How Much -The life of your money, by Florence Bett

‘How Much.’ by Florence Bett is one of the two financial books authored by Florence Bett. In case you might have missed it, she writes on money, in a pretty humorous way. I doubt someone has made you laugh while educating you on money. Humour is one of my favourite things about this book but I am certain that was not her main intention while writing . The book is written for the young and hungry , like you and I.

Now that we are here, young and hungry here are a number of things you need to know about this incredible book. The book takes the form of questions and answers. Each chapter responds to a different question, and that is the beauty of this book, as you don’t need to read in the sequence that the chapters occur, but from the questions that speak to you most. The answers are also quite number-ful. I remember reading on the question; ‘ how much should we have saved before getting our baby , let me tell you; read the book .

The book is divided into three categories ; Your love,sex and money. Followed by your family’s finances and lastly Savings and investments ; how and where to grow your money. Deeply wholesome if you ask me.

One of the questions on love , sex and money; concerns a lady in the sunset years of her twenties admits to be foolishly drunk in love. Out of love, she takes a loan for her boyfriend ,to get into the uber business but the relationship has ended, and he still is in possession of her car and the money. She adds that this is not a first time mistake. Just like you, I was curious about the expert’s response. I’ll let you in; she says that a fool and her money will soon be parted. She however, says that a relationship or rather love should be able to understand the value of money and hard work. She goes ahead to add that these are not uncommon mistakes most women, have done this. Before I give you the don’ts in relation to love and money, comment and tell us your episode of foolish love and money, we shall read and not judge.

Here are the do nots when it comes to love and money; don’t lend money to your boyfriend ortake a loan for him, do not borrow money from your boyfriend, do not tell your boyfriend how much money you make , do not list your boyfriend as your next of kin. To each of these, there is an explanation and that is why you need to read the book. While in young and foolish love , here is what we need to do in relation to money ; do make your own money,do get comfortable spending your own money,do live in your own place, do keep all your passwords and PINS to yourself and finally seek a professional therapist. She highlights that a healthy relationship is capable of love and companionship. This question was answered in a such open and loving and compassionate way. If you are at an age where your money has started coming in and love too, get the book.

The second part answers on your Family’s finances, on questions such as the cost of motherhood, healthcare cover, how to write a will and the cost of your funeral. I will highlight the question on whether my personal finances are as healthy as I think. First, yes, there is a measure to financial health, which I shockingly learnt that what we need to measure the feeling. How we feel about our financial health is a healthy way to measure it. Anyway, there are six ways to check your financial health. But before I list them down, she suggests that the measuring should be done at a specific date every year. This will guarantee consistency that births reliability and clear-sightedness. Here are the parameters to measure your finances ; your budget, your emergency fund, retirement savings and investments, net worth, debt -to -income ratio and finally the estate plan.

That chapter is quite eye-opening and I’ll summarize by telling you that there is a formula, for example your debt to income ratio should be less than a third. This is a small part of the formula.

Let me jump to the last part of the book; savings and investments. Here Bett answers a number of questions such as the profitability of farming , where, I learnt we have animal whisperers. I will highlight on table banking. When we were younger , we often heard our mums saying they are headed for a chama. In this book, Florence Bett, dymistyfies the myth that surrounds table banking complete with a comparision with saccos, evidence based on numbers. If I dive into the details we might miss out on book 3.

The long and short of this, is that you are sold into buying, ‘ How much,’ by Florence Bett. This is a book for the young and hungry, the answers are such an asset to our money questions and the best thing besides the good vibes and humour is that it is Kenyan-based so the answers are really close home. Read this book as it concerns the life of your money. Happy Reading.