Blogging Away Debt Our Journeys to a Debt-Free Life

by Hope

A few weeks ago, a BAD reader I follow on Facebook posted a recommendation for the book Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin.  It was originally published back in 1992 and Joe has passed away since then. But Vicki did an update in 2008 and then again in 2018 bringing the contents up to date in regards to the new world of technology and various different financial changes since the early 90’s.

I ordered it that day…I’m ready for some serious changes in my financial life. It arrived this past week and I’ve been slowly working my way through it.  I wondered if anyone else would like to read it and we could have a book club of sorts in a month or so to compare notes and thoughts.

A Slow Start

Mr. Money Mustache wrote the foreword. And then there is some background on Vicki and Joe’s history and the original concept for the book. While the information was interesting, I was anxious to get to the meat of the book. But the beginning of first chapter almost had me putting it down permanently. It is filled with references to the planet and limited resources and so on. And the longer that dragged on, the more I thought “this book is not for me.”  I stuck with it though. And I’ve made it to chapter 2 and I am intrigued.

My Relationship with Money

The authors encourage you to read the book through before you put in the work. The work is broken is broken down into 9 steps. I’m just getting to Step 2 in my reading. But what I am finding is that the book focuses on your thoughts on money, the psychology of that relationship versus more common “steps to save” money or such.  And I believe that this is exactly what I need.

I wrote recently about Money Principles and that has led me to more reading on Money Traps. The thing these two have in common is that they are mindset tools versus practical how to spend or not spend your money tools.  I think this mindset is what I personally have been missing.

Book Club Discussion – in a month

So here I am, sitting in Starbucks while my kids train for their sports, reading Your Money or Your Life. Will you join me?  I figure I can complete my first read through in the next week or so (helps to not have a job to do, plenty of reading time.) I’ll plan to open a discussion on it a month for now for anyone who wants to dive in with me.

I personally couldn’t find a online version of the book, but maybe someone else can. I ordered mine from Amazon.

Previous Book Club Posts

Your Money or Your Life Introduction

Chapter 1: What is Your Enough?

Chapter 2: What are you Trading Your Life Energy For?

Chapter 3: The Opposite of a Budget

Chapter 4: Coming Monday, May 21st

Hope

Hope is a creative, solutions-focused business manager helping clients grow their business and work more efficiently by leveraging expertise in project management, digital marketing, & tech solutions. She’s recently become an empty nester as her 5 foster/adoptive kids have spread their wings. She lives with her 3 dogs in a small town in NE Georgia and prefers the mountains to the beaches any day. She struggles with the travel bug and is doing her best to help each of her kids as their finish schooling and become independent (but it’s hard!) She has run her own consulting company for almost twenty years! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally in a place to really focus on making wise financial decisions.