Bridgforth, Glinda 1952-

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Bridgforth, Glinda 1952-

PERSONAL:

Born 1952, in Detroit, MI; daughter of Walter (a steelworker and custodian) and Opal Bridgforth; married (divorced, 1988); remarried. Education: Graduated from Western Michigan University. B.S., c. 1974.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Detroit, MI. Home and office—Bridgforth Financial, 1300 E. Lafayette, Ste. 2302, Detroit, MI 48207. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Financial manager, public speaker, and writer. Worked at credit union; then entered a management trainee program at Wells Fargo bank, in California, advanced to become an assistant vice president, c. 1976-1988; Bridgforth Financial Management Group, founder, c. 1994. Has appeared on television and radio, including Fox News and CNN Flipside.

WRITINGS:

Girl, Get Your Money Straight! A Sister's Guide to Healing Your Bank Account and Funding Your Dreams in 7 Simple Steps, Broadway Books (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Gail Perry-Mason) Girl, Make Your Money Grow! A Sister's Guide to Protecting Your Future and Enriching Your Life, Broadway Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Girl, Get Your Credit Straight! A Sister's Guide to Ditching Your Debt, Mending Your Credit, and Building a Strong Financial Future, Broadway Books (New York, NY), 2007.

Contributor to periodicals, including Essence and Black Enterprise.

SIDELIGHTS:

Glinda Bridgforth, who had a long career in banking and developing her own financial management group, is also the author of money management books targeting African-American women. In her first book, Girl, Get Your Money Straight! A Sister's Guide to Healing Your Bank Account and Funding Your Dreams in 7 Simple Steps, Bridgforth focuses on a "holistic" approach to finances. The author not only addresses financial planning and other issues but also concepts of self-worth and her belief that people also need to gain inspiration for feeling good through meditation and other methods. A contributor to the Forbes Book Club Web site, called the book "a hip, empowering, and engaging road map to healing your bank account." A Publishers Weekly contributor noted the author's "consoling advice on how to stay calm and cope."

Bridgforth collaborated with another financial management expert, Gail Perry-Mason, to write Girl, Make Your Money Grow! A Sister's Guide to Protecting Your Future and Enriching Your Life. In addition to financial advice, the book includes real-life anecdotes and exercises, including one on how to use the Internet to research the stock market. In a review in Booklist, Barbara Jacobs noted that the authors also include "content directly targeted to spiritual and emotional needs." A contributor to Ebony wrote that the book "helps to take the mystery out of investing through user-friendly advice."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Henderson, Ashyia, editor, Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 36, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI), 2003.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 15, 2003, Barbara Jacobs, review of Girl, Make Your Money Grow! A Sister's Guide to Protecting Your Future and Enriching Your Life, p. 554.

Ebony, March, 2004, review of Girl, Make Your Money Grow!, p. 29.

Library Journal, November 1, 2000, Ann Burns and Emily Joy Jones, review of Girl, Get Your Money Straight! A Sister's Guide to Healing Your Bank Account and Funding Your Dreams in 7 Simple Steps, p. 101.

Publishers Weekly, November 27, 2000, review of Girl, Get Your Money Straight!, p. 69.