Your Money or Your Life

Your Money or Your Life is very much a financial independence classic. This focuses more your life than your money – showing the strong thread that money has on your time, your relationships and your options in life. One area that stands out to me is the idea of understanding the value of your time as it relates to money. When you buy lunch out, or even grab a latte, how many minutes/hours of your time are you paying for that experience – and is it worth it? Knowing that you're spending on what brings you the most happiness for the buck is how you drive your expenses down while driving your happiness-per-dollar up.

Good read, especially the start. Has some key insights such as thinking about money as life energy, and some practical tips. But I do feel many ideas outstay their welcome and some gimmicks, such as calling work “making a dying”, are a bit much.

Really persuasive.

I am 86% done but I suffered enough I have decided to count this as “read.”

Someone recommended this to me recently, probably because I have a move coming up and keep yelling “I NEED MONEY” everywhere I go. And well, I just continue to be right about hating self help books.

This edition is ostensibly updated for younger generations. But I'm not sold on Robin's understanding of the economic straits faced by younger generations. Her hypothetical scenarios are buckwild. Talking about owning a home on wooded acres with your basement full of expensive exercise equipment, but still not being fulfilled. Am I supposed to relate to or sympathize with this person? Someone who spends $80 on magazines monthly. Who on this planet in 2023 would do that? Mentioning “Native American artifacts” as an example of your assets. Sure, right, like we all have. Give them back.

I think the underlying issue is that when systemic or generational issues are (rarely) addressed, they're cast as obstacles that anyone can choose to navigate over and around with a change in mindset and a sheet of graph paper.

I am not advocating for us to all exist in some helpless victim purgatory until life becomes fair. In some sense, what choice do we have but to exist? I just think it's strange to act like something is both immovable and no excuse. Which is it — a massive, inevitable force of nature, or something to wave at in passing but not let get you down? (The correct answer is “neither.”) The combination of resignation and dismissal is bizarre.

It's part of Robin's general pattern of putting onus on individuals, like her weird tangents about climate change being mitigated by consumers telling corporations what we value. She dropped several hot takes about physical health and weight loss, comparing these topics to getting control of your finances. It's a yikes from me.

The steps themselves are the least objectionable part of the text. They're just buried in a lot of unnecessary anecdotes and fluff. Why do self help books try to convince me to read them as I am already reading them? Because there's not enough actual substance to stretch this much beyond a four page PDF.

I was not the biggest fan of this book. Quite a bit of what it was asking the reader seemed excessive (calculating every dollar (including random money that you may have found at some point). Also, I felt that some of the suggestion on how to cut costs (just buy a house closer to work or get a different job) were a little unrealistic. I was not the biggest fan of equating money to life energy. The later parts of the book we the only redeeming thing about it in my eyes. More specifically, the discussion about bogelheads. I think that this, and largely only this, information would be useful to other readers. This is a book more geared toward someone who has no clue what their financial situation is reader than someone who is looking for better understanding finances and their utility/importance.

Yeah, just ok. I feel like this is a fairly conservative money strategy (using CDs or Bonds) that may be more impactful the closer you are to retirement? Otherwise another basic advice (live beneath you means, don't try to show off, understand where your money goes...yadayada) So, not the best thing i've read but def. not the worst. Decent read, I thought the audiobook was good for the subject.

Some concepts are very useful, but I've found it boring and obvious for the most of it.

A unique take on personal finance that emphasizes reciprocity, community care, enoughness, and sustainable living. I appreciated YMYL's ideas about divorcing the idea of work from making money and discovering your purpose that way.

Great book, I'd recommend (and have) it to anyone who feels like their money is controlling them more than they are controlling their money.

good for starters (or should I say FIREstarters?) only or for those who lost the track or sense of meaning to do FIRE.

Your Money or Your Life is very much a financial independence classic. This focuses more your life than your money – showing the strong thread that money has on your time, your relationships and your options in life. One area that stands out to me is the idea of understanding the value of your time as it relates to money. When you buy lunch out, or even grab a latte, how many minutes/hours of your time are you paying for that experience – and is it worth it? Knowing that you're spending on what brings you the most happiness for the buck is how you drive your expenses down while driving your happiness-per-dollar up.

Your Money or Your Life is very much a financial independence classic. This focuses more your life than your money – showing the strong thread that money has on your time, your relationships and your options in life. One area that stands out to me is the idea of understanding the value of your time as it relates to money. When you buy lunch out, or even grab a latte, how many minutes/hours of your time are you paying for that experience – and is it worth it? Knowing that you're spending on what brings you the most happiness for the buck is how you drive your expenses down while driving your happiness-per-dollar up.