female who drips of privilege left and right, having spent the majority of her childhood and adult life reaping the benefits of her affluent parents' lucrative medical careers. I did some Googling and found out her mother is a physician, who in recent years, spread a tremendous amount of misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic and her anti-vax beliefs to her Facebook following (e.g. https://www.pressherald.com/2021/05/0...)... Yikes.

From the get-go, you'll discover that Kate Northrup moved to NYC in an apartment funded by her mother, landed herself in $20K worth of debt, and solved that problem by 1) eliminating high-end expenses and 2) selling her apartment and moving back to her mother's house.

It is difficult for me (and most readers, I assume?) to find any inspiration from "advice" written by this sort of person. The vast majority of adults in America do not have a personal financial situation similar to Northrup's. Her guidance/exercises provided in this book are mostly regurgitated from the long list of books, websites, and other resources from the authors she credits at the end. She does not contribute much (or any) of her own opinions to the discussion.

My conclusion: Every now and then I think it's interesting to engage with content you really don't resonate with and examine why that's the case, so I don't entirely regret the time I spent reading this book.

[GONZA · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some great and easy tips to learn how to manage money in this book, too bad that some of them take for granted that money is there ;) or even just a job, or a more or less fix salary ....

Ci sono ottimi e facili suggerimenti per imparare a gestire i soldi in questo libro, peccato che alcuni prevedano che a monte i soldi ci siano, o anche solo un lavoro, o uno stipendio piú o meno fisso....

THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND HAY HOUSE FOR THE PREVIEW!

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to preface that I'm a financial planner and have read a lot of money books over the years. I can't say that I thought her story would be relatable to many and I felt like she kept rehashing the same lessons over and over again.

I did get a few insights from the exercises, but would recommend Overcoming Underearning if you're looking to move forward fast. This particular book is very elementary and is suitable for beginners.

[Andy Nieradko · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read fifty times my weight in self-help books, but Kate Northrup's "Money A Love Story" takes the cake as the one I had the most resistance to. I don't think I'm unique in the sense that money is a hot button, uncomfortable, emotional issue for me. It brings up a lot of fear and pain. I'd rather discuss my sex life with my mom, than discuss financial matters. That said, this book was a real eye opener for me. The author has been there, and done that when it comes to debt and overspending. The fact that she has overcome those stumbling blocks, and created a healthy, abundant financial situation for herself is extremely inspiring. Her book really gets to the heart of the issues surrounding money. Stepping into prosperity thinking is not an overnight change. I suppose that could be the case for some, but for many of us it's about baby steps, and not taking any leaps before we're ready. My favorite part of Kate's book, is where she shows how Esther Hick's Abraham material fits into financial planning, and taking an active role in being money minded. This is a fantastic book, a fun read, and inspiring. Certainly one to keep around, and reread over the years. I look forward to reading future books by Kate Northrup. I received this book for free from Hay House Publishing for review purposes. My opinion is mine alone, I encourage you to formulate one for yourself after reading this book.

[Maranda Carvell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, but I struggled to find any value in it whatsoever. Northrup is so privileged, she is completely clueless about what real life is like for most people. Her story of racking up consumer debt despite a good income and then paying it off by shopping less isn't terribly inspiring or helpful. I appreciated her attitude towards money but there is very little in the way of practical information here (check your bank balance, know how much your bills are) and some of her advice seems actually reckless for someone with money troubles, like spending money on a wallet that makes you feel affluent, or doing out for dinner with your spouse to make a date of paying bills and arranging your finances, or spending money on scrapbooking supplies to make your financial calendar pretty. Need more money? Just consign some of those designer items in your closet that you don't really wear! That's even worse advice than the cliched latte a day example. Any actual financial advice is either limited to her network marketing experience or borrowed from other well known books, and that is advice is sparse.

I like Northrup's attitude and think she seems like a a kind and spiritual woman, but this book really fails to deliver.

[Eva · Rating 2 out of 5]

I must admit I loved the honesty of author where she shares openly her personal money issues and getting into and out of debt. BUT overall I find this book a little immature. Why? For it carries so much the mindset I developed in my late teens and carried throughout my 20s - while I was doing financially fine, most of the time at least, I cannot say I felt happy or fulfilled in money matters. I wanted to be independent. I wanted to have my freedom and my money. Looking back, it sounds really codependent. Pushing away connections with other people actually blocks the circulation of money energy. None of us is an island - no woman, no man. Wanting to be one is something I experienced back in those years and to me also this is the motto of this book. Of course you have to know how to calculate your expenses and make a budget! But you cannot be fully self-reliant as such a thing does not exist. I'd rather read books how to safely depend on someone I trust and open the circle of trust towards my business partners, employer or employees and the whole society. How to safely depend on other people and be dependable myself is something I'd love to read about.

[Emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book/save loads of money/be better with money but I couldn't get past the second chapter. I found it painful.

It's about a woman who was $20,000 in credit card debt while paying no rent living in a flat her mum owned who escaped said debt by flogging savings advice and becoming a speaker.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm abandoning this halfway through. I simply can't tolerate Northrup's patronizing tone or her implications that all women are bad with money and only interested in clothes. Some of the exercises here are valuable, but I found myself rolling my eyes way too often while reading this.

[Chris Arnini · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just ok, did not find a lot of useful information in it for me, not many original ideas. I do get what she is trying to say but at the same time she is coming from a very privileged upbringing (living in NYC rent free??).

[Sarah Young]

A few good tips, quick read.

[Sonya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book on positive thinking over your money....a bit of a lead in to her MLM business...overall ok. I pushed thru.

[Brittney Mofley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up on the “Dave Ramsey” bandwagon. Within the Christian culture I grew up in, legalism, judgement towards others and lack mentality were prevalent and Dave Ramsey’s methods seemed to be weaponized to create a toxic guilt around finances. In all my life, all the people I’ve know who were obsessed with Dave Ramsey never seemed to actually achieve abundance. I’m sure others have had different experiences, but that was mine. I pretty much felt like a hamster in a wheel... perpetually trying to get out of debt. Funny thing is, when your focus is DEBT, it’s kind of what you are attracting to you. Kate’s book came at the perfect moment in time for me personally and it was the exact shift in mindset I needed to uncover the root issues around my constant anxiety around money and build confidence in my own potential to attract what I want in life. I think people who are actually looking to connect their problems with finances to something on a spiritual level and do the work to create a new mindset- will love this book. If you are unwilling to learn from someone who grew up more “privileged” than you, you might have a problem with this book. 🤷🏻‍♀️ All I know is, this book along with the BadAss books by Jen Sincero and law of attraction books like “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill have COMPLETELY transformed the way I view money this year- and my bank account shows the fruit of that. Do what works for you.

[Liisa Aavik · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a relaxing and nice read when you are looking to make changes towards a healthy money mindset. It has many journal exercises to change your mindset which is very practical. You are not just superficially going over someone else's text, but also having new thought processes in your own head. One of the things that I will definitely be taking along is concentrating on what I am looking to feel like when buying something (e.g. sage to burn it) maybe not so necessary - focus on the feeling and then try to get that feeling with some free tools.

What I didn't like were the "women have vagina problems because of money issues" and chakra talk. Mention chakras and medical statements with no proof and you lose me. If the author is going to randomly talk about vaginas then they should at least provide some proof (actual research).

[Karianne Giard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book… It’s my first book on personal finances and I totally enjoyed it! I must say that even though the author gives great advice, she come’s from a wealthy environment and therefor even if she had financial issue, she never was close to bankruptcy or real financial problems. However, fun read

[Alex Cook · Rating 2 out of 5]

As soon as I started the first chapter, I knew this book couldn't help. She worked for a "network marketing" (aka multi level marketing aka pyramid scheme) and comes from money. The author fully admits her privilege, but as someone who is trying to pay off my own (self created, I know) debt while paying rent, etc, it is hard for me to take this book seriously when the author was living in an apt in NYC that was paid for by her mom.

[Annie Rose]

lessons on abundance!

[Kitty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here is the deal about this book, it's hard to take it seriously after the intro. The author admits in her first chapter to being a spoiled rich kid, who once out on her own, managed to rack of $20,000 of credit card debt while hypocritically traveling around the US telling other people how to manage money. That was her low point in life, she was still making tons of money throughout this time (6 figures), and was running a business by riding the coattails of her mother.
Her attempt to make you feel for her, or respect her as something that has "come so far" falls extremely short. The advice she gives is lacking, but her focus is primarily on understanding your mental relationships with money. If you've already read 20+ personal finance books before this, then maybe as a last resort pick this one up. If you do the journals she suggest, you may learn something about yourself. However, apart from the topics she gives you to dwell and journal on...the rest of the book is pretty empty.

[Emma Inwood · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't get past one of the very first chapters, in which she tells us her money story with the idea that we will identify with it.

Nope. Her story did not resonate with me, and I felt like she was less qualified to be writing a book like this.

Here's what you need to know before buying this book. She grew up very privileged and spends most of the chapter telling you about her many privileges in life - the child of two successful doctors, nice vacations, never having to worry about money, ever. Then her parents get divorced and her mom is now on her own financially - except she is a high-earner herself, so the financial struggle - it's just not there. The author builds a MLM business because her mother gave it to her. Her mother gave her a free apartment in NYC to live in. Author somehow goes into debt despite having a passive income stream and free rent. And now we're supposed to learn something from her.

I'm still rolling my eyes.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did get some good information from this book but it was a srtuggle to overlook the author;s clear lack of what it means to be truly poor as in not sure how you;re going to keep the electricity turned off kind of poor. She comes across as frivolous and although I bet there's much more to her than that and I think she truly does want to help people it's very annoying when she defines herself as qualified to speak on poverty because she was in deep credit card debt from buying too many designer pieces. Why she had to move home to fix it! :-) For many like myself moving home is not an option and the money doesn't exist to be reallocated. That said the book had some real gems and I don't at all regret buying it and reading it. It's worth the read just skip over the parts where she thinks she's "keeping it real" :-)

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the start when Kate was all like - I was in soooo much debt but because I was earning loads all I had to do was stop buying shoes for a couple weeks and I could pay off my debt - I was kind of like - hmmmm, not totally sure I can relate to this.

I've been in debt, worked in bars, cleaned toilets and had to use credit for groceries. A very different money history than Kate who seems to have had her folks bail her out whenever she needed it even if she 'wanted to do it herself'.

But working through this book gave me a chance to drop my judgements on Kate's privileged background and actually learn something. The activities made me think about my own relationship to money and took me to a place that had nothing to do with Kate, and everything to do with my own issues and blocks around money.

I highly recommend it to anyone with money struggles, no matter how difficult.

x

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a lot of good advice & tips for rethinking your relationship with money & paying off debt. However, at times it felt like an advertisement for USANA. Also, this author has never actually been in a situation where she was struggling with income, and so she cannot really relate to those of us struggling to live paycheck-to-paycheck without money to invest in business opportunities to raise our residual/passive income. She's gotten herself into & out of a lot of credit card debt, true, but that's not really the same thing.

[Tristesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is the typical financial advice here but it comes at you through the filter of naming your values and spending in alignment with them. I particularly like the section on True Financial Freedom because obviously that sounds great to me.

I committed to reading this book and doing the exercises like a course and in this way benefit from the advise. So let's see if I am financially free in a few years shall we!