★★★★☆ 4.0 / 5
One-liner: A no-nonsense, entertaining guide to rewiring the subconscious money stories that keep smart people broke.
Best for: Freelancers, entrepreneurs, and anyone who earns well below their potential because of deep-seated beliefs about money.
Reading time: ~5 hrs (276 pages)
Difficulty to apply: Medium — the mindset work is simple but uncomfortable; the action steps require genuine courage.
You Are a Badass at Making Money in one minute
The reason you are not rich has almost nothing to do with your skills, intelligence, or opportunities — and almost everything to do with your subconscious beliefs about money. Jen Sincero spent decades as a broke freelance writer before realising that her financial ceiling was set by inherited money stories she had never examined. In You Are a Badass at Making Money, she shares the mindset shifts, practical exercises, and uncomfortable truths that took her from scraping by to building a multi-million-dollar business. The book blends Law of Attraction principles with street-smart financial advice, delivered in Sincero’s signature irreverent voice — equal parts motivational speaker and brutally honest friend.
Key takeaways
- Your money story runs your life: The beliefs about money you absorbed as a child — from parents, culture, and experience — create an invisible ceiling on your earning potential.
- Getting rich is an inside job: External strategies (budgets, side hustles, investments) fail if your subconscious believes you don’t deserve wealth or that money is bad.
- Identify your specific money blocks: Common ones include “money is the root of all evil,” “rich people are greedy,” and “I’m not the type of person who makes a lot of money.”
- Decide on a specific number: Vague goals (“I want more money”) produce vague results. Pick an exact income target and a deadline.
- Raise your frequency: Surround yourself with people who earn what you want to earn. Your environment shapes your financial thermostat.
- Take uncomfortable action: Wealth requires doing things that scare you — raising prices, asking for the sale, investing in yourself before you feel ready.
- Gratitude accelerates abundance: Appreciating what you already have trains your brain to notice more opportunities rather than more scarcity.
- Money is a neutral tool: It is not good or evil. It amplifies who you already are. More money in the hands of good people creates more good.
- Invest in yourself first: Coaches, courses, and mentors are not expenses — they are the fastest shortcut to earning more.
- Repetition rewires belief: Affirmations and mantras feel silly at first but work over time because they overwrite the subconscious programming that created your current reality.
What is You Are a Badass at Making Money about?
You Are a Badass at Making Money is a personal-finance mindset book that argues your relationship with money is determined by subconscious beliefs inherited in childhood. Jen Sincero provides a framework for identifying and rewriting those beliefs, combining Law of Attraction principles with practical strategies for earning more, spending consciously, and building wealth as a creative or entrepreneurial person.
About the author
Jen Sincero is a bestselling author, success coach, and motivational speaker. She spent her twenties and thirties as a broke freelance writer, living in a converted garage and wondering why financial success eluded her despite working hard. Her turnaround came when she hired a coach she could not afford and began systematically dismantling her inherited money beliefs. Her first book, You Are a Badass, became a multi-million-copy bestseller. The money-focused sequel draws on her personal transformation and her coaching practice to help readers replicate the shift. She lives in California and continues to speak and write about personal development. Explore all Jen Sincero book summaries →
Key concepts at a glance
| Concept | What it means | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Money Story | The subconscious beliefs about money you inherited as a child | You earn less than your skills and effort warrant |
| Big Snooze | The fearful ego that resists change and keeps you comfortable | You feel paralysed before a big financial leap |
| Frequency | Your energetic state determines what you attract | You feel stuck in a scarcity loop |
| Specific Number | Declaring an exact income target with a deadline | Your goals are vague and results are vague |
| Environment Upgrade | Surrounding yourself with people who earn at your target level | Everyone around you is also struggling financially |
| Uncomfortable Action | Doing what scares you in pursuit of your financial goal | You know the next step but are afraid to take it |
| Money Mantras | Affirmations that overwrite limiting subconscious beliefs | Your inner dialogue about money is negative |
| Gratitude Practice | Deliberately appreciating current abundance to attract more | You focus only on what you lack |
Part 1 — Uncover your money story
Sincero opens with her own painful backstory: decades of chronic under-earning despite talent, education, and hustle. She argues that the gap between ability and income is almost always caused by subconscious programming — beliefs about money absorbed from parents, culture, religion, and early experience that now run on autopilot.
She introduces the concept of the “Big Snooze” — her term for the ego’s fear-based operating system that resists change, craves safety, and keeps you in familiar patterns even when those patterns make you miserable. The Big Snooze is why you self-sabotage: you land a big client and then ghost them, you save a windfall and then blow it, you set an ambitious income goal and then find reasons not to pursue it. The sabotage is not random — it is your subconscious protecting you from the unfamiliar experience of having money.
The practical exercise here is the “money story audit”: write down every belief about money you heard growing up. “Money doesn’t grow on trees.” “We can’t afford that.” “Rich people are greedy.” “It’s not about the money.” Then examine which of these beliefs you still carry and how they show up in your financial behaviour. This audit is the foundation for everything that follows.
Part 2 — Rewire your beliefs
Once you have identified your limiting money stories, Sincero walks through the process of replacing them. This section blends Law of Attraction philosophy with cognitive reframing techniques. The core idea: your thoughts create your feelings, your feelings drive your actions, and your actions produce your results. If you want different results, you must start with different thoughts.
She introduces money mantras — affirmations like “I love money and money loves me” and “I am worthy of being financially free.” She acknowledges that mantras feel ridiculous at first, and argues that the discomfort is actually evidence they are working: your Big Snooze recoils from beliefs that threaten the status quo. Repetition is the mechanism of change — say it enough times and the new belief begins to overwrite the old one.
Sincero also emphasises “raising your frequency” — a term from the Law of Attraction tradition that, stripped of its mystical framing, essentially means immersing yourself in environments, relationships, and media that normalise the income level you are targeting. If everyone around you earns $40,000, your subconscious treats $40,000 as the ceiling. Change your environment and your financial thermostat resets.
Part 3 — Take bold action
Mindset without action is wishful thinking — and Sincero is blunt about this. The second half of the book is a push toward uncomfortable, concrete steps. She argues that the universe rewards action, not intention, and that waiting until you feel ready is the most common form of self-sabotage.
Her signature example is her own decision to hire an expensive coach when she had almost no money. The act of investing before she felt ready forced her to earn the money back — and the coaching gave her the tools to do it. She recommends this “leap first, learn to fly on the way down” approach for anyone stuck at a financial plateau.
She also covers raising prices (most freelancers and service providers chronically undercharge), asking for the sale (most people avoid the money conversation out of discomfort), and creating multiple income streams. The advice is not revolutionary in isolation — the value is in how Sincero connects each tactical step back to the underlying mindset work. You cannot raise your prices if you subconsciously believe you don’t deserve more.
Who is You Are a Badass at Making Money best for — and who should read something else first?
This book is ideal for creative professionals, freelancers, and entrepreneurs who know they are talented but consistently under-earn. If you have read The Total Money Makeover or I Will Teach You to Be Rich and followed the tactical advice but still feel stuck, Sincero’s mindset-first approach may unlock what budgets and spreadsheets cannot.
If you prefer data-driven, evidence-based finance over Law of Attraction philosophy, you may find parts of this book frustrating. In that case, try The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel for a research-backed exploration of how emotions shape financial decisions, or Your Money or Your Life for a values-based system.
Questions to reflect on
- What is your earliest memory related to money — and what belief did it create?
- If you could not fail, how much would you aim to earn this year?
- What is one financial action you have been avoiding because it feels uncomfortable?
- Who are the five people you spend the most time with — and what is their relationship with money?
- What would change in your life if you truly believed you deserved to be wealthy?
🔥 Ready to master the mindset of wealth?
Rewrite your money story and start earning what you’re actually worth.
How to apply You Are a Badass at Making Money (7-day plan)
- Day 1 — Money story audit: Write down every belief about money you learned growing up. Circle the ones you still carry. Notice which are holding you back.
- Day 2 — Pick your number: Decide on an exact annual income target. Write it down, post it where you will see it daily, and set a 12-month deadline.
- Day 3 — Start a money mantra: Choose one affirmation that directly counters your strongest money block. Repeat it 20 times morning and evening for the rest of the week.
- Day 4 — Audit your environment: List the five people you spend the most time with. What do they believe about money? Seek out one person who earns at your target level and start learning from them.
- Day 5 — Take one uncomfortable action: Raise your rate, pitch a higher-paying client, ask for a raise, or invest in a course. Do the thing you have been avoiding.
- Day 6 — Gratitude inventory: Write down 20 things you are grateful for related to money and abundance — past earnings, current assets, opportunities, skills that create value.
- Day 7 — Design your wealth practice: Combine your mantra, gratitude inventory, and one weekly uncomfortable action into a repeating routine. This is now your ongoing money practice.
Frequently asked questions
Is You Are a Badass at Making Money a good book for beginners?
Yes — it is one of the most accessible personal-finance mindset books available. Sincero writes in a conversational, often humorous style that makes the material feel approachable rather than intimidating. The exercises are simple and require no prior knowledge of finance or psychology. If you are new to thinking about money as a mindset issue rather than just a math problem, this is an excellent starting point.
What is the main message of You Are a Badass at Making Money?
The central argument is that your financial reality is a reflection of your subconscious beliefs about money. Most people inherit limiting money stories from childhood — that money is scarce, that wanting it is greedy, or that they don’t deserve it. Until you identify and rewrite these beliefs, no amount of tactical financial advice will produce lasting change. Sincero provides a step-by-step process for doing this inner work.
Does the book use the Law of Attraction?
Yes — Sincero draws on Law of Attraction principles, particularly the idea that your thoughts and “frequency” influence what you attract into your life. However, she balances this with a strong emphasis on concrete action, accountability, and uncomfortable steps. If you are sceptical of manifestation language, you can still extract value by reframing the concepts in terms of cognitive reframing, confirmation bias, and the well-documented power of environmental influence on behaviour.
How is this different from the original You Are a Badass?
The original You Are a Badass covers general personal development — confidence, fear, self-sabotage, and living boldly. You Are a Badass at Making Money applies the same framework specifically to finances and earning. It goes deeper into money psychology, includes more financial exercises, and addresses the unique shame and avoidance many people feel around wealth. You do not need to read the first book before this one.
What is the Big Snooze in Sincero’s framework?
The Big Snooze is Sincero’s term for the ego — the fear-based part of your psychology that resists change, craves safety, and sabotages growth. When you set a big financial goal, the Big Snooze creates anxiety, self-doubt, and reasons to quit because staying broke is familiar and safe. Recognising the Big Snooze’s voice is the first step to overriding it and taking action anyway.
Is this book useful if I already earn well?
Potentially. If you earn well but feel guilty about money, struggle to hold onto wealth, or self-sabotage when you reach a new income level, the mindset work in this book can help identify the subconscious patterns causing the leak. However, if you are looking for advanced investment strategy or tax planning, this is not the right book — try The Simple Path to Wealth or I Will Teach You to Be Rich instead.
How long does it take to read You Are a Badass at Making Money?
The book is 276 pages and reads quickly due to Sincero’s conversational, fast-paced style. Most readers finish it in 4–6 hours of focused reading. The audiobook, narrated by Sincero herself, runs approximately 6 hours and 11 minutes. Her energetic narration adds a motivational dimension that many readers prefer over the print version.
Related summaries
If you enjoyed this summary, explore these related reads:
- The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel — a data-driven look at how emotions and behaviour shape financial outcomes.
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki — the classic that redefined financial education around mindset and assets vs liabilities.
- Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker — a structured approach to identifying and resetting your financial blueprint.
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill — the original wealth-mindset classic that influenced every book on this list.
📚 Explore more: Best Money Books — Our Complete Ranked List