Thank you so much to Holly Trantham and Crown Publishing for providing me with an advance reading copy of "Beyond Getting By' via NetGalley. All of my opinions are mine, and mine alone.

I have been a long-time viewer of The Financial Diet on YouTube, and have previously read the company's first book written by Chelsea Fagan, also titled "The Financial Diet". I have loved the majority of their content on YouTube, and did give the first book a four-star rating. If you are looking to dip your toes into financial literacy, the first book is going to be what you want to read first. "Beyond Getting By" is sort of the level 2 of a financial book. It assumes you have a budget, an emergency fund, and other financial foundations.

"Beyond Getting By" provides scintillating commentary on a topics such as the division of domestic labour in a cis-heteronormative household, the four day work week, cryptocurrency, and the rise and fall of the girlboss. The book provides interviews with a wide variety of people with some expertise or experience on some of these topics. I appreciated the chapters on value-based spending, how to negotiate (or advocate if you are in a leadership role). I think these topics should be more widely discussed. My only criticism is sometimes the chapters left me feeling like I wanted more information or discussion on the topic. I do understand that this book is meant to be a starting place, and that more branching out to online articles or other books may be what gets me to read more non-fiction this year.

Although this book was written for a primarily American audience (and I am Canadian), I found this book to be widely applicable. It didn't feel too America-only, which I find in most financial books written in the US can be. If you don't live in the US this book can be still enjoyable.

I can hardly wait until publication date, as I have already pre-ordered the book. The best part of any TFD book is the time and attention to the book's presentation. Lauren Ver Hage delivered a stunning book for "The Financial Diet", and if the Kindle version of this ARC is any indication, "Beyond Getting By" will be equally stunning. I wish Lauren would design every book I read!

Overall, I did enjoy this book, and would recommend this to others looking to explore relevant financial topics.

"Beyond Getting By" is a guide for (primarily) millennial women trying to navigate the trappings of career-building and financial wisdom of the moment, looking to live more fulfilled private and professional lives. Its thirteen chapters span a broad range of topics: dismantling the teachings of a particular personal finance guru that have shaped how America thinks about money, giving advice on how to negotiate for yourself in a professional setting and providing some pointers on how to center your finances around what you truly want out of life. It includes commentary on many current issues and debates such as student debt relief, gambling on crypto and calling it "investing", the death of the "girlboss" and the benefits of the 40-hour work week after the TFD team actually switched to it.

While the book is engaging and exceptionally beautifully designed, there are two reasons I gave it four stars. Firstly, the book is very US-centric and focuses on the intersection of social, political and financial issues of the day which means some chapters (like the one on student loan relief) are not particularly relevant to readers from other parts of the world such as myself. Some of the talking points are uniquely American and at times difficult to identify with as a European (and probably even more so for non-Westerners) – but that is a caveat for most popular personal finance book. Secondly, the book touched upon so many different things all at once and sometimes it felt like it's barely scratching the surface. However, it also provides some interesting thoughts and approaches that I have not read elsewhere. For example, in the chapter about "having it all" there was a brilliant idea about deciding on your absolute main priorities for each of the sole you assume in your life and measuring your success against this very particular criteria instead of stretching yourself thin trying to be everything and do everything for anyone.

Overall, the book is worth a read as a walk-through of the broad money-related issues that professional women in America face. It includes writing prompts that might get your gears turning, some interesting tidbits to borrow for your own life and wonderful illustrations. Going by the title, I was expecting more practical advice in the vein of "Your Money or Your Life" but this is a different type of a book – something that potential readers should keep in mind.

I'm not the best when it comes to money management. On pay day I'd order takeout and my grocery shopping from Whole Foods. Search online for any designer clothing deals. Treat myself to a chai latte on a bad day, which there seemed to be more bad than good.

After reading this book, my eyes were opened to where I need to focus my, how to be smart about my money.

It was a fun read but also a reference I'll be keeping on my shelf!

Once you start reading, you realize that you are like talking to an old friend.
You just sat down and now you are getting down to the nitty gritty of your life.

The author has a no nonsense style of writing, that is also very compassionate.

I loved the chapter on fast fashion, budgeting, and realizing that you don't have to be a girl boss. You can just BE!

So much of the topics covered went deeper then money and I really appreciated that.

Its not just a money book and its not just a relationship book.

What I loved most about this book was the way it puts personal finance into a larger social context. TFD does this better than most other personal finance books, blogs, etc., that I’ve read (a ton of them). For example, you’ll find thoughtful discussion of topics like working hours, fast fashion, poverty and class, manifesting, nepo babies, unions, tipping, and so on. Really helps offer perspective around our relationship with money. It also includes detailed discussion and practical tips in areas that will be highly relevant to the target audience - for example, student loan debt (Chapter 5) and sinking funds (Chapter 6). Also appreciate the encouragement to think more broadly about what truly drives happiness. Good discussion about societal factors relevant to women, work, and money (Chapters 8 - 11) as well as the falsehood of "manifesting" - and the alternative.

That said, it left me hungry for more specific advice about how to put important concepts into practice. Exercises and prompts were a bit broad and much of the advice boiled down to “it depends”, without then providing guidance on how to apply that advice based on individual factors, stages of life, financial situations, etc. For example, in Chapter 2 I like the discussion of shifting away from shame-based budgeting and the overview of the 50/30/20 budget concept. However, the author then overlays a new ego/superego/id framework on the 50/30/20, which seemed unnecessary and confusing. While the author discussed and explained each ego/superego/id category, this chapter would have benefitted from examples. Perhaps something like going through three examples of people with different financial or personal situations along with respective budgets to clarify how to put this into practice. The overall message I was left with was that this framework was fluid and depended on an individual’s situation and I didn't know exactly what to do with that. Another example of the high-level nature of the advice was the discussion in Chapter 4. Good upfront discussion about crypto and why you should avoid shiny objects in investing. However, from there, other than mentioning general categories of retirement savings and investment, practical advice about where to put your money was thin, and this is one of the most important places to focus for long-term financial health.

If I could, I would give 3.5 stars, as this book has a unique perspective relative to others in the personal finance space, and appreciate those topics being addressed.

First of all, this book is absolutely gorgeous. From the cover to all the illustrations, absolute love. I can't wait to get my hands on the physical copy!

I've been a big fan of TFD for many years, and this book is no exception.

As it's core, Beyond Getting By is a book about finding balance in multiple aspects of life. Sometimes, it's so hard to make sense of all the information we absorb on a daily basis and I think Beyond Getting By does an awesome job of making sense of it all. It does so in a non-shaming way too.

I especially needed to hear the chapters about burnout and work. I've felt very burnt out recently and this book really got me thinking about what I want my life at work and outside of work to look like.

Highly recommended for anyone that wants to create a life they truly enjoy living. This one was truly a special book for me.

I'm a fan for the Financial Diet and read their first book back in the day. I enjoyed this book, and I liked the workbook pages. But I though it took way to long to get into the topics. In chapter 3 or 4 it gave a list of books to read if you don't know how to budget or how to get out of debt. That feels like something that should be in the introduction or chapter one.

Beyond Getting By is part financial advice, part workbook. Being on the older end of their audience (now early 40s), I found the original Financial Diet book a little simple for me, so I was glad to see they have a follow up book. I have enjoyed the YouTube channel for years. This is a physically beautiful guide to navigating your financial and life priorities. This would make a great treat for yourself or a loved one who is looking to improve their life.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

TFD has always been there when I need them. This book is perfectly timed, and a wealth of knowledge for anyone looking to maximize their quality of life. I found myself highlighting passage after passage. And I really appreciated the thoughtful reflection sections.

This was a wonderful book , i found this to be extremely helpful . Thank you for the Arc . I loved every page!

In "Beyond Getting By," the team behind The Financial Diet dismantles the conventional narrative surrounding personal finance, challenging the prevailing girlboss ethos and urging readers to move beyond the confines of pinkwashed capitalism. This book is a refreshing departure from the traditional money management guides, offering a holistic approach that extends beyond mere financial success.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was full of helpful advice and the writing style made the book much more interesting than most financial books!