On Monday, February 10, 2025, we hosted our largest group, 21 women from all walks and stages of life for our winter Women, Wealth, and Wisdom Financial Book Club in Bloomington, Indiana. Many of the attendees have attended in the past and others this was their first time.

We have a five-fold purpose that guides our quarterly gatherings:

Create a safe space for women to ask financial questions.
Educate women about money issues they commonly avoid
Empower women in the Bloomington area to make financial decisions.
Encourage our current attendees to begin their own book clubs to spread knowledge and support the women in their lives.
To relax and have a little fun!

If #4 listed above, resonates with your desire to build community and learn from other women in your life, use the key quotes below and download the PDF of the discussion questions at the bottom of this page.

Quotes from Chapter 1: Optimize Your Life

So it makes no sense to let opportunities pass us by for fear of squandering our money. Squandering our lives should be a much greater worry. (p 4)
Your life is the sum of your experiences. (p13)
My overarching goal is to get you to think about your life in a more purposeful, deliberate manner, instead of simply doing things as you and others have always done them. Yes, I want you to plan for your future—but never in such a way that you forget to enjoy the present. (p 18)

Quotes from Chapter 2: Invest in Experiences

…you retire on your memories. When you’re too frail to do much of anything else, you can still look back on the life you’ve lived and experience immense pride, joy, and the bittersweet feeling of nostalgia. (p 23)
When you spend time or money on experiences, they are not only enjoyable in the moment—they pay an ongoing dividend, the memory dividend… (p 28)
By having experiences, you not only live a more engaged and interesting life yourself, but you also have more of yourself to share with others. It’s like the idea that business begets more business. (p 31)

Quotes from Chapter 3: Why Die with Zero?

Once you’re in the habit of working for money to live, the thrill of making money exceeds the thrill of actually living. (p 42)
Some people go so far as to say that they would pay to pursue the work they love…” (p 47)
You might think that as people get older, they spend money more freely out of the sheer desire to make the most of it before it’s truly too late. But the opposite tends to happen.” (p 56)

Quotes from Chapter 4: How to Spend Your Money (Without Actually Hitting Zero Before You Die)

That means that if you’re the cautious type, you’ll just save and spend as if you expect to live to be 150…which means you will have wasted many hours of your life energy earning money that you will never get to enjoy. (p 63)
When you buy life insurance, you’re spending money to protect your survivors against the risk that you’ll die too young, whereas buying annuities protects you again the risk of dying too old (outliving your savings). (pp 65-66)
Start thinking more about how you use your limited time, your life energy, and you’ll be well on your way to living the fullest life you possibly can. (p 75)

Quotes from Chapter 5: What about the kids?

Putting your kids first means you give to them much earlier, and you make a deliberate plan to make sure that what you have for your children reaches them when it will make the most impact. (p 79)
Be intentional with your kids just as I am urging you to be deliberate with yourself. (p 84)
Whether the money or time you’re giving is to children, to charity, or to yourself, the key concept is the same: There is an optimal time, and it is never when you’re dead. (p 95)

Quotes from Chapter 6: Balance Your Life

…the key takeaway…is to strike the right balance between spending on the present (and only on what you value) and saving smartly for the future. (p 106)
The utility, or usefulness, of money declines with age. (p 115)
It makes sense to spend more of your money at some ages than others, so it makes sense to adjust your balance of spending to saving over the years accordingly. (p 117)

Quotes from Chapter 7: Start to Time-Bucket Your Life

...the day I die and the day I stop being able to enjoy certain experiences are two distinctly different dates. (p 137)
Being aware that your time is limited can clearly motivate you to make the most of the time you do have. (p 141)
...by dividing goals into time buckets, you are taking a much more proactive approach to your life. In effect, you're looking ahead over several coming decades of your life and trying to plan out all the various activities, events, and experiences you'd like to have. (p 145)

Quotes from Chapter 8: Know Your Peak

Invest in experiences the yield long-lasting memories, always bear in mind that everyone's health declines with age, give your money to your children before you die instead of saving for their inheritance and learn to balance current enjoyments with later gratification. (p 151)
Before you start thinking about spending down your money, you must make sure you have enough to live on for the rest of your life. (p 156)
...there are a few lucky souls among us who are indeed "living the dream" and they are doing in life what they always dreamed of doing. These are those rare individuals who can't wait to get to work each day and who feel bad when they have to go home at night. They truly love what they are doing. (p 168)

Quotes from Chapter 9: Be Bold--Not Foolish

There's a great sense of pride at having pursued an important goal wholeheartedly. (p 179)
...you can take the safer path of quiet misery or the bolder path that's less certain but potentially much more rewarding, both financially and psychologically. (p 187)
Realize that at every moment you have a choice. The choices you make reflect your priorities, so be sure you're making those choices deliberately. (p 190)

If you are interested in participating in a future financial book club or want support to host your own Women’s Financial Book Club, reach out to Dawnetta Cooper. To download a copy of the discussion questions, click the link below:

Download discussion questions for Book CluB

You May Also Enjoy:

Dumb Things Smart People Do With Their Money by Jill Schlesinger

Women & Money: Be Strong, Be Smart, Be Secure by Suze Orman

Smart Women Finish Rich by David Bach

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