In this New York Times bestseller, journalist and financial expert Nicole Lapin shows women how to take charge of their lives by taking charge of their money. Do your eyes glaze over just thinking about the mumbo-jumbo language of finance? Do you break out into hives when faced with getting your financial life together? Well, sister, you are not alone. In Rich Bitch , money expert and financial journalist Nicole Lapin lays out a 12-Step Plan in which she shares her experiences—mistakes and all—of getting her own finances in order. She talks to you not like a lecturer but as your friend. And even though money is typically an “off-limits” conversation, nothing is off-limits here. Lapin rethinks every piece of financial “wisdom” you’ve ever heard and puts her own fresh, modern, sassy spin on it. Sure, there are some hard-and-fast rules about finance, but when it comes to your money, the only person who can tell you how to spend it is you. Should you invest in a 401(k)? Maybe not. Should you splurge on that morning latte? Likely yes. Instead of focusing on nickel-and-diming yourself, Nicole’s advice focuses on investing in yourself so you don’t have to stress over the little things. Rich Bitch rehabs whatever bad money habits you might have and provides a plan you can not only sustain, but also thrive on. You won’t feel deprived but rather inspired to go after the rich life you deserve, and confident enough to call yourself a rich bitch.
Nicole Lapin is the New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author of Rich Bitch, Boss Bitch, Becoming Super Woman and Miss Independent. She has been an anchor on CNN, CNBC and Bloomberg as well as the host of the business reality competition show, "Hatched" that aired on the CW for the first season and CBS for the second. She is the founder of Money News Network, a pioneer business- and finance-focused podcast network, which is the home of her daily show “Money Rehab” that reached #1 on Apple’s business charts as well as “Help Wanted” that she co-hosts with the editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur Magazine Jason Feifer, among other shows on their slate.
I was a bit surprised at how much I enjoyed this personal finance book. Perhaps that is a bit unfair of me, but I've read enough 'for women' personal finance books to get very annoyed at the whole "you go girlfriend" tone most of them take. However, Rich Bitch, although it does have that language, manages to not step over the linguistic line into patronizing caricature.
Lapin's overall points are solid - and are par for the course in any personal finance book. But what I really enjoyed was her emphasis on supporting yourself (yes, she does mention pre-nuptial agreements), achieving more for your career (whether you're the boss or not), and balancing your money with your life goals - whatever they may be. I did really enjoy that she truly encourages women to be self sufficient in life and in money.
I really liked her 70/15/15 split for finances that she recommends. It's 70% of your income for Essentials (home, mortgage, rent, car, groceries (but not necessarily dinners out), cable, internet, phone etc.) 15% for the Endgame - i.e. Saving! Retirement, rainy day funds, emergency funds, education for your kids etc. and 15% for the Extras - spend as you will! Trips, clothes, dinners out, etc.
It works much better in larger cities where housing costs are higher. For example - the traditional 50/30/20, says that 50% of your income should go towards fixed costs (i.e. housing), but in a large city like mine where housing prices are extremely high and rental costs in good areas are equally high it often means many people are spending 50%, or more, of their income on just their housing, never mind other fixed expenses.
By breaking it down into a 70/15/15 split Rich Bitch gives you the wiggle room to afford a place that isn't a closet while still calculating room for saving and spending.
My only quibble is that although 15% of your income to save is a good amount, many other advisors recommend 20% to save for a comfortable retirement, plus if you are also saving for eduction, rainy day/emergency funds, house down payments and more, 15% may not cut it. And if you're also trying to pay down non-mortgage debt at the same time this will cut into your savings. However, those are specifics that you need to determine for yourself and how you categorize and manage your own budget.
I will point out that this is a book written for a U.S. audience, so Canadians will have to replace words like 401K with RRSP for themselves.
Overall, a very solid introductory personal-finance read. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to any young woman starting out after university, or to anyone who doesn't have a strong grasp of basic personal finance and investment opportunities.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the copy!
I have no background in finance and a super limited understanding of it at all. Every time I try to get more information I just end up confused. This is the first book I've read where I left feeling like I had learned something and knew what to do when I put the book down. I think it's a great book for anyone (as long as swearing doesn't really put you off) and especially great for people just trying to really figure out their finances.
While there is some decent advice in this book, I found it to be completely unrelatable. She didn’t have student loans to deal with, has never had more than $5,000 in debt, has a clothing and beauty allowance at work in addition to a personal $500 clothing budget line, and makes a 6 figure salary. For those of us with low salaries, significant student loans, and lots of financial anxiety trying to find a way to make it work, this book was pretty useless. I found her $8,000/month budget example insulting and out of touch. Perhaps this book is intended for high figures gals with shopaholic tendencies who need advice on what to do with all their dang disposable income (and not for struggling public servants who already have 2 jobs). Luckily for these readers, the author does recommend “trampoline classes!”
My son and daughter-in-law have been reading/listening to a lot of non-fiction regarding business, financial planning, and some self-help stuff. A few of them I downloaded for my own listening. This was one of them. This felt a little dated even though it is only 5 years old. But things in the financial world can change suddenly.
I thought this had some useful information for my young adult children who are just starting out on their own. I'm not sure they could read enough when it comes to financial advice. So for them, I would give this 4 stars. For me, it was probably about 3 because this wasn't new information. I really liked the author's narration of this. She did a great job. I loved her attitude about owning who you are. So, I'll go with 4 stars.
I'm a guy. So it was funny to hear how the author (who also was the narrator) asked me to repeat things like "I'm a rich bitch" and how she was going to prepare me to be one.
This is a 12 steps kind of book. Some chapters are VERY basic and at first I thought this book would be average but it became extremely helpful when Nicole explained mortgages, investments, retirements and other things that are specific to the USA. The thing is, I just moved in to America, so those things will be extremely helpful - and I'm not even a girl (so I'll never be a rich bitch - maybe a rich... Dude?).
The chapter about finding your relevant other was, well, silly I think. You can't tell what to look for in another person, it simply isn't that much of a cold decision for most people.
I enjoyed some 7-8 of the 12 steps and I will buy the hardcover to use as a reference.
I'm learning more about personal finance and I thought this was a really nice beginning book (if you don't mind some cursing) There were parts that I felt were a tad long and some part I wish there was some more elaboration on. I like the vibe in this book which wants you to be independent with money and a few tips on how to get ahead in the working world. I would recommend this book if you are learning about budgeting and more. ~Ashley
It was a very entertaining book to read, but towards the end of the book it felt like there was advice not necessarily applicable to me...or at least not at this time so I kind of drifted away when reading it. But she does make a lot of financial info way more understandable
I recently have been getting more into financial self-help books, and I heard of Nicole Lapin through a podcast I listen to. I enjoyed her advice and energy, so I looked up her books and decided to start with Rich Bitch. I could tell from the first few pages I was going to love this one. There are plenty of tangible tasks I could take on, and I read with a notebook next to me so I could continually take notes on how to help get my financial life in a good spot. I appreciated Nicole’s personal stories that she interjected along the way, and her writing style matched what I enjoy reading in the fiction space. As a 30-something female I really felt an easy connection with this one, and I will be happily be downloading more from Nicole Lapin!
The name of the book might be off putting to some, but the content and tips provided in the book are second to none. Love the highlights she places on the tendencies of women to play small with risks, + the importance of going against that tendency. Also appreciate the general life tips she shares outside of just finances (goal setting, relationships, professional mentoring relationships, etc). 10/10 recommend!
Oh boy...where do I begin here. Are there a few good nuggets on information in here? Yes. But the bad outweighs the good. I don't want this to start a entire list of what is terribly wrong with the advice she gives here, but just a few: No...a will in as many states as I am aware (so my guess is probably all 50) is not valid if you type it up on a word document, print it out and sign it. There is so much more to it than that (notaries and witnesses for one, let alone actually having someone that knows anything about estate planning!!) If you've picked up this book, and need as much help as she believes you do...the last thing you should be telling people is to go ahead and buy your $5 latte every day, because your time is worth more than the hassle of making coffee at home! My one bit of praise, is the career advice here. Had this been a career advice book, I would have given it more stars. Encouraging our generation to network, step out of your comfort zone and work on furthering your career at every event is extremely important. The finance advice is terrible.
***ARC received courtesy of the publisher & Netgalley.com, in exchange for an honest review***
Ladies, have you ever thought about getting your financial life together, but just didn't know how to make it happen? Well, if so, then this book is the one to check out. Not only was it an informative read concerning financial common sense, but it's also cheeky enough to help the (financially) clueless, swallow that bitter pill.
For those of us who have made some better choices in our seasoned years, this book is a great reminder why we shouldn't give into the little demon whispering in our ear about buying more items that only depreciate in value.
Nothing that is new for people that know about negotiating salary, doing your own taxes, saving for retirement, buying versus renting, considering starting your own business, paying off debt, building credit, etc. I listened to the audiobook, which is read by the author that really embraces that "rich bitch" mentality so she was a bit annoying. She also rambles about her life at times--the beginning was so bizarre to me (talking about all her life goals in a manic kind of juvenile way) that I'm surprised I made it past that.
Do yourself a favor and DO NOT read this book of horrible financial advice. Not only was the advice terrible, but there was so much jumping around, I could only imagine how confusing this book would be to some people who really need an intro to finances. I’ve been following Nicole Lapin since she first released this book, and I’ve been trying to get my hands on it forever. Such a disappointment. Do not follow this advice.
Nicole sounds like a peppy high school cheerleader. Cheering you on to take better control of your finances. She gives really good advice but I’m not a novice at this so this was mostly stuff I already knew. However, I did get a few good tips from her and I’m always grateful to learn something new everyday
A really interesting read and has some really useful tips not only about finances but just about setting goals and life in general! Really great for where I am right now!
I really enjoyed this book. I love how Nicole teaches us woman that we can be successful and make, budget and use money in ways that men can too. Proud to be a RichBitch!
I actually really enjoyed this book. I'm not a person who usually reads personal finance or self-help books so I approached this one warily. However, almost right away I could tell that I was going to like Rich Bitch.
Nicole Lapin makes it really easy to get into the topic by keeping it real and uncomplicated. She provides real life examples of what she's trying to explain and even guides us through her budgeting suggestions with her own finances. Despite this being a book about money, she also talks about sexism in the workplace, relationships, and personal happiness.
Things I learned about: apps that help you budget, online savings accounts (Seriously, these exist?!), why you shouldn't buy a house or a car, and how to make credit cards work for you.
She lost me a bit when she got into 401Ks, IRA's, Roth IRA's, and Investment Indexes, but that's to be expected as I know next to nothing on these topics.
Overall, a good introduction into this genre. If other personal finance books are like this, I'll probably be checking them out.
I listened to the audiobook on an app though I own the physical book. I feel the latter would be more helpful for a reader to absorb the bulk of this content. I did enjoy hearing the book read by the author.
She has a lot of pep and motivational energy and her advice is solid. To be honest I never got used to hearing her refer to her fellow females humans as 'rich b*tches' to denote belonging to her community. Particularly when she used the term 'rich dude' to refer to guys. That's not really an equivalent, but to be fair the expression for a male dog, or 'dog' is generally not derogatory or just slightly so (but dated). So, different strokes I suppose. I'll probably read the physical version at some point and I will let you know how that experience goes.
Books about financial life scared me until I read this book. Nicole Lapin made each step of her 12 step plan easy to understand. I will definitely be referring back to this book constantly.
Rich Bitch: A Simple 12-Step Plan for Getting Your Financial Life Together...Finally by Nicole Lapin
I gave this book 3 stars because even though there was stuff I didn't like about it, there was a lot of good information in it. Sometimes almost too much. I'll admit, I am not the target audience for this book. Women in their 20's and 30's are the target. And regardless of whether I disagree with some of the information she either gave or left out or all the "Good bitch", "Rich bitch", "Advice from a rich bitch", etc. If anything can help convince young people to take control of their financial lives and show them how to do it in language they identify with, I'm all for it.
Lapin lays it out like a 12-step program and she's very honest about financial mistakes that she made in her 20's and how much or little she was making when she started in her business journalist career for CNBC, CNN and MSNBC.
Some of her advice could have more encouragement around it since most people in America are not going to make $150,000/year. By encouragement I mean things like "If you don't have $5000 to invest, start with anything, just get started."
One piece of advice that will be totally confusing to less experienced people is when Lapin repeats many, many times "Do NOT cut up your credit cards!" Now by listening to the context I easily figured out that what she meant was "Don't close your credit card account, even if you aren't using that card." If you want to cut up your cards so you don't use them, that's fine. Closing the account is what could hurt your credit score. One piece of advice Lapin did not list was an alternative way of paying off debt. She insists that you figure out which debt has the highest interest rate and pay off that card/debt first. And that does make sense because it will save you money in the long run. But some people need the motivation of seeing progress and she could have listed one of the alternatives: --Pay off the smallest balance first, then add that payment to your monthly payment on the next highest balance, etc. This works well for people that need to feel they are accomplishing something even if they pay a little more interest in the long run. --Pay off the highest monthly payment first. Then continue with the snowball effect.
Whichever method you choose, just get the debt paid off. I met a young person recently (mid-20s) that had a chance at their dream job but couldn't take it because they couldn't afford to leave the salary they were currently making due to all the bills. I felt really sad that they were trapped because I know that unless they make a conscious effort to change things, they will always be trapped and 30 years from now will never have been able to work at that dream job.
Things I did like: How Lapin really focused on young women, telling them to make and manage their own money and not wait for a husband to do it. Also she went further than most other financial books and talked about when to buy life insurance, make a will, power of medical attorney and how to deal with money in a relationship. Since Nicole Lapin is their age, I hope they listen to one of their peers. She comes across like a friend you'd shop with, have cocktails with and grouse about men/partners with.
Good intro guide to managing finances, I'd recommend to someone in their 20s, maybe 30s. I did get some new info here, but not a whole lot - it's really a guide on how to plan a financially flush life long-term which I think would be wonderful for those just dipping their feet into money handling.
Very heavily focused on career-driven lifestyles, entrepreneurs, C-suite prospects. There's nothing wrong with that, but it was interesting how much time was spent on how to build one's own company, and how to go into a relationship with a partner, but having kids was barely even mentioned other than saving for their college funds. Not to imply kids/career are an either/or thing, just that so much of the book assumed high career aspirations AND the absence of much discussion about child-rearing made for a book that didn't feel well geared toward many women.
I listened to the audiobook, and at times it was great to hear the author's actual voice, and at times she was just so freaking over-the-top perky it was exhausting.
Very accessible language. Written mostly with younger women in mind. What I like about this is that Lapin doesn't operate on the assumption that her readers are already dependent on wage earning spouses. She has multiple chapters on career development and when she talks about family related goals for 20 somethings, she puts those 10-15 years out. Obviously that would not apply to everyone but I related to this much more than other "personal finance for women" books that have tips like "start saving for your wedding dress now--you will need 10 Gs by 25!" and imply that women are generally irresponsible and math-averse. Two thumbs up to Lapin for avoiding that tone.
Overall, the tips geared toward younger women and the glossary make this a good one for the 35 and under crowd.
So this is one I DNF, though I probably listened to way more than I needed to and honestly I fell asleep around step 8 or 9. The only thing I actually liked about this book was the beginning when she talks about writing down your goals for the future for career, finances, and family. A lot of advice in here is just terrible advice. I'm sorry but if your advice is to stay in debt or get more debt (after paying off all your debt) just so you can keep a good credit score, I'm sorry but that doesn't say rich b*tch to me, that says dumb b*tch. Also, that $5 morning latte you're "investing" in yourself every morning, does add up and no, it's not worth the "investment." If you're looking for a good book on budgeting and finances I would definitely recommend Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover.
Except for the swearing in the title and throughout the book, it's a nice introduction to personal finances for women. I liked how she talks about money and finances in a very simple and straightforward language, she explains the jargon in a layman's way. The last couple of chapters focus on women in the workplace and relationships, and although I can see how it relates, it felt out of place at times. Now, I need to find a Canadian equivalent, a lot in there doesn't apply to the reality in the Great North.
Loved this! It spoke to me in a very simple manner that made things easy to understand and comprehend. A very inspiring and insightful book not only for financial goals but life goals in general, from a voice that sounds like the tough love your bff would be giving you if your bff was well-versed in the financial world.