Why You Should Read The Smart Money Woman

If you read my blog regularly, you know that one of my goals at the beginning of the year was money management and personal finance. I wanted to become more responsible with my money basically and learn more about personal finance. The Smart Money Woman is a book by Arese Ugwu on this exact topic. And whilst it is aimed at Nigerian and African women as per the context of the story, the tips, tricks and lessons can be used by anyone regardless of where you're from. It's a book under Arese's Smart Money Africa platform that according to their website, aims at improving financial literacy in Africa and creating a generation of financially savvy Africans.

This book created a buzz when it was released last year and after reading it, I wholly believe that the hype is justified. The book was a hit with women everywhere and there were book tours across Nigeria, Ghana and the UK. There was actually a book reading/signing thing here in Manchester as well (which I didn't attend, in case you were wondering).  I was finally able to get my hands on the book on Thursday and I read it immediately. So today, I'll be sharing my review on the book.

Year of Publication: 2016

Author: Arese Ugwu

Rating: 5/5

Summary (from Good Reads)

Meet Zuri. She’s living a fabulous life. Great car, gorgeous apartment, well paid job.

Meet Zuri. Broken down car, an apartment she cant afford, a job she’s about to lose.

What’s a broke girl to do? 

With her best friends Tami (the flighty fashion designer), Lara (the tough oil and gas executive), Adesuwa (the conservative lawyer), and Ladun (the fabulous housewife), Zuri grows a little, learns a lot and navigates her way to making better financial decisions and building wealth.

This book tackles, debt, spending, the consumerist culture of the African middle class, the fear and misconceptions surrounding money and the lack of it, love, friendships, cultural and societal pressures and the roles they play in success. With each chapter comes a Smart Money Lesson, there to help you work your way up the financial ladder.

Review

I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading and realised that the book is actually a novel. I thought the format was your regular non-fiction sort of self-help book which I still had no problem with. I was quite pleased when I started reading and I saw it was actually a novel. At the end of each chapter, there's a lesson to be learned on personal finance and money management, she highlights these lessons and also gives you exercises to do if you're not quite sure how to go about implementing the things she just spoke about.

The story is about Zuri, a young millennial with a really good job who becomes broke because of her abysmal spending habits and lack of financial planning. It also touches on her friends and the various money issues that they have. The story is very light-hearted, enjoyable and makes for an easy read. It's even got a little bit of romance in it which I love.

This is what I like about the book, it's a fun read but you're gaining so much knowledge at the same time. The book touches on saving, investment, wills, networking,  managing debts, goal setting, improving your skill set and a host of other important things. If it was a regular book, it might have gotten boring fast but the fact that all these things are incorporated into a story prevents it from being so. I genuinely had no issues with the book . I would also recommend that you keep a notebook/journal with you while you read it as there's a lot of information and I'm sure you don't want to forget anything. Well, that's what I did anyways.

Conclusion

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I finished it on the same day that I started it. To be fair, it's got about 270 pages or so , definitely not that hard to finish in one day. I learned a lot from it and now I know more about money management. Yay to things that help you achieve your goals haha. So guys, I recommend this book to all of you. It's definitely worth the read. And this is not sponsored in any way o. Having said that, if Arese wants to sponsor me , I'm down for it haha. Enjoy the rest of your weekend! xx