Bad with Money

Bad with Money The Imperfect Art of Getting Your Financial Sh*t Together

Gaby Dunn2019
“Humorous and forthright...[Gaby] Dunn makes facing money issues seem not only palatable but possibly even fun....Dunn’s book delivers.” —Publishers Weekly The beloved writer-comedian expands on her popular podcast with an engaging and empowering financial literacy book 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 #1 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 sh*t 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.
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Reviews

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Paige Carter@paigeccarter
4 stars
Jan 10, 2022

There are SO MANY financial advice books out there. And I find myself reading... All of them. And I get something different from each of them! Honestly. And I really like the way that Gaby Dunn uses her stories, and the stories of those she's interviewed on her podcast, to give tiny little nuggets that have improved her financial life and could improve mine. The age old: save more//spend less..well everyone knows that. So I like the way the author approaches the topic starting from the bottom. There's no shame in not knowing the easy stuff. Usually someone telling me to spend less than I earn leads to an eyeroll and I don't find myself with that feeling when I read this book. And shout out to learning so much about the privileges I carry around money. I never knew the crazy things some people have to endure when it comes to government aid, health insurance, and more. I'd read the book if you want! I'd recommend the podcast even more though. But I'm biased toward podcasts for sure :)

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Laura@readingthroughlondon
5 stars
Nov 11, 2021

I want to start this book with the caveat that I’m a Gaby Dunn fan. I absolutely love her style. As other reviews have said this book is part memoir and part advice book. For me, it was helpful that she didn’t pretend to have all of the answers. I liked that she interwove her experience. In our culture it is so hard to discuss money. I found that this book opened up a conversation. By using the conversation the book opened up, I was able to talk to different people in my life and think more critically about what I wanted to do. Therefore I would recommend it to people who are trying to think about how to spend their money or that feel they are “bad with money.”

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Rebeca Keren Nuñez@rebecanunez
3 stars
Jan 6, 2024
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Allison Evans@allison_evans16
4 stars
Aug 23, 2023
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Archita Birla@architaxb
3 stars
Feb 27, 2022
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Dana Mayeli Rangel Torres@danamayeli
3 stars
Dec 20, 2021
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Jen F@jynxisme98
5 stars
Oct 1, 2021