A few years ago, I found a financial others that worked well for me. I haven't seen anything yet that beats that.

In the beginning, before getting to the 4 week plan, this book feels rather unfocused to me. Once we get into the weekly plan, it does get a little better, though still feels at times like there's a bit too much filler and not enough focus on the actual how-to. There are some really good bits here and I think for some readers, Feinstein Gerstley's plan may work well, but for me it just missed the mark. I was expecting a more practical, step-by-step guide rather than so much discussion about figuring out what the reader's goals are and what's worth spending money on. If you are someone who prefers a lot of discussion, this may work for you. If however, you really just want to get down to the nuts and bolts of getting ahold of your finances and getting serious about reaching your goals, this will likely be a miss for you as well.

Thank you to Ashley Feinstein Gerstley, Sourcebooks and Netgalley for the opportunity to take and review this book. All comments are my own, unbiased opinion.

I was hoping for a book to lay out ways to save money over a 30 day period but this book was a bit confusing and didn't quite deliver for me. It could have done with being more concise and how to rather than 'talking about it'

While some people may avoid reading, discussing or even thinking about money I'm quite the opposite. I'm fascinated by different budgeting methods, approaches to saving, how people manage their money and more, so I was intrigued to read The 30-Day Money Cleanse and was especially drawn in by the cover design. I liked the idea of comparing your finances to a health cleanse and the metaphor works, to an extent, here.

This a great introduction to financial awareness - not budgeting or saving, perfect for someone who hasn't taken the time before to seriously meditate on their earnings, spending and savings. It's clear this isn't meant to be a comprehensive resource yet the author then claims at the end of the book: "By now, your new money habits are no longer guidelines; they have become a lifestyle. After you've completed the Money Cleanse, your relationship with money and your money mindset will be transformed forever." To claim this book enables the reader to achieve this is deceptive.

The book is filled with feel-good talk of adjusting one's spending habits (the old take your lunch to work don't buy your lunch, and cancel all non-essential or forgotten subscriptions get more than a throwaway mention, which shows the basic ideas that are explored in the book) and substitutes "scary" financial terms with motivational-esque terms like Money Party (for sitting down and dealing with your finances), Financial Bliss Checklist, Happiness Allocation, and Opportunity Cost. Perhaps for some this language will bolster their enthusiasm for tuning their finances but for me it was too surface-level and relied too much on buzz phrases or ideas and not enough practical financial advice. Yes it's important to evaluate where your money is going day-to-day but when the idea of opening a separate savings account not connected to your other bank accounts (to avoid easily transferring money) comes about 80% of the way into the book you know you have a structural issue with your book.

If you're going to write a concise book that's easily digestible for our "busy lives" at least make it jam-packed with useful information and advice - The 30-Day Money Cleanse plays it way too safe and in doing so leaves very little impact by the time you finish reading.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the free review copy.

I don't know how much this will help me. I was hoping for a more direct and structured financial advice book.

very disappointed with this book! it was written so poorly that at some points I had to read a sentence twice to even understand what author was trying to say.
Also for me it was to philosophical and not helpful.