Chatelaine Earn Spend Save: The savvy guide to a richer, smarter, debt-free life

Introduction: WHY YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK

YOU CAN DO THIS.

Maybe it seems strange to begin a book about personal finance for women with this type of declaration, but let's face it: when it comes to learning the ins and outs of index funds, RESPs, taxes, pre-nups, and mortgages, couldn't we all use a pep talk before digging in?

Here at Chatelaine we thought so too. That's why we wrote Earn, Spend, Save, a money management book specifically for Canadian women that offers smart, savvy financial advice and tackles the unique financial conundrums that we face.

Here's the thing: as women we live longer than men and need more retirement savings, we are in the paid workforce for fewer years, and we are statistically less likely to ask for a raise or make bucks quite as big as our male counterparts. Not only that, we're our children's primary caregivers, we take on the lion's share of eldercare, and we still run the household even when we're out 9 to 5 (or 6 or 7) bringing home our bacon.

It's partly this time crunch that keeps us from delving in to spending plans or taking stock of stocks, but there's something else at work here. A lot of us say we simply feel unsure or unskilled when it comes to managing our money, despite the fact that numerous studies over the past couple of decades show that women make excellent investors. According to Lisa Hyman, a financial planner in Ottawa, we do more homework before buying, we trade less often, and we are more likely to stay the course.

"Women's ...