KNS Financial

Personal Finance From a Biblical Perspective

The Recovering Spender

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After hearing about her and seeing Lauren Greutman‘s name often over the past couple years, I was excited to learn more about her through her new book, the Recovering Spender.

This book is not just for someone who needs a little direction in making a budget. It’s not just for someone who needs help picking a stock. As Lauren puts it:

I wrote the book for the not-so-saavy spenders. The forgotten people when it comes to money management. We are the black sheep in the finance class, sitting in the back of the room slouched down with our heads hung low.

She wrote the Recovering Spender for the person who spends as a compulsion – an addiction – and she frames the book through that lens, starting with herself.

The first half of the book is Lauren’s story of getting her family into $40,000 worth of debt and the trials and errors of getting out of it. She is very open with her flaws and missteps, and this genuineness allows the reader to easily find where they can relate to her story.

I really liked the way Lauren weaved stories about her childhood and upbringing into the narrative, and explained that a lot of our behaviors and attitudes toward money have been ingrained from youth. She gives a really good example of how two people with different value systems about money, based on social class, can have serious conflicts in a marriage as a result.

We don’t often realize how our views about money start from a young age. Whether it is directly from lessons taught to us by our parents, or by our reactions to experiences in our childhood (e.g. I am going to give my child everything I couldn’t have as a child). Lauren stresses the importance of acknowledging all these thought patterns in making steps toward  a successful recovery.

The 12 Recovering Spender Steps

In the second half of the book, Lauren takes the reader through 12 steps of recovery… similar to the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. From her experience working with people with addictions, Lauren was able to diagnose her own issues with spending and create this plan which she is still utilizing in her own life.

12 recovering spender steps

Each of the 12 steps contains practical information, application, and a real-life example of someone’s recovery experience. Having real people with real experiences is always a helpful tool, and having Lauren share tips that she uses everyday makes the information seem more realistic.

At the end of the book, Lauren provides worksheets to help you sort out your financial state of mind, budget, and more.

Overall Thoughts

If your spending is out of control, if you have tried and failed to budget or save, or if your relationship is in trouble because of monetary issues, please read this book. I love that it is not just a book on how to get out of credit card debt (let’s say), but it looks deeper at the source of the issue.

It is equally important that she does give good, applicable advice to change your situation once you realize what is going. Do I think spending is an addiction for many? Yes. Do, I think everyone who shares some of these issues has an addiction? I am not quite as convinced as the author is, but I DO believe that we should all do the same work she prescribes to figure out the problem from the root.

I also believe that for many, the changes do need to be life-long. For varying reasons, we need the ‘fences’ she talks about to protect us from old thinking and habits.

This book is a really good one.

 

Real Money Answers for Every Woman Book Review

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I sat down with my copy of Real Money Answers for Every Woman: How to Win the Money Game With or Without a Man not knowing what to expect. In all honesty, it is because I have never deeply considered how my approach to personal finance is affected by my womanhood. All it took was a glance down the table of contents for me to understand why this book is needed. More specifically, I was able to see why I needed to read it!

The book has four sections, with a few chapters within each section. The magic is what happens within these chapters: the table of contents lists questions that are proposed within the chapter topic. Many of these questions resonated with me and many of the clients with whom my husband and I engage. They come up over and over again, a lot of them specific to women of varying demographics.

Real Money Answer Book

Reading this book, the author delivers on her promise of real money answers. She doesn’t speak in personal finance generalities, taking a one-size-fits-all approach. I can believe that Mrs. Washington has taken her years of experience in her field, having really heard the voice of her clients and audience, and packaged her most genuine responses in a power-filled tool!

The Tone

Have you ever had a friend that ALWAYS tells you the truth, even though you may not want to hear it? (If you haven’t, you really need to get one of those!) Well, let me help you be prepared if you are going to pick up this book: PATRICE WASHINGTON WILL BE THAT FRIEND!!!!

Her tone is very down-to-earth, very conversational — and equally firm. She is not afraid to let her readers know when their mindsets are just crazy, silly, or wrong!

She writes, “If you’re not really a finance type of person, then make yourself one, and quickly! That type of mentality is not how a wealthy, successful person
thinks. If you’re thinking you’ll be fine, God will provide, you’ll just hit the lottery one day, blah, blah, blah, then this book—all the books in the world—won’t help you. You might be uncomfortable hearing that, but somebody had to tell you.”

I’ll admit, you may have to say “ouch” a few times while reading this, but you will keep on going because you can trust that she is helping to get past your unhealthy mindsets and actually providing you with the information you need to get results. It reminds me of Proverbs 27:6 “Faithful are the wounds of a friend”.

She is also extremely open and encouraging throughout the pages. She starts off by sharing her own story, including some of her own missteps and how she had to change her thinking and relationship with money to become financially healthy and successful.

The Treasure

There are many gems in Real Money Answers, but I will just mention a couple of my favorite things.

  1. The detail: Mrs. Washington gives you everything you need to set you up for success (There she goes being that friend again). It’s more than just some useful worksheets in the back – although there are those, but when she answers specific questions, she provides resources to utilize and specific steps to take to get things accomplished!
  2. The scope: As I said already, the author did an amazing job of meeting the needs of her audience. She covers such a wide range of topics where I know people need direction and advice. For example, she tackles how to handle: friends who are taking advantage, entitled children, money questions to ask when dating, and financial recovery after a divorce.

The Takeaways

  • You need to change your mindset about money! If you don’t change that first, you’ll keep making the same mistakes. The book will help you consider your mindset, how you’ve developed it, and the steps needed to adjust.
  • Wherever you are in life (single, married, child, elderly, etc), you are exactly where you need to be to make a positive change in your finances. This book has such a wide range of questions and answers, that I am sure women will find the help they need to be financially successful
  • The time is now! Nothing will change, or things will get worse, in your financial situation until you take action. Real Money Answers for Every Woman is available on Amazon and other retailers.

 

The Real Money Answers Author

Patrice Headshot

Patrice C. Washington has dedicated her life to moving the masses from debt management to money mastery since 2003. As a featured columnist, television commentator, radio host, author, speaker and leading authority on personal finance for women and youth, Patrice is intentional about keeping her message on money management practical and upbeat.

Patrice’s down-to-earth advise has been featured in numerous articles, quoted in dozens of newspapers and magazines and appeared on hundreds of radio stations and television networks, including Bloomberg TV, Forbes, The Huffington Post, CNN Money and Black Enterprise. Each week, 8 million listeners tune in to hear her “Real Money Answers” segment on the nationally syndicated Steve Harvey Morning Radio Show.

As a transformational speaker, Patrice is invited to conferences, churches and colleges nationally to electrify, entertain, educate and most importantly to her, inspire action in thousands of families monthly.

 

The One-Page Financial Plan Book Review

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I enjoy learning and discussing personal finance. The day-to-day things like budgeting, credit decisions, debt repayment. Where I start to get a bit intimidated is matters of investing. So, I admit, when I learned that The One-Page Financial Plan was written by financial planner, Carl Richards, I was a bit apprehensive about reading it.

Once people start talking stocks, bonds, derivatives (blah blah blah), I totally shut down, and I had no clue how to avoid the ‘shut down’ when I have to review the book!

I think I spent a few days just poking it with a stick. Once I finally got over my fear of touching it, upon a quick glance, the first thing that stood out to me was that One-Page Financial Plan was around 200 pages long. That alone made me feel a little less intimidated.

Also, as I flipped through the pages, I noticed there were a lot of very simple sketches and some on napkins (Yes – even less reading) and I felt even a little more comfortable taking it on.

One-Page Financial Plan Book

What was really helpful was actually reading the books tagline: A Simple Way to Be Smart About Your Money. As I read through the pages, the one thing I felt very confident about, is that the author delivered on the tagline.

The author says:

My goal in writing this book is to pull the curtain back a bit: to show you how real financial planning works, to give you an experience of what it’s like to work with a real financial advisor. Whether you’re working with an advisor or on your own, this book will help you understand the basic steps for creating a personalized plan that takes into your account your unique values and goals.

One-Page Financial Plan Review

Boy was I pleasantly surprised and never more happy to be wrong! It is evident from my fear that I had no idea how real financial planning works … I mean, they don’t just start talking about stock options? Firstly, I really like the author’s writing style. It is very simple, making the subject matter approachable.

Secondly, he does a great job of walking the reader through the steps of making an individualized  financial plan without making it seem like a rudimentary to-do list. Each step is wrapped in relevant stories and makes sure to delve into the reasoning behind making choices.

In One-Page Financial Plan, the author talks about his own financial missteps, and I really appreciated the humility and openness. And I have to tell you, he does eventually get to the bad ‘i’ word – investments, and it wasn’t painful! I didn’t scratch my eyes out and I didn’t just close the book and figure I’d ignore writing about it in this review.

Just like the rest of the book, what he does share is done in such a way that anyone can understand. It wasn’t bogged down with jargon and really helped me to feel more confident with investments going forward. Also, he doesn’t tell you what to do, but he does give the reader really good guidelines to do what’s best for their unique situation.

One-Page Financial Plan – Takeaways

A couple of things I learned:

1. It is important to know why money is important to me. (And not in a generic way, but to really get to the root of it)

2. I want to make sure my values and my goals align. It’s clear to me know how those bump up against each other in my life.

3. As with everything else … as we’ve always known … discipline is key.

If You Need Some Guidance

A lot of times, in areas like finances, the problem is that we know we need to get to point B but we just need some guidance to get there. For anyone, in any financial state, One-Page Financial Plan will help you to do that. After reading it, I felt like some of the jumbles in my mind got sorted out. I guess that’s what a financial advisor is supposed to be able to do for a client. Mission accomplished.

 

Carl Richards Carl Richards is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and the director of investor education for the BAM ALLIANCE, a community of over 130 independent wealth management firms throughout the United States. He is the creator of the weekly Sketch Guy column in the The NY Times, and a columnist for Morningstar Advisor. Carl has also been featured on Marketplace Money, The Leonard Lopate Show, Oprah.com and Forbes.com.

Interview With Dorethia Conner of #MoneyChat

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A few days ago we posted a review of #MoneyChat The Book, by Dorethia Kelly Conner. This new personal finance book was born out of the popular ‘money chats’ that Dorethia hosts each week on Twitter.

To coincide with the launch of the book, we are posting a Q&A with the author about the book and how you can take control of your finances.

Why did you write #MoneyChat: THE BOOK?

Before the book was the website and before that the online Twitter Chat – which is the catalyst for the #MoneyChat movement. It is a way to take a conversation that can often be shameful or awkward and make it less #MoneyChat Book Reviewintimidating.

It’s a community, I want people to know we are all in this together and there is no judgment. After doing the chat and workshops for a few years, I decided it was time to put on paper some of the key things that we had discussed , some of the reoccurring topics I heard during the chats and in my financial coaching practice, thus we have #MoneyChat THE BOOK.

How should readers apply this book to their personal finances?

I wrote #MoneyChat THE BOOK in 3 sections based on common themes I was finding in my financial coaching practice. Most people wanted to get out of the debt hole and learn successful money management so that they could save, invest, retire and create college funds for their kids. Throughout each chapter there are ‘how to’s and action plans’. Highlight, dog ear and underline the things in this book that resonate with you and follow the action plans.

What are some of the best tips you can offer people who have tried, but just aren’t good with their personal finances?

First, I’d say don’t beat yourself up, only look toward the future, but do learn from your past mistakes. You don’t want to repeat the cycle.

Second, get back to the basics, a notebook and pencil. List all your monthly income and subtract your monthly expenses. Do this at the start of each month on a new page in the notebook.

Third, there are all kind of websites and cell phone apps that are free! You may have to log your information into them once and then monitor or update. These sites/apps are perfect for people who can’t keep up with a written budget; don’t know their investment status, etc. You can print graphs, reports directly from the sites. It is also easy to update changes in your financial situation.

If none of this works, get help. There are free community programs and you can also hire a financial coach. Financial coaches help you create a financial strategy and teach you how to handle your money yourself with education and guidance.

Your book dives into the topic of Investing. Why is investing important yet intimidates so many people from doing it?

It’s all about educating yourself; people are intimidated by what they don’t understand. In the book I show people how ease into investing little by little, help them understand the basic terms and then dig deeper.

Investing is a viable way to build wealth and is an important key to lifelong financial planning.

You talk about getting out of the hole in the book, what about dating/engaged couples who are both in debt? Should they be out of debt before they get married?

Whether one or both are in debt or facing other financial challenges, I would first ask if the two are on the same page of becoming financially stable. Are they both determined to get out of debt and committed to traveling that path together?

Have they both been completely honest about the good, bad and ugly of their finances? If one is better at money than the other, is the other willing to learn? If the answer is yes, then you can work to get out of debt together after marriage. If there is a continued pattern of poor financial decision making from either or both, I would not suggest marriage until those issues are resolved.

They will only cause big arguments in the marriage.

As we know, student loan debt is crippling a lot of people financially. What can people do to lighten the load?

I believe in accountability, the fact of the matter is that we all signed on the dotted line and used the money for our tuition, books, living expenses pizza, parties, etc. Therefore we are responsible. That said, I do believe the system needs an overhaul, I too am paying back student loans, it’s one of my final debts.

There are various payment options, call your lender to inquire before you start to feel the pinch. There are also forbearance and deferment options. Just be careful, because those only prolong the debt, make sure they are absolutely necessary.

Lastly, there is a lot of legislation being proposed around student loan debt to ease the pain for borrowers. Set up Google alerts so you can receive emails whenever it is mentioned in the news. Bookmark the Federal website so that you know immediately if a new program is implemented that can help you with your student loans.

What made you write about gambling in this book?

I have personally seen how gambling has crippled households, from casinos to gambling house parties. In the book I discuss how one man lost his family over scratch-offs.

It’s a real issue that is rarely talked about in mainstream but people are losing houses, life savings, and families over it. I had to address it and offer help to those who are faced with this struggle.

I also address IRS debt, pay day and cash advance loans because they are a detriment to financial success.

 

If you need help in your financial journey, regardless of your income level or financial knowledge, this book is relevant and essential to help you achieve your goals. I recommend this book for someone who is ready to hit the ground running and begin doing what it takes to get their money in order.

You can purchase the book here from Amazon.

Dorethia Conner KellyDorethia Conner Kelly, MBA is the president of Conner Financial Coaching, LLC, providing results-oriented personal finance and business coaching services. She is also the founder of the popular #MoneyChat personal finance blog, themoneychat.com and online Twitter chat.

Dorethia’s financial expertise has been featured in various national media including Black Enterprise, U.S. News and Nerd Wallet. She lives in Detroit, Michigan with her family.

Connect with Dorethia at @MoneyChatLIVE & @DorethiaKelly Visit www.themoneychat.com and www.connercoaching.com

#MoneyChat THE BOOK by Dorethia Conner Kelly – Book Review

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I was excited to read and review my copy of #MoneyChat having been a part of the author’s twitter chats in the past, anonymously following the ‘money chat’ hashtag as the conversations rolled down my screen.

#MoneyChat The Book, by Dorethia Conner Kelly, is the result of the recurring topics that have come up in the twitter chats and the other venues where Mrs. Kelly has engaged with and taught others on financial matters.

The book is written in a very straightforward, no nonsense style, that I found easy to follow and I enjoyed the pacing of the writing.

From the website, the book will teach you:

  • How to create a financial plan for yourself
  • How to create an emergency fund when there’s no money left over
  • How to save for college in under 10 years
  • Why you should invest and how to begin
  • How to come up with extra money when you need it without a payday loan

#MoneyChat The Book Review

#MoneyChat Book Review I was happy to see a chapter that talks about gambling addiction, and what a prevalent problem it is in our country with internet gaming sites – and even more so now with phone apps. The ease of access and secrecy makes it a great threat to our financial security and also to stability in our relationships. The book does a great job of tackling some of these intricacies and offering resources for help and support.

Dorethia also includes a really informative chapter on dealing with the IRS and tax repayment. Her navigation of this topic, as well, really gave me the impression that she was listening to her clients and participants. This is not something I’ve found in your run-of-the-mill personal finance books, and so there must have been a number of questions and situations the author has come across why it made its way into the book.

Throughout the chapters are examples of people who have gone through corresponding situations. These cases are really helpful in highlighting the topics she is exploring, and I am sure the reader will be able to relate directly or know someone who can. There are also resources given at the end of each chapter so that the reader can be further informed.

If you need help in your financial journey, regardless of your income level or financial knowledge, this book is relevant and essential to help you achieve your goals. I recommend this book for someone who is ready to hit the ground running and begin doing what it takes to get their money in order.

You can purchase the book here from Amazon.

Dorethia Conner KellyDorethia Conner Kelly, MBA is the president of Conner Financial Coaching, LLC, providing results-oriented personal finance and business coaching services. She is also the founder of the popular #MoneyChat personal finance blog, themoneychat.com and online Twitter chat.

Dorethia’s financial expertise has been featured in various national media including Black Enterprise, U.S. News and Nerd Wallet. She lives in Detroit, Michigan with her family.

Connect with Dorethia at @MoneyChatLIVE & @DorethiaKelly Visit  www.themoneychat.com and www.connercoaching.com

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