Bad with Money

The Imperfect Art of Getting Your Financial Sh*t Together

By: Gaby Dunn

Narrated by: Gaby Dunn

Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

The beloved writer-comedian expands on her popular podcast with an engaging and empowering financial literacy audiobook for Millennials and Gen Z.

In the first episode of her Bad with Money podcast, Gaby Dunn asked patrons at a coffee shop two questions: First, what’s your favorite sex position? Everyone was game to answer, even the barista. Then, she asked how much money was in their bank accounts. People were aghast. “That’s a very personal question,” they insisted. And therein lies the problem.

Dunn argues that our inability to speak honestly about money is our number-one barrier to understanding it, leading us to feel alone, ashamed, and anxious, which in turns makes us feel even more overwhelmed by it. In Bad with Money, she reveals the legitimate, systemic reasons behind our feeling of helplessness when it comes to personal finance, demystifying the many signposts on the road to getting our financial shit together, like how to choose an insurance plan or buy a car, sign up for a credit card or take out student loans. She speaks directly to her audience, offering advice on how to make that #freelancelyfe work for you, navigate money while you date, and budget without becoming a Nobel-winning economist overnight.

Even a topic as notoriously dry as money becomes hilarious and engaging in the hands of Dunn, who weaves her own stories with the perspectives of various comedians, artists, students, and more, arguing that - even without selling our bodies to science or suffering the indignity of snobby thrift-shop buyers - we can all start taking control of our financial futures.

©2019 Gaby Dunn (P)2019 Simon & Schuster

The best book I've read in years

I feel like Gaby knows me. Her writing style is so relatable and down to earth. I learned so much about my spending problems and where it stemmed from. I also feel a kindred spirit with Gaby since i grew up jewish in south florida and understood a lot of the references she made. I had a very eye opening conversation with my mom after reading this and now she has purchased a copy for herself.

Lacking... "Getting Your Sh*T Together"

There was a lot of talk about this happened to me and that happened to me and so on, but really lacked any perspective on how to actually "Get YOUR financial Sh*t together" and I also did not care to hear the final "we need socialism" chapter at the end. It was a good listen but I did not get what I thought I'd get out of the book.

Very Relatable

Absolutely loved it! Some parts sounded like she was reading from some of my personal experiences.

loved it!!

I've been a big podcast listener since the beginning. I love it all. Thank you for everything you do.

perfectly imperfect

an important perspective on money we don't frequently hear. race, class, gender, sexuality are often muted during the conversation about managing money.

Not a good personal finance book

Tl;dr It’s not a bad listen but don’t look her for good in depth personal finance advise.

Picked this up cause it seemed like it would be a good personal finance book. In reality it’s more anecdotal about how the author was bad at money and some basic steps on how to avoid similar situations. Definitely not on par with other books and personal finance writers like Ramit Sethi or Dave Ramsey (which she even notes as an inspiration for her).

Never listened to her podcast but I get the sense the book is a way to monetize and advertise the podcast.

Also the end of the books takes a really weird turn and starts pushing for extreme socialist policies. Not even just like Bernie socialism or subsidized health care, she writes about worker controlled companies and the ousting of capitalism as a whole. She even makes her conclusion of the book on that which is weird since most of that book didn’t have anything to do with that. Kinda leaves a sour taste in your mouth after a mostly enjoyable book.

Overall it’s an alright book and has interesting stories and some basic advice. I feel like nothing in depth was really provided and is more entertainment than education. Unfortunately not what I was hoping for.

10/10 Recommend

Amazing personal finance book. It’s a great book for anyone looking to hear a story like yours

Thanks Gaby for this great book

I really enjoyed this book, although some topics Gaby talks about aren’t relevant for someone not living in US, like me. Gaby opened my eyes on some things like the relation between money situation and mental health.
Thank you Gaby for this great book.

Money is not moral success or failing

I liked Gaby's voice and performance, she has a lotta spunk! Her book was well researched and very relatable for a working class gal like me.

Let go of money shame

Great advice. Real experience on finding your way through personal finance. Honest take on the rigged system.