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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 resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.

But life has a way of rewriting your plans.

A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.

Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.

Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.

She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.