There’s no shortage of books on finance, credit, debt management, and every other possible related topic. But this book has something most of those books lack: a very humble admission that the author herself ended up in dire credit straits.

Personally, books written by financial gurus are great, but they lack the credibility that comes from knowing the mistakes people make firsthand. Even the awesome Suze Orman ended up penniless through others’ swindling errors, and eventually got it back through the legal system. 

Rasheed, however, made her own mistakes, which she openly and honestly explains, along with retrospective insight into what she should have done differently. 

Once that discussion is out of the way, the author spends the rest of the book with advice and explanations that even the most unschooled novice spender could understand. I remember stopping at one point to post the following question on Facebook, prompted by Rasheed’s expertise:

Why do we teach kids sex ed in school–or some pathetic, conservative variation, at least–but we don’t teach kids about credit and debt?

I stand by that statement. It’s upsetting that schools have now taken on the tasks of teaching kids to drive, to cook, to abstain from sex and drugs, but we don’t teach kids something they will all genuinely need–instruction in smart spending and avoiding crippling debt–they never get in school. 

Fortunately, individuals like Rasheed have stepped up to present real world examples. It’s very well-written and edited, and constructed in a valuable way.