The Broke and Beautiful Life

by Stefanie O'Connell

After moving to New York City to become a Broadway actress, Stefanie O'Connell faced one of two inevitabilities when faced with unemployment--spiral into debt or learn how to effectively manage her money. Punctuated with humor, insight, and essential money management lessons, "The Broke and Beautiful Life" offers practical strategies to make smarter financial decisions today as a means to fulfill the goals and dreams of tomorrow.

Specializing in personal finance (with an emphasis on personal), Stefanie engages those who shy away from the word "investing," scoff at the word "budget," and equate interest rates with "snooze fest." She encourages readers to redefine their relationship with money and approach budgeting as an exciting and sexy tool to transform from broke to beautiful while enjoying every step along the way.

Genres: Nonfiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Getting by in New York from the quintessential "broke girl" perspective, NYC actress and writer, Stefanie O'Connell, lives by making her budget stretch. She chronicles her journey to find the balance between starving artist and prosperous city living on her blog, The Broke and Beautiful Life.

A graduate of New York University's drama and psychology programs at the height of the financial crisis, Stefanie discovered the world of financial planning out of necessity. Since then, she's been living her dream of performing while pinching pennies to make the rest of her goals a reality.

Stefanie and her work have been featured on such major media platforms as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, Forbes, Yahoo! Finance, MSN Money, AOL's Daily Finance, and many more. Connect with Stefanie and all things Broke and Beautiful on twitter @brokeandbeau.

Reviews

[TBR Roulette Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know she pointed out the difference between being frugal and being cheap, however most of these tips felt like being cheap. I think I was expecting more anecdotes on an actor's life. I did find a few helpful tips, but most of this was stuff I've learned elsewhere.

QUOTES:
"You can't resign to failing at something if you never committed to mastering it."

"What we perceive as being easier in the short term id often just avoidance of longer-term challenges."

[Casey Lalli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good- she gave a lot of good insight and broke down different financial options. My only complaint was that this read more like a Dave Ramsey book, and less like a "my struggles, my money, my story" memoir that I was looking for.

[Simonew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for those that haven’t read many books on budgeting and or finance . Written in a approachable way , I think the intended audience is someone i their 20’s to 30’s .

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at personal finance. Loved Stefanie's anecdotes.

Lots of info that you can find elsewhere but a good read nonetheless.