Lois Frankel Business & Career Coach

by Kathy McCabe, Special to AOL Coaches

"Many of the characteristics that make women uniquely feminine are the very same behaviors that prevent them from becoming financially independent," writes Lois Frankel, in her book 'Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich: 75 Avoidable Mistakes Women Make with Money.' Frankel, whose tell-it-like-it-is advice made her first book, 'Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office' a bestseller, doesn’t hold back in telling her female readers how the social messages they received growing up have put them at a distinct financial disadvantage. Women don’t envision themselves getting rich, are more concerned with fulfilling non-wealth related life roles and simply don’t develop the skills to make shrewd financial decisions, the author contends.

Through interviews with women around the world, Frankel has isolated 75 ways women sell themselves short financially, from "not distinguishing between wants and needs" to "working in a female ghetto" to "not taking advantage of compound interest for retirement."

The author illustrates each mistake with a mix of anecdotes, statistics, worksheets and her own personal experience. Each mistake is followed by a bulleted list of "coaching tips" for turning the situation around. The tips range from the seemingly obvious to truly "light bulb moment" suggestions. Under "Mistake 34: Paying Bills, Not Managing Money," Frankel writes, "Read the financial statements that come in the mail or online." Sure that might seem like a no-brainer, but how many of us fail to do so month in and month out? The author gives us a much needed "kick in the pants."

Frankel speaks openly to women, urging her readers, "Personalize the words in this book. It’s what makes this book unlike other on financial planning. It’s not just a list of things to do; it’s also about what you think and how you feel." For those females who have never been comfortable with money or focusing on money as a goal, she insightfully urges them to not focus on the amount, but rather "the ability to act with independence that defines a rich life." Women of any age and every social class will see themselves in Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich, and most will be all the richer for having put some of Frankel’s frank advice into practice.

1. Buy 'Nice Girls Don't Get Rich'