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Summary: A serious guide that will transform your life
Review: Well, i am currently in the middle of the process the book recommends and it has changed my life tremendously already. I only can recommend this jewel to anyone willing to make a clear cut and start anew with a brand new life, focused on the true and important values. a once in a million book.
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Summary: It Worked for Us
Review: Before reading this book, my wife and I lived in a large metropolitan area and commuted 3 hours a day so that we could earn the income we thought we needed. This book caused us to think about what would really make us happy. We spent the next two years pondering this question, exploring different places to live and reading other books on simple living. After finally getting up enough confidence, we made the move to simplify our lifestyle. Now we live in a small town, earn 80% less income and have a much happier, less stressful, rich and full life with time for family, friends and community involvement. And, I should add, we have everything we need. This book is a good starting point and gives you the language to explore your relationship with money and how it relates to what really makes you happy. I highly recommend it if you have a feeling that your life is perhaps a little too complicated or too centered around earning money.I also recommend 'How much is enough?' by Alan Thein Durning & Linda Starke and 'Voluntary Simplicity' by Duane Elgin
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Summary: More than financial help
Review: Rarely do I find a book that dramatically impacts the way I live my life, but this one did. It helped give meaning to my spending habits, and to make sure that my labor and $$ go to the things I value most. I recommned this book wholeheartedly to all, but especially to those who are tired of the dizzying effects of living in the fast lane.
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Summary: You will rethink your relationship with "things."
Review: I've been reading this book and it is gradually making me rethink my relationship with "things." Although it spends way too much time on how to record, chart, and analyze your expenses, the ideas it imparts are valuable. How much of your time and money do you spend working, getting ready for work, commuting to work, buying work clothing, etc.? Take that money and time and compare it with how much you make. After that and taxes you will find you really make far less an hour than you thought. How much fulfillment will you gain by buying some thing vs. how much time and effort does it take to earn it? Now use this knowledge and think about how you spend your money. This is a powerful concept. I've been realizing I spend far too much on the newest gadget considering how much time I have to work for it. This book also has me rethinking my need for a second car. After you add in all the expenses of a car, is having that second car really worth the 25 hours a month I work to afford it? Sure its convenient, but is it worth it. Wouldn't I rather have some extra time off every month? Or maybe some extra cash to spend on other things that will bring me more pleasure? The philosophy and examples given in this book are well worth the price. I found I skipped over the recording, charting and analyzation tools. Too much of a hassle.
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Summary: Voices what I thought was wrong in my relationship to money
Review: I had long known that my relationship to money was not correct, although I tried. This book put all my thinking into a cohesive mode, and a way of thinking and aspiring that has re-shaped how I look at the world, look at my contribution, and live in relation to money and my dreams. This is not a book about budgeting money, but about looking at how spend money, and deciding if specfic expenditures are truly worth it to you. The authors do not say what is right and what is wrong to spend money on, but get the reader to think about what is right for them. To do this, they authors suggest, keep track of every cent you spend, and what you spent it for, and at the end of the month total everything up, and see how you did. But remember, there's no right or wrong - only what you think is right or wrong. Are you buying a $1 cup of coffee every morning before work? Well, if you do the authors' suggestion, you'll see at the end of your first month that you just spent $20-25 that month on coffee. Is it really worth it to you? How much are you really spending on gas? What if you walked to the grocery store instead? The authors want you to live nothing less than as a human, and the way to do that is through financial freedom. Are you willing to give up that coffee every day if it means saving that dollar, and being able to retire a year earlier? (YES - with the miracle of compound interest, it could happen). The authors believe, and I agree with them, that the earlier we can stop working and live off our earnings, the better it is for us, and for the community (meaning earth) as a whole. It means we will not have consumed as much, and also that we are then free - free to volunteer at the church, the school, the VFW, hospital, whatever; and/or free to pursue whatever our dream is, since we don't have to worry about making an income from it. Is your dream to paint fine art? Well, if you work like a dog for as much money as you can earn, you can save and then have the freedom to do it. Or to spend time with your children. Or your spouse. Or helping your community. And even if you don't aspire to retire early, or want to work at a job just to make a lot of money, I found that this system certainly altered my spending in ways that actually increased my quality of life, while reducing my outlay, because I only spend on things I truly am interested in, or truly need. It's amazing. I think these are very noble thoughts and ideas, and this book will help you do it. But you gotta work at it - I was amazed, after the first couple months using their spending tracking thing, how much I was wasting and didn't realize it. Then I was amazed at how easy it is now *not* to waste that money. I almosst never buy soda or water when walking around the city, but take water with me from home. I don't buy little tschotchkes any more (unless I really truly want it), since it's an environmental and financial waste. And I have saved money like I've never been able to save before, without going on a budget, or decreasing my quality of life. I merely eliminated the spending that I thought was adding up to much (but was), and wasn't increasing my quality of life at all. I am so much happier after reading this book, and taking their ideas to heart, and I think anyone else would, too.
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Summary: Exellent theme, sometimes derails
Review: Your money or your life is the first book of its kind to put clearly the fact that when you spend money you are really spending your life. The authors explain this concept in detail and provide you with the tools to proove it to yourself. This is by far the strongest point of their work and by itself makes the book worth your money (say, your life-energy...) What follows in the book are very explicit directions in a program of financial independence, which may or may not work for you (more on that), and some money saving ideas that in my opinion should have been edited out. The problem with their suggested program for financial independence (FI, as it's referred in the book), is that it is based on assumptions that are not valid for many or maybe for most readers. For example, they assume that you hate your job and will hate any job in the future, and that to be retired is a great goal. That leaves out many young people like me who do not wish to be retired now or in the near future, even if we had the money to do so. Another possible flaw is their assumption that all you can do with your money (life-energy) is to spend it or save it trought Treasury notes, with no space for alternatives like investing in yourself through education, your own business or other things that are in fact worthwhile places to put your life-energy on. Nevertheless, the book deserves a 5-star rating for making the parallel between your money and your life. Your perspective on spending will be changed forever.
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Summary: A life and earth-saving perspective on money
Review: This book not only teaches us to transform our attitudes and behaviors with money, it also forces us to focus on our true goals in life and what actually gives us fulfillment. It forces us to ask ourselves questions like: do I really have to go on living and working as I have been doing or is there an alternative. The book made clear to me in a way that I had not understood before, that I am part of a community, that that community is a global one, and that what I consume has a direct influence on the welfare of the earth. If before I felt powerless on global ecological issues, now i truely feel that a transformation in the way I use my money can go towards saving the earth for our grandchildren. The book is inspirational. Do the steps.
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Summary: One of very few books that have changed my life
Review: This slim paperback changed my life as no other book has, financially. The most important things I learned from this book are (1) avoid consumerism and (b) Cut! Your expenses. I agree with readers earning $30,000 a year that it is difficult to become financially independent on that kind of salary - I also know it's difficult to live on $200g/year in NYC. (I mean it!) I spent about $13 on the book. A month later, I got my wits together and - in one day- cancelled Call Waiting and 3-Way-Conferencing and a bunch of other options on my home phone; zapped the cell phone; cancelled my order for cable TV; joined the local library; un-subscribed to every mail-order catalog I was on; fired the maid and cleaned the place myself (quite satisfying; I mean, the latter); and lost all interest in Prada, Gucci. and keeping up with the neighbors. Immediate savings: $200 a month or more, before you get into the Prada stuff. That's the best return on investment I've ever had. And I felt nothing but satisfaction - there was no sense of loss. It was as though I had been told by someone, you must have these things, these Palm Pilots, these gadgets in the catalogs; and I learned: Wrong! Didn't need them at all. In fact, I felt quite smug about not having them. This is not a bible for everyone. It did enable me to retire at 40. Thank you, Joe and Vicki. But whether you want to retire or just feel less owned by your job, you cannot read this book without yearning for FI and taking a cold, hard look at the ridiculous ways you are spending money today. There is so much pressure from ads to buy things you don't need. Read this and wise up. Stop driving the Beemer to the gym, stop thinking "I am what I spend". Start thinking, what would it feel like to be free? A: Wonderful.
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Summary: Retiring on $500 a Month
Review: Potentially life changing book. There's very little that's new here - i.e. crossover point = living off the proceeds of one's fixed income investments (i.e. early retirement); life energy as time exchanged for money = a Thoreauvian concept (and Thoreau relied on Hindu scripture for many of his ideas and inspiration); frugality, simple living, and moderation in life are as old as the hills - Christ, Lao Tzu, Aristotle, Epicurus, Plato, back to the landers in the 60's (i.e. The Nearings), etc. But the re-fashioning of these old ideas into a new, Nine Step plan for moderns can have a tremendous impact on those unfamiliar with these ideas. I wanted to give it a "4" due to some problems I have with the authors' ideas - authoritarian insistence that readers follow all of the Nine Steps to the letter, giving it an air of Gospel Truth; insistence that inflation is largely illusory - it's not - read James Stower's *Yes You Can: Achieve Financial Independence* for a good explanation of the ravages of inflation; and its predilection for quirky catch-phrases. But I had to give it a "5" in the end. The authors address a critical topic - the American culture of overwork - that doesn't see enough light in the media. One of the authors of the book, Joe Dominguez, died of cancer at the age of 59 - well before the standard retirement of age 65. What would otherwise have been a tragedy (though death is always tragic) can be seen as a triumph considering Dominguez quit his Wall Street job at age 31, retired, and fully enjoyed the remainder of his life.
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Summary: It changed my whole attitude about money
Review: At the beginning of 1998 I owed $18,500 in credit card debt. I read Your Money or Your Life, put its principles in action, and within two and a half years paid everything off. Plus I've managed to save $15,000 on top of that. This book changed the way I think about money. Without debt I live better than I ever have and feel a lot better about my future. You have to do the work, but if you do, you'll be rewarded. It really changed my life
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