The Smart Money Woman

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Pub Date 22 Aug 2016 | Archive Date 24 Jun 2020

Description

The Smart Money Woman—An African girl’s journey to financial freedom

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.

The Smart Money Woman—An African girl’s journey to financial freedom

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


A Note From the Publisher

Arese is the Founder of smartmoneyafrica.org a personal finance platform for the African millennial. As a contributor to the Guardian newspaper, the host on Guardian TV’s new personal finance show “Your Life Your Money”, and a co-host for “Analyse This” on Ndani TV, she has helped shape the new narrative on personal finance in the media.



She serves on several boards including House of Tara and the Nigeria Higher Education Foundation as a non-executive director, and is also an associate member of WIMBIZ, serving on its planning committee since 2015. She was most recently a 2015 finalist for the Access Bank W Award for young professional of the year.



After eight years working in wealth management, Arese is now engaging young Africans on the importance of financial literacy and the impact it has on helping them get money, keep money and grow money as they drive the continent forward.



She holds an MSc in Economic Development from University College London (UCL) and a BSc in Business and Management from Aston Business School, Birmingham. She is also an alumna of the of the Lagos Business School, INSEAD Abu Dhabi and The London Business School executive education programs.

Arese is the Founder of smartmoneyafrica.org a personal finance platform for the African millennial. As a contributor to the Guardian newspaper, the host on Guardian TV’s new personal finance show...


Available Editions

EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9781785897603
PRICE £9.99 (GBP)

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Average rating from 6 members


Featured Reviews

I am usually irritated with books that claim to teach you how to put your money to good use but are downright boring, offer no practical steps and make you feel like demanding a refund of the time and money wasted on a misadventure.

I must admit, I had a subconscious bias against this book when I picked it up. Not for any particular reason as I had neither heard of Arese (the author) nor read any of her works but when I realised it was her first book, I decided to schedule it for a book review in November.

I wish I read the book and made this review sooner.

Style:

This 146 paged book is divided into 12 chapters with character set in Lagos. If you like Chick Lits like I do, this book follows the same pattern but with a very intelligent twist.

At the end of each chapter, Arese defines certain terminologies that are used loosely in a section called “Smart Money Lesson”.

Afterwards, she gives her readers a number of simple (but powerful) exercises to understand their starting point and create a road map and action plans to get to their desired financial goal.

Don’t be put off by these exercises as they are quite easy. Initially you will think they are basics but these basics are fundamental and provide clarity or confirmation depending on your current financial situation.

Plot:

It’s a tale of 4 friends who have been keeping up with the Joneses with no clear strategy on how to maintain their lifestyles, set aside emergency funds and trim the excesses. Sometimes it is funny, sometimes you'd sympathise with them and other times, you'd feel like wringing their necks.

The not only gives the reader insights on how the ladies got into their financial mess in the first place, it goes the extra step of giving practical strategies on how anyone can implement actions to pay off debts and stay debt free.

The story of the protagonist, Zuri, is relatable as many single women get obsessed with turning up at the most expensive weddings/ parties to have their pictures in tabloids/ celebrity magazines and blogs but are neck-deep in debt and hoping for their Knight in shining armour to rescue them.

Zuri’s story proves that even if you find yourself in a financial mess, you can get yourself out of it by implementing Arese’s lessons.

Recommendation:

The book is quite easy to read and it took me a day to finish it (yes, I work gruelling hours but still read this book till the end on day 1 as I simply could not put it down).

If you are looking for a book that simply breaks down the fundamentals of living a financially upward life and provided practical steps to do just that, this is a fantastic book to start with.

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This is a MUST read for women... the earlier the better! I loved this book! Yes I got it as a review book but if you look at others you will see the same I am sure of it. It will have you glued to your phone or the book however you get it... This gives back women strength!

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