Book excerpt: TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR FINANCIAL LIFE! The easiest way to lose control of your life is to lose control of your financial life. Joan Perry's spectacularly successful Wall Street career shielded her from that truth--until a failed love affair and a lost nest egg jolted her into rethinking her priorities and then acting on them. Today, through her company, Take Charge Financial!, Perry helps women gain control of their money and their lives by building long-term financial well-being through smart investing. In A Girl Needs Cash, Perry provides women at all stages of life with an unusual program that goes beyond just the basics of personal finance. She breaks through the myths and misconceptions that have kept women financial captives and gives the scoop on growing wealth. Among the important topics discussed: Taking charge: Perry shows you step by step how to review your spending habits and develop new sources of income to create the kind of life you want to live--now and well into your future. Creating the "money machine": Perry shows how to build a personal "money machine" to generate real cash flow with the right investment choices for you--stocks, mutual funds, real estate--and understand the tax choices that affect your cash flow. The time to take financial action is now. From offering new thinking about your attitude toward money to providing the tools for successful investing, A Girl Needs Cash is one of the most important books a woman can read.