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Romance novel touts bliss of financial independence

 
Kathleen Grace published Prince Not So Charming: A Romantic Tale of Financial Independence to urge women to take control of their money.
Kathleen Grace published Prince Not So Charming: A Romantic Tale of Financial Independence to urge women to take control of their money.
Published Feb. 22, 2014

Personal finance tomes aren't usually bodice-rippers with breathless sentences like: "She wanted him and couldn't wait to have him, was totally addicted to his touch and couldn't resist him."

But Boca Raton financial planner Kathleen Grace, 46, wanted to explore women's emotions about money and love — and how those feelings can interfere with managing money.

So Grace, who co-founded Excelsior Capital Advisors, hired a romance writer to help her create a modern fairy tale of Cinderella — "Cindi," a fashion designer in South Florida who is afraid to talk about money for fear of displeasing her current heartthrob of a husband.

Excelsior published the 312-page paperback book, Prince Not So Charming: A Romantic Tale of Financial Independence, which is sold on Amazon for $12.06.

"I love Cinderella. This is no Cinderella-bashing book," said Grace, a divorced single mom who calls herself a hopeless romantic. But what Grace said she has found during more than 20 years of working with women is that many still give full financial control to their husbands.

She calls it the "Prince Charming syndrome." Many women — including those with high-powered careers or businesses of their own — want a man to ride in and take control of the family finances, Grace said.

But turning full control over to a dreamboat can sink finances, Grace warns in her foreword: "He can die, become disabled, be a spendthrift or turn out to simply be a jerk."

The book has received good reviews on Amazon.

"Although written from the female perspective, there are probably many men out there today that could also benefit from the same advice," wrote one of nine reviewers who gave the book five stars.