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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “I've read many of books on personal finance. Most of them try to teach you how to get rich through investment strategies. This book is not so simple. Dominguez and Robin cover the topic from a different perspective urging you to look inside yourself and decide what it is you want to do with...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“A must-read for everyone. I love the philosophy of this book and agree with it 100%.”
Chris K wrote this review yesterday. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Your Money or Your Life is one part financial advice, two parts general life advice. The nine steps of the "program" are designed to help the reader think about their values and align their life so that there is as little that contradicts those values as possible. That these steps also help the reader get their finances in order, cut down on living expenses, and, eventually, become financially independent is almost incidental.
MrPopularSentiment wrote this review Sunday, September 6 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
In following the steps and, according to the authors, learning to live (to truly enjoy being alive and filling the day with meaning as opposed to obsessing over how to get money, how to spend money, and how to pay the bills), the reader may also have more money available. Rather than 'your money or your life,' the end lesson of the book is 'your life and the money that facilitates its living.'
Whatever small flaws this book may have (the assumption that the reader is religions and American, some repetitive passages, the occasional Nervous Nelly advice), it more than makes up for by being among the first logically sound, no-nonsense, 'this won't be easy and the onus is on you to make it work' self-help book I've ever read.
While my family benefited little from the financial advice (nearly all the tips are things that we already do), I found the general life advice to be very thought-provoking. My husband and I have been inspired to re-evaluate our values and goals. In other words, there is something in this for everyone - even those who are not in debt and relatively financially secure. It would not be an overstatement for me to say that everyone, regardless of age and financial situation, should read this book at least once and, preferably, going through the first four steps.”“Fantastic one. Talk about the science of money. Very conservative and philosophical approach towards money. Not a quick rich book. See the number of reviews in the amazon.com ”
Mahadevan L wrote this review Saturday, August 8 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Although I did not read every word of this book, it did transform my relationship with money and my attitude toward material goods. I read the book in 1999, and consider that year to have been the turning point in my financial life. The relative comfort we enjoy today is a direct result of having read this book! I highly recommend taking what you need from book and applying the general principles.”
ostinata wrote this review Wednesday, July 22 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Wow! A life changing book that makes you think about money, work, and life in a totally different way.”
Robert D wrote this review Friday, June 5 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This book is a must read for everyone! I highly recommend it. I agree with so much of what it says. Money is one aspect of our life and needs to be aligned with our values and what is important to us. I also like the idea of having "enough" and knowing what that means for you and how to figure that out. I am going to start the program and see what I learn. ”
Tara C wrote this review Sunday, April 5 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The best part of this book is that it appeals to those of us who want to get out of debt and retire early, and those of us who want to leave the planet in better shape than we entered it. More than any other environmental book that I've read, this one left a lasting impression, and is the one that I return to again and again when I am in doubt about what action to take (or not take). The premise is that all we really have is our life energy. This leads to the rather revolutionary part concept that "money is simply something you trade your life energy for". When you think of it like that, you start to question how you are spending your hours, which you will never get back. "Life energy is all we have. It is precious because it is limited and irretrievable and because our choices about how we use it express the meaning and purpose of our time here on earth." Just think about that for a moment. Is driving a flashy red sports car with a decked out interior really what your life is all about? Is having the lastest hairstyle, fashion accessories or breast implants every year really what your life is all about? This book helps to re-define how much is 'enough' (we all need food, water, shelter, income, waste disposal, the wants that you just can't live without) and then how to set about achieving it. I LOVE this book. A MUST READ. ”
Lisa K wrote this review Sunday, March 29 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“more important now than ever! This should be required reading. I sure wish someone had handed it to me when I was 20. ”
Mere H wrote this review Friday, January 30 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This past year (2008) with the downturn in the economy, I figured it was time to get my butt in gear and finally learn about personal finance. I went to Amazon and checked out some of the highest rated books in this category, this being one of them.
Psychedelic Pariah wrote this review Thursday, January 8 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I have to say that this is one of the very few books in my life that I've gotten about half-way through and decided that I'd had more than enough. I put the book back on my shelf and ended the relationship. I'm glad that I did because it was simply draining too much of my life energy out of me.
Interesting, however, to note that the concept of life energy was one I learned from this very book. I did learn in my reading that all things in life (both tangible and otherwise) have value, and that you can -- and should -- assign a value to said object with respect to the life energy you're willing to devote to it. It was at that point in the book that I decided enough was enough.
It's probably a very good book. It certainly gets rave reviews from almost everyone who had read it, so I know I'm swimming against the current on this one. I suppose where I lost interest was in the concept of having to unearth parts of my financial life, both in the past and the present, to discover what I was worth. That particular exercise simply held no value for me because, frankly, I just didn't care enough.
The longer I trudged through the following exercises the more I realized that I'm already doing a pretty good job of managing my finances, I already had a pretty good estimate of my net worth, and I discovered that this book was just a little too over-the-top for me. I'm just not willing to dig up every single receipt for every single item I've ever bought in my life. It got to the point where I was beginning to feel guilty because I wasn't willing to obsess over my finances the way these authors were suggesting I SHOULD.
Regardless, what works for some doesn't always work for everyone. And this is one of those books that just wasn't the right fit for me. But as I said above, the one takeaway I got was the concept of life energy and what it's worth. That, in and of itself, was the go ahead that I suppose I was looking for.
Sorry Joe and Vicki...but I'm just not that into you.
~Psychedelic Peace”
