Review: Girl, Read This Book!

The first time I came across financial expert Glinda Bridgforth was on Oprah, when she participated in the "America's Debt Diet" series. Bridgforth was the unfortunate expert who got stuck with the family who wouldn't follow expert advice, even though the advice was sound. When I was handed a copy of her latest book, Girl, Get Your Credit Straight!, I decided to take a look.

With its catchy title that I couldn't get out of my head, I dove in and found an interesting read. The book is directed to African-American women, but any woman will find this book useful. Bridgforth weaves in her own personal struggles with money with tales of other women, who like her, have overcome their financial troubles. Having dug myself out of a mound of credit-card debt, I always find other real-life stories of conquering debt fascinating.

Bridgforth also breaks down financial terms and jargon into regular language, and gives step-by-step advice on how to prioritize and pay off debt. At times, Bridgforth gets a little too spiritual for my tastes, but all in all, her book's an entertaining, educational read. The book is the third in a series: The second, Girl, Make Your Money Grow!, written with a co-author, was a bit harder to get through. I have not yet picked up her first book, Girl, Get Your Money Straight!. But Bridgforth's book on credit was helpful enough that I plan to pick up her first book soon.