As Suze Orman makes clear in the introduction to her latest book Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny, she had not quite considered financial matters to be any different for men and women until recently. We here at Character & Wealth tend to agree with that basic premise - that the skills required to become wealthy are generally the same for either gender, though each may approach the matter somewhat differently. But whether you are a man or a woman, the best use of money itself is when you approach it as a means to an end, and not an end in itself. Money, though, is an important link in the chain of fulfillment and happiness in life, and ignoring it often leads to problems that quickly consume all other aspects of your life.

Suze Orman addresses this book specifically to women and asks them to change some self-defeating patterns in order to get more out of life - whether that be in general social situations, business or in corporate careers. Suze Orman is not the first person to highlight these issues - there have been several books written about women in a corporate career, women and finances and so on - and the central message in all of them is the same: women need to change age old patterns and work out new ways to succeed in the world today.

There is something bittersweet about that message that has been coming forth for the last few decades. It simply says - men and women can no longer do what they are most naturally inclined and built to do. For sure, there are a significant number of women who would rather build a career or a business, and many men who wish to be the primary homemakers - and every avenue should be made available to them to do so. But has our society gone so out of balance that we can no longer support those things that each of the genders does so easily, naturally and gracefully?

Nevertheless, understanding money is crucial for either gender, whether you are the primary breadwinner or homemaker or both. The financial methodologies and techniques for success can be learnt by either gender, and applied in your own unique ways. Perhaps you are more conservative in your investment choices - there are a plethora of options available to you to become very wealthy. Perhaps you don't like to do a budget - there are many techniques to watch your money without counting the pennies. If you have a will, you will find a way. Do you find the subject of money dry and boring? Wrap it around a story - it is a means to an end after all!

As for the book, it is worth a read, though we doubt you, as a woman or a man, will find too many novel concepts not already covered in other books on this subject. But we still like Suze Orman for her common-sense approach to finances!