I just finished reading “You are Badass at Making Money” by Jen Sincero.

It was an impulse buy a few hours before boarding a plane this summer. It was a quality purchase for the sole fact that my other book purchase was far too heavy to read on vacation. And yes, I said “just finished” meaning I’ve been nibbling on this book for eight months. A bite here, a bite there. It was a lot to take in. I took notes. I meditated.

Let me say that nothing about this purchase makes any sense to me. Growing up I was always taught to never talk about money. Carrying around a giant GREEN book with the word ASS on the dust jacket no less than four times that bragged about my prowess in all things financial does not exactly line up with that upbringing, especially not for airplane reading. Also no one wants to publicly read some cheerleady self-help book. And that’s exactly what this book is.

In my haste I also failed to read the fine print at the bottom that this was the second in the series of “Badass” books. The first was about general awesomeness – or so I surmise from title. This one focuses on finances. What this book is not is your typical personal finance book that starts by telling you to put down the four dollar coffee and ends by telling you to get a second job or invest in index funds. This book focuses on you. YOU are a Badass the title says, with YOU being the biggest word on the cover. It’s about getting your mind right, dreaming big, going for it, and never giving up.

There is some New Age thought sprinkled throughout, but try not to roll your eyes and just go with it. Accept it as part of the journey. The subtitle is “Master the Mindset of Wealth”. It’s not about budgets and line item drudgery; it’s about lining up your mind with your goals. Surrounding yourself with like-minded people. Preparing your mind for the changes to come.

One particular section that resonated with me was about your cheering section.

“Everyone talks about how you know who your true friends are when you’re desperate and things really bottom out. But I want to send a shout-out to the friends who stick by you when you’re kicking ass. When you’re stuck in the the suckhole and people come to your rescue, they get the opportunity to feel helpful, to save the day, to be a hero. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful, essential thing to take care of one another, and I’m hugely grateful to everyone who’s ever helped me when I was down in the dumps, but I think more needs to be said about friends who selflessly cheer you on when you’re totally killing it. Especially if they’re not doing so great themselves.” – Jen Sincero

I’ve had suckhole moments this last year, and it was great to have my friends by my side. But I’ve also had killing it moments this last year too, and it was kind of lonely [and obvious] looking around and not seeing your friends cheering you on. “I’m not competing with anyone. I hope we all make it.”, a popular platitude goes. Cheer for me. I’ll cheer for you.

I’ve always been interested in person finance, estate planning, etc. And I understand why I was asked to not talk about money growing up. But I think we should be talking about it more. You don’t have to be gross about it. You don’t have to say the numbers out loud if that makes you uncomfortable. But let’s get a conversation going. Let’s dream big, point the ship in the right direction, and cheer for each other along the way.