Book Review: Getting Good With Money by Jessi Fearon
Getting Good with Money: Pay Off Your Debt and Find a Life of Freedom—Without Losing Your Mind
Author: Jessi Fearon
Published: January 18, 2022
Paperback: 224 pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: November 6- December 17, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
Managing your money and finances can be stressful and can take a toll on your relationships and well-being. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Join certified financial coach and mom Jessi Fearon as she helps you get a handle on your finances and lays out the doable steps her family took to pay off all their debts–including their mortgage!–and pursue their dreams, all on a $47,000-a-year salary.
Jessi Fearon vividly remembers the day she broke down, knowing that her family could not pay the bills with a second baby on the way. Like many Americans, they were overwhelmed by debt and living paycheck to paycheck, wondering if it was possible to ever get ahead or even catch up. But on that day, something changed, and she and her husband decided to make a drastic lifestyle change that would put them back on the path toward their dreams.
Their decision not only allowed her to stay home with their children, but in two years, they were able to pay off their consumer debt, and, in six years, they paid off their home mortgage–all on their $47,000-a-year income. And now she shares what she’s learned with others who are struggling just like she once did.
With been-there wisdom and step-by-step help, Jessi gives you the tools you need to:
- Take control of your finances with practical first steps to budgeting and understanding debt
- Identify the four different ways we struggle with money and how each one affects the way we manage–or mismanage–our money
- Replace the lies you’ve been taught about money
- Discover money-saving apps, financial tips, and ideas for generating additional income to pay off debt more quickly
Take it from Jessi: you don’t need a finance degree or a six-figure income to build a great life for your family. Getting Good with Money will inspire, encourage, and equip you to achieve financial freedom that lasts
Jessica’s Review:
I am sharing this for my first review of 2026 as it deals with something a lot of people have issues with: Money. This is a book that needs to be read by younger individuals. Younger individuals need to learn this in school before they get in the real world and fall ‘victim’ to the financial traps of life. Getting Good with Money is a short and quick read that I think every reader will find at least once chapter that ‘speaks’ to them. Fearon gives lots of advice to help one get out of debt and take control of their lives. She also shared her family’s story and what they went through which gives a personal touch to the book. At the end of each chapter Fearon gives action items/ questions from the chapter for the reader to self-reflect on.
Fearon is also from Georgia so when she was sharing from her personal life I identified with her. I was also excited about that as when I started the book I did not know she is from Georgia.
Honestly, I did not learn much with the book, as I am naturally a saver. The chapter that was most useful for me was the last chapter that dealt with mortgages. One day (I hope sooner rather than later) I will have my own house! What I know I need is a book that can baby step and give easy understanding about retirement and investing. I just don’t ‘get that stuff’. I know I need to start a Roth IRA, I just need the understanding on it! I plan on starting a HYSA this year.
I can see this book helping someone who needs an introduction to saving and budgeting. And again, it is a quick easy read. There are some religious themes in it, but not ‘too much’. She does briefly mention tithing and her thoughts on it, which I was pleasantly surprised about.
Overall, this would be a great book for a beginner to saving and budgeting. I received a copy from the publisher through a Goodreads Giveaway.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
A Re-Listen to The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews
The Santa Suit
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Narrator: Kathleen McInerney
Published: September 28, 2021
Audiobook/224 Pages
Book Description:
When newly-divorced Ivy Perkins buys an old farmhouse sight unseen, she is definitely looking for a change in her life. The Four Roses, as the farmhouse is called, is a labor of love—but Ivy didn’t bargain on just how much labor. The previous family left so much furniture and so much junk, that it’s a full-time job sorting through all of it.
At the top of a closet, Ivy finds an old Santa suit—beautifully made and decades old. In the pocket of a suit she finds a note written in a childish hand: it’s from a little girl who has one Christmas wish, and that is for her father to return home from the war. This discovery sets Ivy off on a mission. Who wrote the note? Did the man ever come home? What mysteries did the Rose family hold?
Ivy’s quest brings her into the community, at a time when all she wanted to do was be left alone and nurse her wounds. But the magic of Christmas makes miracles happen, and Ivy just might find more than she ever thought possible: a welcoming town, a family reunited, a mystery solved, and a second chance at love.
Jessica’s Review:
I can’t really say much more than what I said on my previous review back in 2021. My review is with Kim’s as a double review here. I wanted to share this before we got too far away from Christmas! Definitely click the link to see what both Kim and I had to say.
This was a reread for me and a book club read for December. It’s MKA which you know I adore her, and the book bringing up nostalgia for me with my dad playing Santa when I was younger and remembering those days. He was Santa in the 1990s before it became the very popular ‘thing to do’ that it is now.
I hope you and your loved ones had a great Christmas!!!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Book Review: The Accidental Pinup by Danielle Jackson
The Accidental Pinup
Series: Buxom Boudoir #1
Author: Danielle Jackson
Narrator: Jeanette Illidge
Published: July 19, 2022
Audiobook: 10 hours 11 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: November 10-15, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 3.5 stars
Book Description:
Rival photographers are forced to collaborate on a body-positive lingerie campaign, but they might have to readjust their focus when sparks fly.
Photographer Cassie Harris loves her job—her company Buxom Boudoir makes people look beautiful and feel empowered with her modern twist on classic pinup photography. Cassie’s best friend, Dana, is about to launch her own dangerously dreamy lingerie line and wants Cassie to shoot and direct the career-changing national campaign. But company politics and Dana’s complicated pregnancy interfere, and Cassie finds herself—a proud plus size Black woman—not behind the camera but in front of it.
Though she’s never modeled herself, Cassie’s pretty sure she can handle the sheer underwear and caution tape bralettes. She’s not sure she can work so intimately with the chosen photographer, her long-time competitor in the Chicago photography scene, Reid Montgomery. Their chemistry is undeniable on set, however, and feelings can develop faster than film…
Jessica’s Review:
After trying to find a book based on ‘stranger photo sessions’ and only finding a novella series that did not work for me (I gave the first novella 2 stars and DNF’d the second), this was the closest I could find. And that was thanks to my friend Yami.
Here we have photographer Cassie whose best friend Dana is about to launch a lingerie line for plus sized women. Dana wants Cassie to be the photographer and after a series of events Cassie ends up being the model (which Cassie has never modeled…) and the photographer is Reid. Reid has been Cassie’s direct competition and he has taken potential jobs from her. And there is some chemistry going on between model and photographer.
I really loved the body positivity and representation in the novel with Cassie. In addition to being a gorgeous plus sized woman, she is also a person of color. We are getting so much representation in this novel! And being this is a contemporary romance we also have the rivals/ enemies to lovers sub-genre.
It got a little bit much on the spicy side for me, but I was prepared for that knowing my friend Yami likes her books spicy! For the readers who read spice/ like the spice it’s most likely not too spicy. But ya’ll know I don’t need spicy, and prefer my romances sweet and closed door for the most part. It did seem as if the relationship was mainly based off of physical attraction, and I mean, Cassie is wearing just underwear around Reid, so he can’t help but see what she has to offer and like it or not!
Overall, I enjoyed this one. Of course there are secrets involved in the story. But there has to be some kind of angst! I really want a decent ‘stranger photo session’ novel! And guess what: I actually found a photographer who is local to me who does these sessions! And guess what else?!?!? I put in an application for a stranger session! We will see what happens, my guess is that mainly women put in for these sessions, but you also have to have men sign up. And the photographer actually attempts to make couples based on similar interests. Will I get a contact from that photographer about a match??? Only time will tell….
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK