Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence: Fully Revised and Updated for 2018

I recently asked ChatGPT about the best books to become wealthy, and Your Money or Your Life was suggested. I went to check it out and then realized that I already had it on my Kindle, having bought it years ago. I had read most of the book but not all, and I hadn't used the tools suggested. Looking back now, it feels crazy that I had the simple solution for my financial chaos right in front of me - but instead, I was busy chasing quick fixes in other places ("success" retreats, woo-woo books, therapy, you name it). I have now finally finished Your Money or Your Life and had a huge aha-moment that this is the approach I want and need for sound money management moving forward. I know that the book's method works because although I haven't used all of its steps, I've been tracking my income and expenses every day for eight months (using a Japanese money journal, a "Kakeibo"). After having struggled with money my whole adult life, I'm now FINALLY living within my means and I'm set up to start creating wealth. It would never have happened without getting conscious about my actions with money through tracking how I use it. I think I probably dismissed Your Money or Your Life when I first bought it years ago because I wanted a shortcut to abundance, so those were the "solutions" I bought into. The problem is that none of the other methods really worked. Your Money or Your Life may not come in a sexy package, but it WORKS. The tools are simple too, and anyone can use them. If you're tired of financial chaos and feeling like you never have enough, read this book and USE THE TOOLS! Although a very practical and no-nonsense book, I think its results in one's life can still be magical.

I love that this book really breaks it all DOWN and makes you critically think about your beliefs and feelings around money. The transformation is real with this one because not only does it provide strategies and steps to follow but it also provides enough information to really set you up for success in a complete financial transformation but also LIFE transformation. I feel so much more financially intelligent after reading this. Thank you!

Financial independence became a passion of mine about 15 years ago. Growing up, I wasn't taught to save my money, so I had no concept of frugality or self-discipline around money. I worked and I consumed. I thought that's just how life works. Eventually I realized I was strapped to the treadmill of constantly working jobs I hated and living paycheck to paycheck. I became frustrated by the fact that I wasn't actually living life on my terms. I sought out several books on the subject and even took a life-changing personal finance course at my local college. decided to change my career (I started a business), and I dug myself out of debt and started saving my money. I became more frugal and really paid attention to my purchases. Life was good. It's been a few years since I have read a book on the subject of money. In recent years, I have developed a few poor financial habits and I'm not as disciplined as I once was. Running a successful business and living a cushy life can weaken you, if you're not careful. "Your Money or your Life" is just the reality check I needed to get back into the right headspace. It reminded me of the early days of running my business where I was on a shoestring budget and loved every minute of it. The book is dense, sometimes repetitive and I found the case study examples boring after awhile. That said, this is a great book, probably one of the best I've read on the subject, and it's one I will recommend to everyone and re-read once a year.

Just finished this book. Have already recommended it to three or four friends. I don’t frequently tell my wife she needs to read something, but this book has so many thought-provoking ideas and questions, and such potential to shape our future financial life that I felt it was was critical reading. I recommend reading through quickly, then deciding how much detail to go into on some of the “assignments.” If you want the short short version, see the appendix, but i gained a lot through the extended, deliberate dive into each topic, the illustrations of real world people, and the time spent with my mind wandering and weaving Vicki’s recommendations into my own mental schema. Some of it is a bit overboard in my opinion—I personally see little value in tracking down old W2’s, for instance. But I did find spending 30 minutes or so estimating what I made each year of my life revealing in multiple ways. The process of methodically accounting for all you income and expenses can require a level of fastidiousness that I don’t have. Fortunately in this tech age online tools can help. I use Mint and love it. I began using Mint about a year ago, so some of the categorization tasks were already done for me. It has its quirks, but if you work past them it is a powerful, free budget analysis tool that pairs nicely with this book. The book left me invigorated, and inspired to live more simply so that I can spend more of my life “ working for a living instead of working for a dying,” financially independent, and content with “enough.”

Your Money or Your Life has been an empowering and transformative read. The nine steps outlined in this book have helped me reframe how I view and manage money. This book’s practical advice has been invaluable in simplifying and prioritizing my expenses. The insights are clear and relatable, and quite easy to apply to everyday life. I have assembled quite a library on achieving greater financial literacy that I am passing on to my children and grandchildren. Highly recommend for anyone seeking financial clarity and freedom!

Uno de los más grandes libros para hacer introspectiva de la relación que tenemos con el dinero.

Top Tipps

I got a lot of inspiration from this book and will definitely read it again in the future. I also bought it as a gift to my family after reading it.

This is a great book! I first read it many years ago and lost track of it. Both then and now I learned valuable lessons on finances I was not taught previous. I gifted one to each of our kids. A wonderful resource!💥

The cover came already scratched