Clever Girl Finance: Ditch Debt, Save Money and Build Real Wealth

by Bola Sokunbi

MP3 CD Format Take charge of your finances and achieve financial independence—the Clever Girl way

Join the ranks of thousands of smart and savvy women who have turned to money expert and author Bola Sokunbi for guidance on ditching debt, saving money, and building real wealth. Sokunbi, the force behind the hugely popular Clever Girl Finance website, draws on her personal money mistakes and financial redemption to educate and empower a new generation of women on their journey to financial freedom. Lighthearted and accessible, Clever Girl Finance encourages women to talk about money and financial wellness and shows them how to navigate their own murky financial waters and come out afloat on the other side.

Monitor your expenses, build a budget, and stick with it. Make the most of a modest salary and still have money to spare. Keep your credit in check and clean up credit card chaos. Start and succeed at your side hustle. Build a nest egg and invest in your future. Transform your money mindset and be accountable for your financial well-being. Feel the power of real-world stories from other "clever girls."

Put yourself on the path to financial success with the valuable lessons learned from Clever Girl Finance .

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

240 pages, ebook

Published June 21, 2019

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars... a good basic intro, but there’s an awful lot of the “Women be shopping!” kind of talk. Which gets irksome... since I’ve never had a problem spending thousands on designer handbags. But whatever.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really clear explanation of several financial issues like debt, investment, and budgeting.

My only criticism is that there weren't very many examples given that apply to people with lower salaries. Most of the testimonials involved people with incomes double mine. I don't really think that a lot of people can "quickly" raise $1000, much less enough money to last them 6 months. The ideas are good, but I think that some of the timelines and numbers might not be realistic if you aren't making $70,000 or more.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This year, I made the commitment to myself and my husband to become more aware of my finances and learn how to increase wealth. I have always been scared of money and thought building wealth was only for millionaires. This book made a big scary concept, MONEY, not seem so bad after all. Each chapter is broken down into a money topic (budgeting, debt, investing, credit, etc) and gives you clear action items to tackle each topic. It made me feel empowered having an action plan and helped me see where I can improve. Really enjoyed this!

[Tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the main reason I was able to get through this book is because it was an audio book. This is a very elementary level of personal finance education. If you have no idea what insurance is or how credit cards are examined then I’d recommend this book. I would say the target age group is post high school and maybe post university. I know authors are able to take creative liberties but using substantiations that women earn less because they’re emotional is pretty draconian in my opinion.

[Sreeranjani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Financial literacy and awareness is crucial for women today. This book covers personal finance for women 101 with interesting anecdotes and insights from various women.

[Rachael Lidman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The one thing I’be been thinking about a lot over the last few months is how my education growing up lacked financial literacy. In general, my life lacked real conversation around finances and money; I was always told to, “marry rich”. No one took the time to explain things to be and everyone was very secretive about money. I didn’t know I should ask questions, because I didn’t know that I could ask them. So, as a young adult, I’m really not in the best possible financial place I could be—and anything related to money or financial talk now gives me severe anxiety. This book has really helped break things down for me in an understandable way. Each segment ends with some action items that have helped me to already take tangible steps towards saving better and ensuring I’m set up for financial success. If you are in a similar situation as I have been, or you’re trying to do better than your parents/education system for your children, read and share this book. Talk about what’s in it. Ask questions. Make change (no pun intended)!

[Anna Mullings · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book does not contain anything new but it does have valuable information I wish I knew this from before are knew where to find this book when I needed it the most. the author spoke about saving for long term and how important it is to think about retirement before it's too late . one of the most valuable points that she makes is that we need to stop keeping up with the Joneses and keep our expenses low so we can allocate money to our savings and our long-term future I would definitely recommend this book to anybody that is just starting their financial journey

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish I had had this book going into University. American based finances so some of it is not applicable, but otherwise she very nicely and comprehensively summarises everything I've learned about managing my own finances to be debt free at 30.

[Olena Semenova · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this for those who are just beginning their financial literacy journey. This is a quick read, is well-organized, and will hit all the major topics.

[Leilani Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as part of my efforts to self-educate in the world of finance. Lots of helpful information and anecdotes. Easy to read. A few parts that fell flat for me, but on the whole, useful.

I am keeping myself in a finance book at most times because, to be honest, they all basically say the same thing, and I need the constant reminder in my head to keep pressing on in healthy financial habits.

[Ancillar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating : 3.5

A good intro to personal finance for women

[Leah Boyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This probably wasn’t the best place to start for financial literacy but it was a good introduction to bigger concepts. I like the way she chunked up the info and the female center of the advice. We getting money up 2026 ✊

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very introductory topics. Very easy to get through this book but I didn’t have a lot of takeaways. It’s also based in US so some info isn’t helpful (Canadian).

My takeaways:
- Make a finance binder. Include insurance and how to access.
- Make a spending journal : date/item description/ how much $/what it was for and how you felt about it
- List bad money habits
- Track net worth.. assets - liabilities (own minus owe) do once a year
- make Financial goals for 5, 10, 15.. years

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kick in the pants I needed to get my finances in line with my goals.

[Alaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this better than the one on investing. I thought it was a good guide on how to make the most of what you have.

I don’t get why so many financial gurus are anti credit card. I feel like advising people to cut up cards or freeze them in a block of ice is not as beneficial as teaching them how to use them wisely. Otherwise it’s so tough to build credit. I try not to buy anything with cash or debit, because if I do I’m missing out on points or cash back. The key is to not spend outside of your budget and be sure to have the cash to back up your credit card spending. But if you don’t use credit cards at all, you’re losing out on “free money” as she would say.

I also think it’s unrealistic to tell people to start a side hustle and it’s sad that we live in a time where that’s kind of necessary to achieve financial security. I do it too- but I know a lot of side hustles where people have lost money as well. So it’s not just as simple as “start a side hustle” and then you’ll have all this extra money.

The advice to aggressively negotiate salary is good but I’m not sure it is the same these days with the job market how it is- yes know your worth, but a lot of people have had to accept jobs that are below their calculated “worth” just to get by… and I don’t think it’s just out of not knowing what you’re worth.

[Pudensiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was minding my business when Youtube algorithm suggested a video for me to watch from a channel named 'The Clever Girl Finance'. Something about that the title of the video caught my eye and before I knew it I was on video # 4 and had clicked the subscribe button of channel.

One of my goals for this year & every other year is getting my finances in order & have financial stability, & really, who doesn't want that?

Bola - through her YouTube channel & this BOOK offer so much knowledge on how to get started on a path towards financial freedom. While some things don't relate as much to me since I don't live in the States this book was just what I needed to help me get started.

I recommend this book to all my girls out there. It's simple & straight to the point!

[Becky]

A great starter book that breaks things down in a way that makes them less intimidating. From basic skills like budgeting to more advanced topics like Index and Market funds as well as stocks and bonds, this book touches on it all in a way that makes it feel more approachable. The author takes a "one step at a time" approach. I highly recommend this book to anyone just beginning their financial journey or who are anxious about the next steps to monetary freedom.

[Jessica Zentner]

This book is a VERY simple started guide to managing finances. Would be best for those just out of high school/college. That being said, it’s great for that population. For adults in the workforce, maybe not quite deep enough.

[Andrea Scapini · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really thought it was annoying at first how she kept blaming female debt on buying designer handbags. However, I’m happy I kept reading. Once the author stopped trying to be too relatable, pretty solid content and advice, especially for beginners.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

While there were some good ideas I learned from in this book, I can’t recommend it to most as it centered people from financially well-off backgrounds and struggles with having an addiction to designer handbags. This is not most people’s experience and thus not helpful or applicable.

[Dr. Tobias Christian Fischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not sure why it’s only relevant for girls. I read it and learned also something. Maybe a better but not as catchy title would be “clever finance.”

[Maya Shrestha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine, but pretty basic. Not a bad starting point for someone who needs that! A little bit of the “as a woman it’s so hard not to buy designer handbags” which was annoying but that went away.

[Lori Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful book to really take a look at the big picture and affirm all the effort I am putting in to finally get a (financial) grip! Some parts were a bit cringe but it's a great intro!

[Jenn Rickel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative! The author gives a step-by-step approach to organizing your finances as well and just about all areas of your life. There were certain chapters that I was already familiar with but I’m certain that there are readers who would need all parts of this book.

I would recommend!

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid, basic advice without judgement. Good for anyone not familiar with too many personal finance concepts - covers the foundation well.

[Emma Pontzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that’s it’s targeted toward women. Many women are like I don’t know how things work and that allows them to make strange financial decisions. It’s nice advice but it emphasizes if you don’t know what you’re doing, then get professional help. I like that. I would be shocked if I end up planning a weekly lesson to teach my theoretical child about money. It’s cool but I doubt I would use flash cards.

[Emily Brogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent financial primer that covers EVERYTHING. This was very comprehensive, which meant that I learned things even though I already felt I had a good handle on basic finance. It would be worthwhile to buy a copy of this book and keep it on the shelf!

[Diginaut · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid advice, nothing surprising. I’vd read quite a few books on personal finance, and didn’t hear anything new.

But I guess this book is more aimed at people who are new to all of this, it will fit them better. For novices all the financial terminologie might be a bit overwhelming though. It’s pretty condensed, a lot of info in a five hour audio book.

The info is also very US oriented, but the same is true for a lot of books on personal finance.

[Kristin Matthews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book but very, very basic in most parts. If you don't know what interest rate means, or what credit rating is, then this would be a really good starter guide to financial literacy. Wish I'd read it in high school or university for example. But otherwise it's a bit basic, but the section on investment was helpful to me since I'm not good with that stuff

[Mariam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really good at giving young women a good glimpse into what it entails to be a financially independent young woman. However i believe it could be more concise, it does a good job at covering how to organize your financial records, going over bad spending habits, understanding net worth and how to increase, understanding short vs long term goals, budgeting, investing, retirement, dealing with debt, student loans and more. Personally this book was a wake up call especially the line "your spending habits make you rich not your salary". I would recommend this book to any woman between the ages of 20-50 in how to get their finances in order.