Honest look at finances
MANAGE YOUR MONEY LIKE A F*CKING GROWNUP by Sam Beckbessinger, published by Jonathan Ball, R190
YOU’LL probably either love or hate this potty-mouth finance writer, but either way she is a blast of fresh air for anyone who needs help with running their finances.
Sub-titled “the best money advice you never got”, it is basically a how-to self-help book for people who want to make the best use of their cash – and I reckon that’s pretty much every one of us.
Sam Beckbessinger is a writer and fintech entrepreneur who lives in Cape Town, and she calls herself a “money dork”, a rather delightful description to use for this, her first book.
As Beckbessinger notes, we never get an instruction manual about how money works (or about how to be a parent, come to think about it) and she believes that a “money licence” may be helpful in the same way as a driver’s licence – and we all know how few novice drivers pass that test the first time, so why should money be that different?
“Most of what we learn about money comes from advertising or from other people who know as little as we do. No wonder we make such basic mistakes. No wonder we feel disempowered and scared,” she writes.
“Mostly, I wrote this book for myself, because I wish I could send it back in time to 25-year-old me, who was confused . . . wondering how the hell I was ever going to pay rent.” Several tips are aimed at younger readers, for example “trying to look rich is how so many of us end up poor” – although there are of course plenty of older citizens who still have not learnt this lesson!
And nobody wants to be told their car and cellphone are just guzzling their cash, but she spells it out clearly: do not buy a new car or snazzy phone on contract.
I loved the way she frames why financial knowledge is important – for example, I certainly do want to trick my “dumb brain into saving more without giving up fun”.
I also would love to know how to negotiate a raise at work.
She also covers the thorny issue of “black tax”, which you won’t find in books from experts from abroad.
A lot of the advice is simple, common sense. For example, she outlines how the amount you save is the single most important part of managing your money.
We all know that – or should know that – but it is easier said than done, hence the fact that there is a market for her book.
Some of it is eye-opening, such as the graph in the first chapter, which reveals that a bigger salary won’t make you any happier.
Her theory is that if you give an extra R1 000 a month to someone who is poor, it will make a huge difference in their life. Give the same R1 000 to a higher earner, and it will barely register.
“With exercises, flowcharts and informative illustrations (also: kittens) this book is empowering and helpful – and f*cking funny too,” says the book jacket and yup, I couldn’t agree more. –