The Financial Diet

The Financial Diet

Adult nonfiction
"If you are the kind of person who wants to get better with
money--I assume you are because you bought (or stole) this book--I
promise the solution is probably simpler than you think. It starts
with figuring out where you are, being honest about what you could be
doing better, and starting with the smallest possible steps to better-
ness...Your first step can be as simple as reading this book, so
congratulations! You're on your way."
Normally I review only books I feel 100% good about. Usually
any hint of ambivolance prompts me to return the book to the library
without writing a word. Chelsea Fagan's The Financial Diet presented
me with a challenge. What do I do if a book would be very helpful to
a segment of the population but reinforces real classist prejudice?
Which aspect do I cover? In the end I decided both. Hang onto your
hats, readers. We're venturing into unchartered territory here.
A lot of parents feel even more awkward about talking to their
kids about money than about explaining the birds and the bees. Their
uninitiated college freshpeople are prime targets for companies that
don't have their best interests at heart like those credit card
companies that reel them in with bling and don't explain the need to
read the fine print. Many of these students aren't much further ahead
as they prepare to graduate into the scam infested real world.
The most appealing thing about the book is its nonstodginess.
In the minds of a lot of people budgeting is boring. Fagan started
off with that attitude. She intersperses her steps from credit card
defaulter to finance writer with the rest of the text. She does not
come off as stodgy or pedantic. For instance, there is the list of
Chelsea's Don't You Fucking Dares.
Fagan breaks potentially scary topics down into basics without
giving the impression that the title should include for dummies. A
prime example is her four step budget tracker. The check list on
whether to rent a specific place includes a list of important
questions many people don't think of when they fall in love with that
perfect apartment. "Because the right place for you is about not just
how cute it is, it's about the numbers and the priorities that matter
in the long run.". There are reminders that life style, say doing most
of your own cooking instead of eating out or ordering in on a regular
basis, has an immense impact on your financial situation. The advice
on talking about money with friends and spouses or other roomies is
hugely important. Money in our society is so emotion laden that
people can be married for decades without discussing it--probably the
same folks who never get around to talking dollars and cents with the
kids.
My problem with the book is its classism. Its privileged
assumptions are unfortunately too common in our society where gubmint
keeps shredding safety nets as a "tough love" measure to give the
welfare queens and kings the dignity of actually working and achieving
independence. In a society where it is believed that any little boy
or girl can grow up to be president it is also assumed that any person
who makes a real effort can achieve financial solvency. While this
was true for many (but not all due to racism) people in the decades
following WWII (the years unions were strong) it's anything but
today. The loss of middle class jobs due to outsourcing and
automation is leaving little between computer wizard/CEO riches and
service industry poverty and precariousness.
How do you even create a budget when you never know how many
hours you'll get? How do you limit rent expenses to a certain percent
when the alternative to paying half your net is your car (if you have
one), a shelter (if one exists), or sleeping rough...maybe with
children? How do you build an emergency fund or plan for retirement
if it's an overwhelming challenge to make rent and buy food?
Comparing your salaries to those in your field to see if you're paid
what you're worth is not an option if your "field" consists of fast
food burger flipping or big box store stocking.
By all means give the book to people who could use its advice.
Also remind them that it takes real privilege to be able to function
at this level. Even if they never work directly with the have nots,
they have the power to vote for or against politicians whose austerity
budgets (austerity for individuals that is--we never cut corporate
welfare) condemn legions of their fellow human beings to levels of
poverty usually associated with third world nations.
On a personal note, I've started working on more wholesome eating.
Every day I write down everything I eat and drink in a composition
book and highlight the less than optimal choices. I've almost gone 2
weeks and am doing pretty well.
A great big shout out goes out to my mentor and friend, Jodi, whom I
am allowing to see the notebook because she knows about nutrition.
jules hathaway


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