Nice Girls Don't Get Rich: 75 Avoidable Mistakes Women Make with Money

by Lois P. Frankel

If you have outstanding balances on your credit cards...don't have assets in your own name...are saving instead of investing, then chances are you're not rich and not living the life you want. Without your awareness, behaviors learned as a girl are preventing you from becoming a woman who is financially independent and free to follow her dreams. Now, with the same frank advice and empowering information that made Nice Girls Don't Get the Comer Office a bestseller, Lois Frankel tackles the 75 financial mistakes that keep women from having the wealth they deserve. She isolates the messages about money given to little girls that little boys never hear. Then she helps you discover the financial thinking that is keeping you stuck in old patterns, dependent relationships, and jobs where you earn less than you deserve. Once you get to the root of the problem, Frankel helps you solve it-with fabulous results. Her coaching tips help you take control of your finances and make more money than you ever thought possible. Do you make these "nice girl" mistakes? * Mistake #4: Not playing to win. Being polite, quiet, and fair to a fault is playing the financial game "like a girl." * Mistake #10: Choosing to remain financially illiterate. Knowledge is power. Learn to manage your major purchases, investments, and banking. * Mistake #20: Spending as an emotional crutch. Understand your emotions; don't make purchases just to lift your spirits. * Mistake #45: Saving instead of investing. Fear can keep your funds in low-interest accounts. Get educated about investing. Get wealthy. Frankel gives you the financial savvy to change negative behaviors, make smart money choices, and embrace the life you want sooner than you think.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Finance, Business, Money, Personal Finance, Personal Development

265 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2005

About the author

Dr. Lois Frankel, President of Corporate Coaching International, a Pasadena, California consulting firm, literally wrote the book on coaching people to succeed in businesses large and small around the globe. Her books Nice Girls Don’t Get The Corner Office and Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich are international bestsellers translated into over twenty-five languages worldwide. Stop Sabotaging Your Career, a book based on her experiences as a pioneer in the field of business coaching working with everyone from CEOs to entry-level professionals, is a must-read for both men and women.

Reviews

[Gwen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure who this book's intended audience is. Maybe women of a certain age and of an upper middle-class background who are recently divorced or widowed, and are just now having to learn about how to manage money? The expectation throughout is that there is money, including inheritances, which seems odd today—11 years after the book was published, after a global recession, after the hollowing of the middle class, when the stock market no longer has historical returns of 10.4 percent annually, and after the growth of the "sandwich generation," squeezed at both ends from rising tuition costs for their children and rising healthcare costs for their parents.

She expects that if we're not already contributing the maximum to our 401(k)s, it's because we don't know that we should—not that we don't have the $18,000 just floating around and waiting to be put to better use in retirement savings. Additionally, this book emphasizes the cult of homeownership and scaling the property ladder (understandable, given that this book was published in 2005 before the housing bubble burst). For some, buying a home can be the answer, but homeownership hasn't proven to be the solution for everyone, especially now that houses are becoming increasingly out of reach for all but the wealthiest of people.

Frankel's work also entrenches gender norms, presuming that every woman is going to be a wife and/or a mother. That every woman "dream[s] of our first home as being the one into which our husbands will carry us over the threshold" (loc. 2119). That we must be concerned with "the male ego...a fragile thing" (loc. 999) that must be preserved.

But beyond this dated narrative, the advice seems...off. Frankel explains budgeting—presumably because her intended reader doesn't know how—but later blithely states that 401(k) contributions are protected by ERISA laws, without explaining what, exactly, those laws are and why we should care. She also gives advice similar to what I read and hated in The Economy of You: Discover Your Inner Entrepreneur and Recession-Proof Your Life: monetizing hobbies and starting side gigs without any serious guidance on how to do so. She flippantly states, "If you have a message, consider writing books or making documentaries or producing shows/films that have meaning—and turn a profit at the bookstore or the box office" (loc. 2455). Sure, like it's really that simple...

Frankel, understandably, emphasizes her other book (which I actually enjoyed) but the constant references to that book got tedious. There's some good advice in here, especially about maximizing employer-provided perks (assuming you get them), but if you're looking for a basic introduction to figuring out how to plan your finances, All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan and The Behavior Gap cover the information in more depth and understanding of broader economics.

[Vonetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book changed my life. I couldn't put it down. I'm the kind of person who thinks that thinking like a man is beneath me, but I guess it makes sense with regards to money. It made me think about the real reasons why I spend (elliciting some self-induced Dr. Phil moments), but it has inspired me to be more cautious about how I spend. I mean, I can't even walk into a store without experiencing cognitive dissonance or thinking about the condo that I so desperately want to purchase in the next 7 years. Total priority shift.

[Joanna Vaught · Rating 2 out of 5]

60 of these 75 mistakes are so obvious that, frankly, if women are really making these mistakes on a regular basis, they shouldn't even be allowed to have money. i wanted a book that told me practical ways to invest and save, not bullshit advice like: "stop shopping!" and "don't give money away!"

[shams | · Rating 3 out of 5]

الكاتبة تستعرض ٧٥ خطأ ترتكبها النساء في التعامل مع المال تعلمنا كيف نتفادها ونحسن من حياتنا ، أغلب الأشياء اللي تعلمناها قد تكون غير صحيحة وفي الكتاب تصحيح لهذه
المفاهيم ، وكان على قائمة نيويورك لأفضل الكتب مبيعًا ..

[Marleen | Favoritez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Geluisterd via spotify.. prima boek met een aantal handige tips, maar verder heeeel Amerikaans en behoorlijk gedateerd 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book carries the same message as Destiny's Child's Independent Woman Pt. 1 song. Except for the 'only ring your celly when I am feeling lonely, when it's all over please get up and leave.' That happens to be my favorite lines, though. LOL.
Working in a bank helps me to be smart in investing. I got to know where to put my money in the right investment which will help me to get rich hahaha well, you have to let your money work for you, no?
And I think, being financially independent is a must for every woman. We cannot blame the culture here where men think that women are 'not-so-smart-enough' in earning and spending money and I still find most women don't have enough knowledge in how to make their money grow. For example, we women tend to save our money in time deposits or saving account no matter how much we earn them while men tend to invest in property and stocks. I am not saying that it's wrong to save your money in saving account or time deposits, it's just that in this time they're not the right investing instruments. You'd get small interest!! And you'd even have to pay for taxes!! But sometimes women don't have the guts to switch from the traditional instruments like time deposits to stocks. Believe me ladies, time deposits' interest won't get you anywhere...Try to invest in unit link, instead.

This book however, teaches us women how to become financially independent, how to invest the right way, and how to be really smart in earning and spending your money, and how not to be weak in dealing with money issues. I think it's really empowering. And I am so into empowering books. Women should read this.

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

While there are many great tips in this book, I realized as I read that I don't actually want to be the kind of rich that Lois Frankel talks about. She cautions readers to only lend money to friends and family that we know will repay it. She also reminds us to charge our friends and family members for our services. My friends and family members make my life rich, and that means much more to me than the number at the bottom of a balance sheet.
The first chapter, titled Women and Wealth is a very good read. Shortly after finishing this part, I had a money conversation with a man that illustrated perfectly the author's observations about how differently women (or at least I) think about money than men (or at least the man I was having the conversation with). It was uncanny.

[Brandee Spears · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you looking for inspiration to get started on changing your financial lifestyle, this is a great start. If you're looking for an overall how-to for investing, this isn't the book for you. It's sort of like Rich Dad, Poor Dad but aimed at I powering women.

[Tejumade]

This is an interesting book, with an interesting title. But it seem it's just reminding me of everything I already know. I like the title though, so I put the book in a conspicous place on my Book-shelf- seeing the title everyday put me in check from going overboard..

[priv · Rating 1 out of 5]

Alles schon einmal in weitaus besser gelesen. Außerdem nervt die Eigenwerbung der Autorin enorm. "Es ist ein Fehler, dass du mein erstes Buch nicht gelesen hast!"

Nein, Lois, ich habe es gelesen und in Bezug auf Finanzen hat es keine Relevanz! Weswegen diese Eigenwerbung eben ziemlich uninteressant und auch vermessen ist.

Aber das ist eine typische 2022-Coach-Masche. "Kauf alle meine Produkte, sonst bist du nicht schlau!" Will ich nicht, mag ich nicht.

Ihr erstes Buch war aber gut, tho.

[Suus · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a great book if you're starting to explore the world of finance (like me) since it talks about topics I never even thought about. However, some of these tips seem like surface level knowledge to me. It doesn't go into great depth -its not what this book is about- but it's a great start!

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

quick, effective read - though a little meh on novel ideas.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing great in here. Very basic information. Could be helpful for high school or college aged people.

[Jenske Schuurman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interessant hoe ze er vanuit gaat dat iedereen rijk is. Of dat alle mannen geldwolven met ego’s tot aan het plafond zijn. Out-of-the-box ook wel: “Neem een baan met een hoog salaris”.

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Nicci307 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leider sehr amerikanisch gehalten und sehr oft der Verweis auf das eigene Buch. Für Anfängerinnen ggf. Hilfreich, aber hier haben wir auf dem deutschen Markt doch passendere Lektüren.

[Amalina Ariffin · Rating 1 out of 5]

(1.4 / 5 stars)

Just when I thought nice girls don't get the corner office was bad, then I listened to this audio book. Oh boy.

It seems like the target audience are divorcees or widows married to rich men and not really for everyday women.

Again with outdated and simplistic ideas and thoughts blaming women and making us look like we love shopping and are vulnerable incapable of managing our finances well instead of also reflecting on the complex relationship and social dynamics of women and money. The author pointed out many of the mistakes women made but constantly resort to the solution of seeking the advice of others instead of taking the time to spell out different methods to the solution instead of relying on others which got women to the mess she was referring to.

Sometimes I got so annoyed I started tuning out as I was trying to process my annoyance from this book. To be fair maybe when it was published it was a lot more revolutionary but for today's financial landscape I recommend reading Girls Who Invest and Rich AF who gave step by step guidance and also written by women of color so they shared relatable issues like being migrants or ethnic cultural limitations.

[Amarylis Meuninck · Rating 1 out of 5]

Het doelpubliek in mijn ogen : 40-jarige vrouwen die in de knoop zitten met hun financiën en net een scheiding achter de rug hebben. Het zit vol met contradicties, sparen wordt geprezen en tegelijk beleggen ook. Alsook lijkt het van tijd tot tijd een felicitatie van haarzelf aan haarzelf voor haar eigen rijkdom. Het was een heel taai boek om er door te nemen, met veel achterhaalde tips (al dan niet allemaal achterhaald).

[Mireille · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the translated version of the book, in Finnish, which made some of language seem off; either condescending or simply nonsensical as direct translations of phrases often don't work.
Aside from that since the translation is obviously not part of the original deal you get with a book: most items in the book are pretty darn obvious. There are next to no actual investment tips and the examples "from real life" are often of people who are already extremely privileged. If you have 10,000 USD to invest, you already are wealthy. Same with receiving inheritances between 10,000 and 30,000 USD. Also the statistic on how much of their earned income men use annually versus the amount used by women are kind of a moot point as there are more necessities women need for bare survival as there are necessities men need.

This book strikes me as directed more towards women in upper middle class to upper class, who grew up with wealth and all the opportunities and didn't ever really have to consider deciding between rent or eating. Or eating and medication. Or rent and education. The book isn't without redeeming qualities, but be forewarned that if you are poor, this book will probably not help you much.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some tips were great to read at this time in my life. I need to greatly consider whether or not we pay off our mortgage early and this book is leaning me towards researching other options.

Other tips were less relevant or more obvious. Like don't let your adult children leech off of you, but I'm sure there are plenty of retirement age people wondering what the hell happened.

Not a bad book, but I didn't find it particularly revelatory.

I did like her all-inclusive approach to picking topics and listing mistakes in a friendly and clear format.

[Monica Haak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interessant. Zet aan tot meer lezen over financiën, budgetteren, rijkdom, beleggen etc. Niet per se dat dit boek alles vertelt, maar wel leuke start.

[P · Rating 4 out of 5]

In "Nice Girls Don't Get Rich," author Lois Frankel uses anecdotes from women she interviewed to illustrate how women's (often subconscious) attitudes about money often hold us back from our true financial potential. Frankel goes through many "nice girl" behaviors that separate us from financial abundance. These include staying in low-paying, dead-end jobs (often in the service or care industries); refusing to learn about investing because it's not immediately interesting; and waiting for high-earning men to come sweep us off our feet and take care of us financially. Some of these behaviors and internalized attitudes unfortunately resonated with me. Despite the book's flaws, I found it to be inspiring, and it helped me re-examine some of my attitudes about money.

Positives:
I like that Frankel doesn't imply that women's underearning is due to something inherently wrong with us, but explains that over the courses of our lives, society has taught us behaviors that correlate with underearning, starting when we were little girls. The title is not supposed to imply that you have to be callous or mean to be rich, or that you can't still be caring or have a positive impact on the world if you have money. Rather, it means that a lot of the "nice" behaviors we are taught as girls are actually immature and prevent us from reaching our financial goals.

Society tends to encourage women to be caring, accommodating, and self-sacrificing to a fault, leading us to neglect our own financial needs. Society also teaches us the flawed idea that when we get married (if we're heterosexual), a man will take care of us financially because it's "not a woman's job" to worry about the finances. This book hopes to help undo some of that social conditioning. As with Barbara Stanny's book "Secrets of Six-Figure Women," (which Frankel recommends to readers of her own book), the author reveals that many of our barriers to reaching our financial goals are mental. I did find this book somewhat inspiring, and it encouraged me to do some research about investing, put more effort into my job search, and raise my standards for pay.

Negatives:
This book is not an in-depth guide to finances for beginners, which somewhat disappointed me. It was a bit odd that Lois Frankel urges women to invest their money instead of saving it, but then, instead of explaining the basics of investing, she urges readers to peruse financial magazines and books to fill knowledge gaps. She does the same thing with advising the reader to start a side hustle, then not giving a clue of where to start with that. I will apply her advice and do more research, but... It seems self-defeating that a book supposedly about money tells women to read other, better books about money.

Also, the section at the end where she recommends more books about money seems like it should be helpful, but I started reading one of the books she recommended, "Secrets of Six-Figure Women" by Barbara Stanny, and it gives a lot of the same advice Lois Frankel gives, plus a lot of fluff. That somewhat leads me to believe the "recommended books" section is just Lois Frankel advertising her own books and her friends' books. Maybe it's the cynic in me. At least she is using a good financial strategy by advertising for herself!

Over all, you're more likely to get something out of this book if you're looking for less of a thorough financial roadmap and more of a pep talk. I think "Nice Girls Don't Get Rich" would be helpful to high school girls, college-aged women, and recent college grads who haven't had to think much about money up until this point (thus their "girlish" behaviors surrounding money). For a pep talk, it certainly is helpful. However, I do not recommend this book to women who already have a solid understanding of personal finance, because they will see it as fluff. Some of the advice is dated, given that it was originally published in the 2000s, but I can't fault the author for that. I will also note that the author does come off as rather middle-class and that the book doesn't fully address generational poverty or conditions like disability that may affect employability. This might annoy some readers.

[Michaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like this is a great book for young women who lack the motivation and the necessary knowledge to start responsibly managing their money.

What I particularly liked about the took is that it has a very well organized structure: each habit is listed with a title, a description, sometimes even a short story, and with a few practical coaching tips - this made the book easier to read and digest. Additionally, not only did it provide advice, but it also motivated me to get more educated on the topic of personal finance (something I dread immensely, but I now recognize the important of).

What is worth mentioning is that this is definitely a book aimed at young women or women who have zero experience in managing their finances. For someone doing a somewhat okay-ish job at this, I think the book will mostly be common sense.

I think it would have been better if the book also provided some basic information on finance, rather than just references to useful resources - it would’ve made it a really complete guide. Nonetheless, I still think it’s a very useful book for young girls and it has inspired me to become more educated and responsible in terms of my personal finances.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much like her other book, Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office, this book is built in a bullet-list style. It's a quick read that has really good advice. If you listen and implement her suggestions, you'll be on your way to a wealthier future. Hopefully the book reduces some of the fears people feel when they are faced with making changes to their ways of thinking, behaving, and planning for the future.

I've passed a few of these ideas along to family friends I thought might benefit. I suspect that's true for many readers.

The bullet-list style is a great mechanism for delivering information in a direct fashion. In most cases; it's my favorite reduce-the-bs way. However, as someone who listens to these books on her commute ... this style goes a little too fast. I can't take notes or engage with the material the way I would need to in order to grasp as much as I can of what she is saying. So I end up listening more than once. I guess that's not the end of the world...

[Laura Fulton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw something on Pinterest awhile back that I was reminded of while reading this book- it went along the lines of “if you think I’m buying coffee out every day, you already think I make more money than I actually do.” Or something to those lines.

While many points in the book would instantly make me think of specific instances in my own life, and the lives of my friends, I got a touch defensive during parts of it because she had the tendency of acting as though women were making financial “mistakes” because we as a gender are too stupid to see a better solution. Also, there is a lot of financial information that is outdated (with the book being written before the market crash in 2008).

All in all, I wish I had read this book 15 years ago, before I had the chance to make any of these mistakes. But after living as an adult, a lot of this was self explanatory.

[Barbara Dzino · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is a bit outdated and its referrences are old as well (written in 2004). The target audience also would be more upper middle class women, who already have a large amount of money at their disposal to use setting up their own foundations or invest. I am also not a fan of how the concrete advice is to just go and find a financial advisor (this would be my main takeaway from the book) for everything, which is a bit outdated since you can learn pretty much anything from the internet these days.

However, the book was a good reminder on money mindset and that throuough research and preparation can get you a long way as well as setting the right boundaries - with the call to action that it is okay to be a bit more selfish as a women!

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I listened to this audiobook only because it came as a pair with Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office via Libby. I kind of wished I DNF'ed this. If you want personal finance advice - read "I Will Teach You to the Rich" by Ramit Sethi and ignore Dr. Frankel. Several takeaways are similar but overall less offensive. Also this book did not age well. "Female ghettos"??? Recommending paying an advisor a percentage of your portfolio??

The only interesting things I learned was that per report studies have shown that women are 5x more likely to buy items on sale than men. I also did appreciate the advice to create time boundaries at work and not do unpaid work, which is good advice for all genders.

[Đặng · Rating 4 out of 5]

Một cuốn sách mình mua từ năm 2015. Lúc đó đọc xong còn chưa hiểu hết vấn đề, chỉ thấy cuốn sách này đơn thuần là một quyển sách self-help về tài chính cho phụ nữ. Mình còn mới chỉ đọc hết 1/3 cuốn sách vì lúc đó chưa nhận được những điều mình đang tìm kiếm.
2019 mình đọc lại, mình nhận ra cuốn sách thật sự có giá trị nhất định. Một số lời khuyên vẫn có thể áp dụng đến hiện tại, một số lời khuyên bản thân đã trải nghiệm và thấy giá trị.
Sách chia thành những chương nhỏ, nội dung bố cục rõ ràng, dễ đọc.
Cuốn sách này recommend cho những bạn trẻ hơn đang trên con đừng tìm kiếm sự tự do về tài chính.

[Lorna Liang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came into this book in the local library, after finish reading, I felt so sad that I hadn't read it before I started my first job, meanwhile I felt so excited and I wrote a reading notes shared what I've learned from the book with more girls. I encourge them to find sometime and flip through this one.

Though the suggestions are not from financial professionals, and sometimes a little bit rough, yet the 75 problems girls made with money is the valuable part of this book and deserves every girl keeps the list in their wallets or in their phone reminding them from time to time.

I am expecting to read Dr. Frankel's other books.

[Brooke Mach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely relatable, quick-paced read! Frankel does a fabulous job of explaining why women tend to make less money than men, backed by psychology and statistics. She provided numerous resources from articles, books, and websites to help break this cycle and reach financial freedom. The book is laid out in eight chapters that address different aspects that may be holding one back from achieving financial freedom. She provides logistical coaching tips, solutions, and resources to overcome the 75 mistakes women should avoid! Every woman should read this book at least once, regardless of age (although, the sooner the better).