BNH Book Review: Broke Millennial

"Broke Millennial" by Erin Lowry
c.2017, Tarcher Perigee
$15/$20 Canada                      
276 pages
 
When she was a child, Erin Lowry’s parents practiced a sort of financial tough-love on their daughter, and it paid off. For Lowry, author of the new book, Broke Millennial, money has never been a taboo subject. It isn’t “stressful, confusing, scary,” like it is for many of her peers.

Money is just a thing, and it’s entirely possible, she says, to “set yourself up for the life you daydream about.” Start by understanding your attitudes toward money, acknowledging that your family plays a large part in how you use it, knowing the myths about finances and erasing them from your mind.

Lowry says to put yourself on a budget, pay down debt and grow your savings. Know that “pay yourself first” is not just a cliché. Shop around for banks and credit cards because they’re not all alike. Think of your credit score and your credit report as your BFFs. Know how to invest and how to create a retirement account, even if retirement seems eons away. And know how to do the tough things, like asking for a raise, hiring a financial planner and getting a mortgage.

Lowry, who explains finances in layman’s terms and simple steps, says she’s “on a mission to stamp out financial illiteracy in our generation.”