The Kickass Single Mom: Be Financially Independent, Discover Your Sexiest Self, and Raise Fabulous, Happy Children

The Kickass Single Mom by Emma Johnson is a mixture of both humor and practical advice. I was really excited to read this book, especially since the tagline is, Be Financially Independent, Discover Your Sexiest Self, and Raise Fabulous, Happy Children. There were many aspects of the book that I did find helpful and found that I agreed with; but there were a few things that I felt were not quite as easy as described in the book. I could be wrong, but it felt as though Ms. Johnson may have had fewer financial challenges than some women may face. She did, overall, do a good job of encouraging women of all backgrounds to take control of their lives and their decisions, and gave some fantastic steps encouraging those actions. For example, she puts exercises at the end of several of the chapters that specifically give goals to set for yourself. I found the book to be an easy and quick read. I did not really understand her chapter on child support, although I did understand her views on spousal support. Although she may not have worried about a little extra money a month, that $200 or $300 can mean a lot to another mother. I agree that we need to be responsible for our own actions and finances and not be dependent as single moms in case things don’t come in as planned, but to minimize the helpfulness that child support can bring is a little insulting. I also found some of her tips a bit strange for the everyday single parent…like paying someone to do your laundry? I could understand training your children to help with the laundry or chores, but when you are a struggling single mom, paying someone to do your laundry isn’t really in the budget for most people, at least no one that I know! I do appreciate that Ms. Johnson keeps a positive and happy outlook on being a single mom and the joys that can come from the experience as opposed to focusing on the “poor, pitiful me” attitude, but I think a tad bit more practicality for average moms may have been a little helpful, too.