Richard Paul Evans: When it Comes to Money, 'Men Are From Mars and Women Are From Venus'

Richard Paul Evans, author of the new book The 5 Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me for Women, was on the Glen Beck Program today, and what he had to say was somewhat condescending. When asked why the lessons are different for women (The book is a new take on his previously published The 5 Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me), Evans said he realized that the vast majority of expenditures are now made by women, and yet "women have never been taught because they grow up with these mixed messages that, you know, good girls don't worry their pretty little heads about money."

I'm all for a book of financial tips aimed at women--in fact, one of my favorites is Janet Bodnar's Money Smart Women: Everything You Need to Know to Achieve a Lifetime of Financial Security (disclosure: she is a former editor of mine.) But Evans' assertion that women in general (or "good girls") are taught not to worry about money is way off base (and "pretty little heads"? Come on.) Women are making expenditures because women are more independent these days. And often, independence means they're making their own money. Plus, a lot of those women, like me, actually learned about money growing up.

In this recent interview, Evans explains why he thinks Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus when it comes to money. He says women are vulnerable to "the burnt-toast syndrome:"

You're having breakfast, and a slice gets burned--who gets it? Women do that with money, too," he says. "They trade their needs for somebody else's wants."

Doesn't everyone at one time or another trade their needs for somebody else's wants? It's called a relationship. I'm not quite sure what he means: he wants a monster truck, she wants a convertible? Please. Evans appears to be the king of overgeneralization.