Summary of Colette Dowling's Maxing Out

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Book Preview: #1 The Cinderella Complex is the fear women have of being financially independent. We are taught that being a woman means not having money, not managing it, and not being financially independent.

#2 I had just finished selling two homes to pay off part of a debt to the IRS, and was still reeling from the shock. I had always thought of myself as someone who didn’t have money problems, but now I was having to acknowledge a whole hidden part of myself.

#3 I was a struggling writer and the wife of a struggling writer, so I had little money. I was able to ignore the fact that I was avoiding dealing with money because I had so little of it.

#4 I was able to continue scrimping and evading by being a freelance magazine writer. I wanted to look younger, freer, and more adventurous than I was given my life circumstances.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Feb 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669348658

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights on Colette Dowling's Maxing Out

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The Cinderella Complex is the fear women have of being financially independent. We are taught that being a woman means not having money, not managing it, and not being financially independent.

#2

I had just finished selling two homes to pay off part of a debt to the IRS, and was still reeling from the shock. I had always thought of myself as someone who didn’t have money problems, but now I was having to acknowledge a whole hidden part of myself.

#3

I was a struggling writer and the wife of a struggling writer, so I had little money. I was able to ignore the fact that I was avoiding dealing with money because I had so little of it.

#4

I was able to continue scrimping and evading by being a freelance magazine writer. I wanted to look younger, freer, and more adventurous than I was given my life circumstances.

#5

I wrote, but without any urge to turn my writing into money. I made no calls to editors proposing ideas for articles. My new love was paying most of my bills. I felt dreamy, secure, and blissfully free of anxiety.

#6

I was so removed from reality that I didn’t connect the dots between what was happening now and the vagueness with which I’d approached money my entire life. I felt victimized, and I didn’t want to have to manage my money.

#7

I had my surprise bestseller, The Cinderella Complex, and I was able to enjoy the money for the first time in my life. But I was afraid to get it out of the bank account, because I was afraid of losing it.

#8

I had a very successful career, and I was financially independent for the first time in my life. However, I stopped thinking about money and began thinking about ideas and creativity. I hired a bookkeeper and an accountant, and the details began to elude me.

#9

The renovation cost me my retirement account. I pursued it anyway because the thrill of raising the roof on my little 1860 farmhouse made me forget about the cost.

#10

The house renovation that brought down my own house of cards was part of the Romance Myth. I had been creating a little fairy tale house. Not just creating as in window treatments and faux finishes, but actually building. I loved the heft of the project, the earth-moving and the chimney-raising.

#11

When I worked for the dance company, I felt like I was making the whole thing happen. I was the boss of bosses, the woman with the money. I was in charge, and I loved it.

#12

The final stage of the project was to get a certificate of occupancy before the bank closing, which was scheduled on the last day an 8 percent interest rate was being offered. I was ecstatic, buoyant, and triumphantly getting away with it all.

#13

I was working on a book when the tax bill came due that year. I had no sense that