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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Women's club shares pain of reading financial books

Take control of financial futures while having fun

By: Fiona Anderson

Posted: 08/16/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Bernadette Giet says she'd rather stick a pencil in her eye than read some of the financial books she's slogging through. But if she wants to be wealthy, and she does, she has to teach herself about money and how to get it.

Reading financial books is "Ew," the 31-year-old Vancouver woman says on her website, wealthywilma.com.

So she started the Wealthy Wilma book club in February 2008 to give herself and other women the support they need to take control of their financial futures. The club now has more than 120 members in 10 cities across North America.

Giet tries to make it fun -- well, as fun as reading financial books can be -- with "cheeky guilt-tripping" emails to all the Wilmas (as she calls the book club members) and a funny website.

Her pitch to potential members from her website says:

"Instead of hoping luck will fall in your lap, that one day it will all just come together, that you'll inherit a chateau in France or a millionaire will just happen to have your size of glass slipper, wouldn't you rather know 100 per cent when you're going to retire comfortably, that you can afford that big house in the 'burbs... that trip around the world or that man slave to feed you grapes?"

"We have to figure this out," Giet said in an interview. "There's no Prince Charming that's going to show up."

Every few months, Wilmas get together to discuss a financial book Giet has picked, read and even prepared a discussion guide for. After the meetings, which happen on the same day regardless of location, the groups exchange the top tips they picked up.

Many Wilmas have said it's the first time they've talked money with other women, Giet said.

And that's good, because without talking about money, women aren't going to move financially forward, she said.

"The goal is to move financially forward, and we use the premise of the book club that most women are really familiar with as the means of doing that," she said.

"I want to be wealthy. Why can't I have a yacht? Why can't I have a cabin? And why can't (my friends) have a yacht beside me?"

The books can be tough slogs. For example, Investing for Dummies "was so not written for dummies," Giet said. "It was like studying for an exam, it was really gross."

For that one, Giet set up study nights at the library so women could meet up and help each other read and understand the book. Every little bit helps.

"These women see the title (of the book) and they'll do anything to procrastinate," she said. "They'd rather clean their toilets in their favourite jeans than read (these books)."

Only two of the 11 Wilmas who met at Giet's apartment got through the most recent book, The New Buffettology.

"I would have rather shoved a pencil in my eye, it was a tough book," Giet said.

But she did learn the difference between a bull and a bear market.

"Even if you haven't read the book, if you learn one per cent, that's one per cent more than you knew before," she said.

Giet is happy with the current choice, The 4-Hour Workweek, by Timothy Ferriss.

"It's fascinating, it's funny, and he's cute," she said.

Men who want to read the books are welcome to get on Giet's mailing list to receive the after-meeting emails that list lessons learned. But they can't come to the meetings. "It would change the dynamic if men were there," Giet said. "Women wouldn't be as forthcoming." Giet has already benefited from the club, which is free to join.

She recently met with her financial planner "and all of a sudden I'm at the table with a brain," she said.

"And who knew I had one?"

-- Canwest News Service

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 16, 2009 C7

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