by Hope
As we continue with the Book Club, I love the comparison Vicki Robin makes in Chapter 3 of Your Money or Your Life between a person on a diet and money management. She references a book titled Diets Don’t Work! by Bob Schwartz. And specifically gives these rules for getting out of the diet mindset.
- Eat when you’re hungry.
- Eat exactly what your body wants.
- Eat each bite consciously.
- Stop when your body has had enough.
Essentially you must be aware of your needs and wants, knowing the difference and learning to listen to yourself.
The Same can be Said About Money
As we begin to go through the steps lined out in this book, we become very aware of our money triggers, our goals and eventually how we are spending our life energy. The key is to be aware of our spending habits over a long period of time.
This is where this book is different then other money mindsets. Rather than focusing on living by a strict budget, sometimes depriving yourself, you are aware of what you are trading your time for. You make conscious decisions that may result in pain during the adjustment period over time are freeing.
Breaking it Down
I love how they break down the Categories into Sub-Categories and then evaluate them based on the money spent as well as the life energy cost. That is eye opening to me. Using the formulas presented in this chapter really opened my eyes for how I’m using my time.
I am really glad I read the book in full before coming back through to work on each exercise. Taken individually, these steps are overwhelming and often confusing, but knowing the end goal has made a real difference for me.
Discussion Questions
What question would you most like to ask a friend about money? An expert? A relative?
What are your top priorities and how does your spending support them-or not?
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: The Quest for Happiness
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.
So, what do you think ?