About Flirting with Finance
Why we wrote Flirting with Finance
About Virginia Graham
About Anneli Knight
About Milja Knight
Chapter outlines from Flirting with Finance
Testimonials
Why we wrote Flirting with Finance
We noticed that many of our girl friends used to switch off when talk turned to finance, their eyes glazed over, they’d shift uncomfortably in their seats and then quickly change the topic. They just seemed to find finance boring.
It wasn’t until the release of the Financial Literacy Foundation’s Women Understanding Money report that we realised how widespread this ‘switch off’ factor was and the damaging impact this could have on women’s financial futures and independence.
The report revealed 52% of Australian women find dealing with money stressful and overwhelming and 25% of women have absolutely no savings for retirement. Of the women who do invest, less than 5% look at the company’s background information.
And this is happening at a time when women are increasing their independence. For the first time since the end of World War I, there are more single women in Australia than married women.
Women work very hard for their money, so why wouldn’t they want to make investments that create a passive income stream, setting them up for financial freedom.
Women have all the talents and capabilities to be good at investing. They are natural networkers, good listeners and have strong intuition. And women will read widely on topics they find interesting.
The problem has been that women just didn’t find finance interesting.
We realised finance had a serious image problem. So we decided it was time to give finance a makeover.
Reading Flirting with Finance will help you realise that finance isn’t the geeky guy in the corner. Finance is the hot gardener with the Diet Coke.
It’s time to start flirting with finance. We hope you have as much fun doing this as we have. Virginia & Anneli.
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About Virginia Graham – author of Flirting with Finance
| Virginia Graham manages her own mortgage-broking business, Model Mortgages, and is a qualified financial planner. She is regularly consulted by the Austereo MMM radio network on interest rates and has appeared on Channel Seven news and current affairs programs. Virginia previously worked for ANZ Bank’s Treasury department as an interest rate dealer and for stockbroking firm Salomon Smith Barney. She has a bachelor of commerce majoring in finance, banking and business economics. Earlier in her career, Virginia was a fashion model in New York, and has appeared on the cover of several fashion magazines, including Australian Vogue. |
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www.modelmortgages.com.au
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About Anneli Knight – author of Flirting with Finance
| Anneli Knight is a freelance journalist and regular contributor to The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, including the Money and My Small Business sections. She was previously a staff journalist at Sydney Morning Herald and before that worked as an intellectual property lawyer at Blake Dawson and in various roles at stockbroking firm Goldman Sachs JBWere. Anneli has a bachelor of commerce (majoring in finance), a bachelor of laws (honours) and a master of arts in journalism. She has recently been awarded a scholarship to complete a PhD in creative writing. |
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www.anneliknight.com
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About Milja Knight – cover illustrator of Flirting with Finance
Milja Knight is an illustrator and fashion designer. Her illustrations can be viewed and purchased online as gift cards or framed prints and she is available for artistic commissions.
www.milja.com.au
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Chapter outlines from Flirting with Finance
Chapter 1. The art of flirting
The reasons why flirting with finance is fun and fundamental.
Chapter 2. Scoping out the scene
Some basic lessons on why people invest. Learn about passive income, capital growth and the magic power of compounding.
Chapter 3. Who are you attracted to?
The fun really starts when you are introduced to the host of suitors that you’re going to encounter through your flirtations. You’ll meet the investment options, one by one, and discover exactly what kind of man he would be, if he happened to be a man.
Chapter 4. Economy: It’s all about fashion
The economy is just like the fashion industry, it moves in cycles, like the length of a fashionable hemline. So once you know what to look out for you’ll find flipping through the business pages as much fun as those glossy magazines.
Chapter 5. Budgeting: The financial health and fitness plan
No pain, no gain, right? The flirting with finance health and fitness plan will help you find a little bit of extra money in your budget to start channelling towards your investments.
Chapter 6. Romance Part One: Timing
Romance is a subject we girls love to talk about. This chapter will give you some high-level tips before you take the plunge and decide to commit.
Chapter 7. Excuses, excuses: consult your Financial Horoscope
It is pretty easy to feed yourself excuses about why you haven’t started investing yet. Consult your Financial Horoscope to confront those excuses and learn how to overcome them.
Chapter 8. Just do it
The step-by-step guide to investing: including contact details, questions to ask, information to look out for and research tips. This chapter will get you rolling on your path to financial freedom and independence.
Chapter 9. Credit where credit is due: How to manage your debt
Learn how to work credit to your advantage and some strategies for dealing with those bad debts.
Chapter 10. Building up your little black book…
There are a number of financial professionals who can guide you through the process and here are some tips on how to find them.
Chapter 11. Mixing business and pleasure
You might consider investing with friends, family or other flirts. This can be a fun way to pool resources if you set some things straight from the start. But there are some dangers - find out how to avoid disaster.
Chapter 12. Super woman: When I’m 64
Your superannuation savings can help you have a happy life right through retirement and making some smart decisions right now could have a huge impact later on.
Chapter 13. Insurance: Are you on a sure thing?
Insurance is a financial safety net to protect you just in case things don’t turn out exactly the way you planned.
Chapter 14. Death and taxes: At least you can control one
As they say, there’s two unavoidable things in life: death and taxes. You can’t control the first, but you can influence the second. Just make sure you’re not paying too much. Some of these tips could save you thousands of dollars.
Chapter 15. Romance Part Two: Patience
Some advice on how you and your investments can live happily ever after.
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Testimonials for Flirting with Finance
“What you’re holding in your hands is a golden egg; because Flirting with Finance is many things: an easy-to-read guide that demystifies the world of finance; a savvy educative tool; and last but not least, a tangible blueprint to help you start investing … What sets Anneli and Virginia’s book apart is its radiant language and uniquely entertaining approach to simplifying the intricate world of finance and investing.”
- Larke Riemer, Chair of the Global Banking Alliance for Women and Westpac’s National Head of Women’s Markets.
“Flirting with Finance is an engaging and humorous take on what can be a dry but important topic. I’m sure it will provide readers with the knowledge and tools to approach investing with confidence.”
- Alan Kohler, editor-in-chief of Eureka Report and finance presenter on ABC News and Inside Business.
“Managing your money helps increase your choices – no matter what stage of life you’re at. Flirting with Finance can help women make informed decisions about how to spend and how to save – increasing their financial security and independence.”
- Tanya Plibersek, Federal Minister for the Status of Women
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