Rewire for Wealth [Book Review]

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This review of Barbara Huson’s book, Rewire for Wealth – Three Steps Any Woman Can Take To Program Her Brain For Financial Success – is by Vicki, co-founder of Women Who Money and Women’s Money Talk.

Formerly Barabara Stanny, Barbara Huson is a money and wealth coach, speaker and workshop facilitator, and bestselling author.

On her website, Barbara explains that she wants to help teach you what it took her 40 years to figure out – the secret wisdom of creating wealth and asserting power as a woman.

And that aligns with Women Who Money’s mission of taking control of your finances to build a financially secure and independent life.

A self-described Wall Street Journal junkie, Barbara Huson wasn’t always so financially savvy. Her new book, Rewire for Wealth, begins with the line “I was groomed to be financially clueless.”

As you read the introduction, you’ll understand how being oblivious to her financial situation for decades negatively impacted her life.

Four of her previous works include:

More About Barbara Huson

As the daughter of one of the co-founders of H & R Block, you’d think that Barbara would have been brought up to understand how to manage her money and plan for taxes.

But as a young woman in the 1960’s, Barbara was encouraged after college to find a husband, have children, and let the men in her life handle her finances – including an inheritance in a trust fund.

She ended up a single mother of three children with a $1 million+ tax bill. She didn’t have the money to pay the bill (her father wouldn’t help) and her gambling-addict ex-husband had left the country.

After accepting responsibility for allowing her husband to manage the family finances – even after she knew he had a serious problem – she got motivated to address her financial troubles and codependent behaviors.

She needed to protect her and her children’s future.

This was no quick fix though.

She’d given up her power for so long that it would take years to understand and address her lack of confidence and reclaim it.

Barbara’s new book adds neuroscience to the other three components she’d been working with for years – psychology, spirituality, and personal finance.

An Overview of Rewire for Wealth

Rewire for Wealth is for you whether you are questioning your financial wellness or you’ve accepted that you need to make changes to improve your financial health.

Three Steps Any Woman Can Take to Program Her Brain for Financial Success

The book starts with an introduction called Lifting the Fog. You’ll learn more about Barbara, her youth, and her relationships with her family and ex-husband.

She goes on to explain some of the steps she took to get smart about money (including what didn’t work), the new normal she created for herself, and the learning and work that continued to transform her understanding of how women become wealthy.

Part 1 – Awakening

There are three chapters in the first part of the book:

Kicking the Habit, Body
Mind & Spirit
The Wealth Connection

Barbara starts this section by framing the problem. “For a whopping majority of us (women), money remains a source of stress, anxiety, and pain.”

She goes on to explain why it’s so difficult for people to change unwanted behaviors and why doing so is critical to building wealth.

green dollar sign wired to computer mouse

Without giving too much away, here are some topics Barbara discusses in Part 1.

The power of compounding and women’s lack of confidence to invest
How our early money stories affect our thinking and decision making
Financial self-efficacy needs to be addressed in addition to financial literacy
“Rewiring” the brain is how to improve financial self-efficacy

Barbara engages readers with stories from her clients and provides breaks in the reading for you to reflect and answer questions about your life in “Rewire in Action” activities.

She encourages readers to complete these as they read the book to begin the rewire process.

Part 2 – Rewiring

The second part of the book includes a chapter on The Rewire Response and is followed by a more in-depth explanation of each part of the “rewire response” Barbara teaches, to guide you toward achieving wealth and well-being.

Step 1 – Recognize. Barbara uses four distinct phases to help you engage your “rational” brain over your unhealthy thoughts and fears.
Step 2 – Reframe. Seven techniques for reframing (shifting your perspective) are included in this step.
Step 3 – Respond Differently. Likely the most challenging step, you give up your old ways to build new neuropathways for change (including a discussion on women and impostor syndrome.)

Part 3 – Hardwiring

The four chapters in the last part of the book provide you with the tools to stay the course.

Power Tool 1: Resistance Work. In this chapter, Barbara frames resistance as a positive because it shows rewiring is happening. But she also gives you guidance on how to address it.
Power Tool 2: Reparenting. This chapter is a discussion of our “inner child” and how it can create financial chaos in our lives and what to do about it.
Power Tool 3: Repetition. In order to continue to respond differently, Barbara provides you with four practices to prevent you from reverting to past behaviors.
Directing Your Destiny. In the final chapter of the book, Barbara reviews how combining neuroscience, psychology, spirituality, and personal finance can improve your finances and overall wellness. She also reminds you that it isn’t an easy or comfortable process. But if you want to create a habit of building wealth, your effort is worth it.

Where to Find Rewire for Wealth and Barbara Huson

You can learn more about Barbara on her website Barbara-Huson.com. You’ll also find coaching options on her website, along with her blog.

Barbara’s also on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Find more personal finance book reviews here.