Love Is Not Enough: A Smart Woman's Guide to Making (and Keeping) Money - Merryn Somerset Webb

...In the 369 pages of Love is not Enough Merryn covers a range of topics familiar to most.

Introduction - Merryn discusses the fact that unfortunately many of us women are raised to see taking control of our finances as an unfeminine thing. Something for men, and that one day a man will come along and make everything ok for us. She mentions that many women never make a pension provision, have their own current account or even pay a ...
...inspiring message that actually women are very good with money once they get the confidence. For example women investors tend to do better on the stock market because they are more cautious than men and tend to think more about where to put their money for the long term rather than looking for the next big thing. All very uplifting.

Section One: Finding the Money covers maximising your income, spending less and having more and finally ... more

As someone with one of the most major life changing events coming up in the not too distant I find myself preoccupied at times with one question. How the dickens am I ever going to afford this poor child I'm expecting? There seem to be two distinct schools of thought on this topic. Those who say comforting things like "oh don't worry you'll be fine, we've managed to muddle along etc", and those that say scary things like, "did you know you will spend 4 million pounds raising a child to the age of 18". Ok I may have exaggerated that figure and it tends to be quoted in business news rather than any of my lovely friends saying it but it's still shockingly high. I digress, but my point is I am facing a real water shed in my life and looking around me to see how others recommend I manage it.

One of my all time heroines is a lady called Merryn Somerset Webb, you may have heard of her if you are a fellow money nut, as she is the editor of Money Week and has written many columns for The Sunday Times, The Week and Harpers. She is quite often on radio talk shows and I even swooned to see her on the business news section of the BBC morning news the other day. Oh to be as sorted financially as she.

Where I am ramblingly getting to is that recently Merryn wrote a financial self help book specifically for women called 'Love is not enough' and in it she makes the shock confession that, you know what? She wasn't always as amazing with money as she is now. In her twenties she worked as a stock broker and was earning a very good salary, but when she decided at age 29 to change her career all she had left was an awe inspiring shoe collection, an admirable tolerance for booze and not much else. Something had to change.

In the 369 pages of Love is not Enough Merryn covers a range of topics familiar to most.

Introduction - Merryn discusses the fact that unfortunately many of us women are raised to see taking control of our finances as an unfeminine thing. Something for men, and that one day a man will come along and make everything ok for us. She mentions that many women never make a pension provision, have their own current account or even pay a bill once part of a couple. But she gives the inspiring message that actually women are very good with money once they get the confidence. For example women investors tend to do better on the stock market because they are more cautious than men and tend to think more about where to put their money for the long term rather than looking for the next big thing. All very uplifting.

Section One: Finding the Money covers maximising your income, spending less and having more and finally debt.
One of the take outs from this chapter that really surprised me was, the whole debate around why do men earn more than women on average? Merryn gives statistics from a Harvard social experiment which tracked men and women with the same qualifications and experience, from graduation for the next few years. At the end of the term sure enough the men, in the main, were earning more. Why was that? Well it turned out to be a simple matter of when the women were offered a job they all jumped at it and took the first salary offered, whereas nearly all the men said, great but I want a higher salary. And got it. The message - Women need to realise their value and not feel grateful for the first job offered to them.
Some of the advice is very basic so if you already have a good grounding you might find you want to skip this section. The nutshell version is earn more, spend less, don't get into debt, and if you do, get out of it damn quick!

Section Two: Using the money: Saving, Investing, Pensions, and Buying a House.
This section is really about getting your financial house in order. If you haven't already got savings in your name then get them, because although you might hear about high profile celebrity divorces in the real world women often get a terrible deal out of splitting up with their partner so being financially independent, even if it is just having a rainy day fund will really stand you in good stead for the future. Merryn also covers practical advice on what sorts of savings and investments make good sense for the average person, and finally runs over the basics of the house purchase process.

Section Three: Sharing the Money; covered in this section are marriage, children and divorce.
Obviously my main interest was the children section, and the first two pages are devoted to the various terrifying stats I mentioned at the start of this review. To give you a taster:

£2,350 is the average spend on essentials in the first year, such as nappies, clothes and toys.
£140,398 is the cost of raising one child to adulthood.
£8.37 is the average pocket money per child paid weekly across the UK in 2004.

The main thrust of the children section is that the earlier you can start planning for them the better it is and even once they arrive keep planning and looking for the cheapest ways of getting the level of care you want to give. For example a child does not need to have a Buggaboo pram to sit in, they are happy with whatever pram you can provide them with. Don't give into the marketing messages designed to make you feel inadequate as a parent unless you have the latest stuff. So not really complex messages but common sense.

Maternity pay is discussed, as is whether to go back to work post baby. The age of the first time Mum comes up as a topic as well. Is it better to be a young Mum or wait until you feel more financially stable? There are tips on how to make your working life easier if you do go back. Child Trust Funds are covered, where to invest for the best returns, and even how to teach your children about money when they are old enough.

Section Four: Beyond the money covers practical money saving tips and also surprisingly for a money book it gives some discussion to how money is not everything, and that friendships and human experiences are what life is about. Money is a tool to be used to give us a good life, it is not life itself.

In summary I found this an excellent book full of inspiring thoughts on how to manage my finances during this exciting but slightly frightening time of pre motherhood, and looking further, as my life could be as a Mum.
I could see it appealing to people who really just want to get a good handle on their finances or who have specific interests like mine, dare I say it, even men might find it a good read as much of the advice transcends the gender issue.
Who wouldn't I recommend it for? Anyone who is already a proficient investor as really this is not aimed at you.

I paid £12.99 for a hardback copy, because I felt it was worth the investment as a reference book, but you can also get it in paperback for around £6 and I have seen cheaper on Amazon for a used copy. I bought mine in Books etc but it is available in Waterstones too and I am sure in many other main stream book shops.

Happy reading ladies! 

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