Book review: Girlynomics by Kate Battrick

It’s been a while since the last book review, and it’s high time we had another one. Today I’m casting a beady eye over Girlynomics: the Downturn Alley edition, the ebook by Kate Battrick.

Kate Battrick is a freelance writer and fashion stylist, and she’s one of those people who has a real knack for looking great and having lots of fun without running up a massive credit card bill in the process. This comes through very strongly in the tone of the book, and it’s an enjoyable read.

What is ‘Girlynomics’ then? It’s a word the author uses to describe a common female mindset that affects how many of us spend or save our cash. Sometimes it helps us, say when we go bargain hunting, and sometimes it harms us – such as the times when we kid ourselves that we deserve a huge splurge because we’ve saved a moderate amount of money elsewhere.

Much of this book is straight talking, but sometimes that’s just what you need. It isn’t patronising though, and it contains lots of creative ideas for entertainment, good food, capsule wardrobes that actually work, and so on.

There is some good advice about making goals and plans, budgeting in a realistic way that suits your spending personality type, and generally taking control of your own financial present and future. It’s presented in a nice way, broken up with bullet points and quotes, and it might even get you feeling enthusiastic about an area of your life that many consider to be a chore (or too scary to tackle).

Is it a good buy? I’d have to say yes, as I think it would be of use to most women who are worried about money, or who want to live well on a modest budget. It’s very reasonably priced, and even if you only followed a couple of the tips in the book then you’d save far more than the book costs.

As a final comment, I think this ebook would perhaps benefit from being picked up by a larger publisher. It has quite a broad appeal and could do really well with the help of a marketing department, supportive editor etc etc.

Girlynomics: The Downturn Alley edition by Kate Battrick is currently available as an ebook on Amazon, priced £2.14.

If you’d like to find out more about Kate Battrick’s money-saving ideas and style, you can follow her (@TwistedSkirt) on Twitter or check out her Twisted Skirt blog.