Home > Media > Books > Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin - Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship With Money and Achieving Financial Independence
Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin - Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship With Money and Achieving Financial Independence
Darkmistress's Full Review: Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin - Your Money or Your...
Upon my first viewing of Your Money or Your Life I reshelved it saying "I’m not going to track every penny." Upon my second viewing I reshelved it saying "What’s the point of graphing your debt?" Upon my third viewing I just bought the darn thing because it obviously wasn’t going to go away. I was meant to read this book and it knew it, so it kept throwing itself in my way. My husband was pleased to see me reading it because, in his opinion, I had become obsessed with the state of our debt and anything that promised to transform my relationship with our money had to be a good thing.
And it is a good thing, but probably not in the way he anticipated.
Here are some things you will learn in this book:
Fulfillment. What does it really mean? How much does it really cost? Are you really fulfilled by owning the DVD of Little Nicky or could you rent it, enjoy it just as much and not have to dust it? The book does not demand that you give up everything you love just so you can stay home with your fortune. The book does ask you to look at your life, figure out what you really like and stop spending money and energy on the stuff you don’t like.
Money = Energy. A friend of mine once said that the only real commodity we have is time. We exchange some of it for money in order to own things that we want. Substitute energy in that statement and you have the aforementioned equation. Somehow lunch at McDonald’s stated in terms of cash doesn’t seem like much but stated in terms of minutes spent at work to pay for it becomes less appetizing. Try that on a larger scale like Car or House and you could get a head rush. You could also find yourself deciding that your current dwelling just needs some paint and that your current car is just fine.
No shame, no blame. Trying to control your spending is much like trying to control your eating. Once you’ve gone off your diet and eaten the entire cake, it’s hard not to drown your sorrows in a gallon of ice cream (ok, maybe I’m the only one with this problem.) Your Money Or Your Life makes you face your spending habits and debt, put them on the scale as it were, but before that do that they talk you out of giving up all hope.
Math:
There is math in this book. I did not do it. "Find out how much money you have earned in your lifetime – the sum total of your gross income, from the first penny you ever earned to your most recent paycheck." I can see how this would be good for some people, but I am not one of them. Neither am I about to do the next problem which is coming up with your total worth. Again, I can see how this would be useful for some people, but I’m not trading my life energy / time to find out what my collection of first print Sandman’s are worth in today’s deflated comics market.
Keeping track of every penny. I did this for a little while and it not only helped my pocketbook, but it helped my waistline too. I would stand in front of the candy machine thinking "Oh man, I’m gonna have to write this down. I don’t want it that bad," Some people do this all their lives, I was comfortable with 3 months. And it was very interesting to see where the money went. You know, that $20 you had in your wallet 3 days ago. What really happened to it?
Graphing your debt or savings. I do graph my debt. I have been for just over 2 years now. Every time a commercial comes on TV saying "The average American carries $8000 in credit card debt." I pump my fists in the air shouting "I’m below average!" And I know that for sure, within $10. I also know how long I’ve been below average. This tip alone, despite my initial doubt, has been worth the price of the book. I used to wonder if I was getting anywhere with my debt. I knew how much I had sent them over the course of the year, but how much had I paid off? Now I know. I know how high it got and I know how low it is.
All things in moderation.
You are not at any point required to follow any of the suggestions in the book. You do not have to figure out how much money you have earned over the course of your life and you do not have to graph your debt. However, if one of those appeals to you, go for it. The advice here is reasonable and well thought out, but that doesn’t make it all for you. Next time you see this book on the shelves of your local book store, library or friends house, pick it up and read the questions on the first page of the prologue. If you answer no to even one of the questions, read the rest of the book (after borrowing it or buying it of course.) It is definitely worth your life energy.
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