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Reddit mentions of Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence: Fully Revised and Updated for 2018

Sentiment score: 45
Reddit mentions: 73

We found 73 Reddit mentions of Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence: Fully Revised and Updated for 2018. Here are the top ones.

Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence: Fully Revised and Updated for 2018
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Found 73 comments on Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence: Fully Revised and Updated for 2018:

u/this_guy83 · 486 pointsr/personalfinance

This is a great way to think about major purchases. It's one of the core concepts in Your Money or Your Life. There's even an extension for Google Chrome that will change any prices on a website to the amount of time you'll have to work to earn that much.

u/ninjafirepants · 177 pointsr/personalfinance

This is basically the thesis of Your Money or Your Life, which I'm currently reading.

I saw your comment in the original thread, and I'm glad you made a separate post to get it more attention. I don't know if this is something you realized on your own, or if you got it from this book or another, but it really doesn't matter.

Thinking of money in this way has given me more motivation to save than I had before, which should help me reach my goals sooner.

Again, thanks for sharing this viewpoint. Hopefully it helps another see the light.

u/cyanocobalamin · 36 pointsr/AskWomen

"Your Money Or Your Life" was the book that started the voluntary simplicity movement. Two New York financiers figured out that it cost them money ( suits, dry cleaning, transportation, high rents ) to work. They figured out what they really valued doing with their time and how much money they would need to live without working and do those things. They saved up a wad of cash, quit their jobs, lived life on the cheap, but happily.

It isn't for everyone, but I think this book is a must read for everyone.

I think of it as a "philosophy of money for modern Americans"

u/Themilie · 15 pointsr/BasicIncome

Yes and a bunch of people are doing it. It's called financial inpedendence and they're not all "rich." Many live very frugally to do it. Here are a few resources:


/r/financialindependence/


http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/


http://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766

u/quantifical · 13 pointsr/PersonalFinanceNZ

The numbers still aren't stacking up for me. I think it's clear that you have a spending problem. I'd really recommend reading Your Money or Your Life to help you work on your relationship with money.

> The medical insurance for me is worth a bit as I have a $17k surgery every couple of years.

I'm sorry to hear that.

u/PetraLoseIt · 9 pointsr/financialindependence

I think automation is one of the answers. You put money away as soon as it comes in. That way, you hardly see it and you don't feel that you can spend it. (The paying yourself first principle, where you put money aside for your future self and see that as some kind of bill that just needs to be paid).

One easy way would be to put aside $6k/month into a savings account (you possibly already have the savings account, so you just need to create one or two automatic transfers per month, set to happen right after paychecks come in).

Maybe also easy (-ish): start overpaying on your mortgage. Put in an extra $2k/month. Your interest rate on the mortgage probably isn't extremely high (probably like 3 to 4%?), but hey, putting an extra $24k/year there surely beats spending the money on stupid stuff, right?

A bit harder would be to do some research into tax-friendly ways to save money. Put the maximum amount of money into the 401k at work, for example. And decide which investment options to choose. For your own company, you can also open a 401k for yourself, but there are also some other options for people who are entrepreneurs/own their own business; so you would need to research that as well.

So start with the savings account; and try to get the rest up and running by say the end of January.

I want to tell you that you may very well be able to change your attitude towards money. I come from a similar background, and it just took me a few years to change my attitude around money, when it finally came in. I also had a few years of spending everything (and then some). I have managed to change my ways and am happier for it. And I think you can do that, too. (Because I'm definitely no superhuman).

One book recommendation: "Your money or your life", by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez.

Also check out the FAQ at the subreddit /r/personalfinance, they have recommendations on how to use the 401k, what investments to choose, etc.

u/recruz · 9 pointsr/financialindependence

There’s an excellent book on this that gives a way to actually track and calculate this. I haven’t fully finished the book yet, but it’s definitely a good one: “Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin”

Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence: Fully Revised and Updated for 2018 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0143115766/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fe78BbV04DE09

u/strolls · 9 pointsr/UKPersonalFinance

> "we need to live and deserve this"

This is a red flag to me.

That phrase makes me think of the book Your Money Or Your Life (some comments in this thread) - it's the sort of thing that people tell themselves to justify bad habits.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad is supposed to be good, too (I haven't read it) but both are self-help books and your partner needs to see his behaviour as a problem before he'll change it.

If he loses his job, you're going to be supporting him and I don't think he's made any provision for that - he might be saving a bit now, but he has no mental provision for his future. I used to be the same.

It's quite possible your partner could lose his job for no fault of his own (does he work in the city by any chance?) - I think a few months of unemployment would be a huge wake-up call for him.

u/beast-freak · 8 pointsr/personalfinance

This forms the basis of the book [Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence] (http://amzn.com/0143115766).

u/Rootlx · 8 pointsr/financaspessoaispt

Em português não conheço grande coisa sem ser este do Pedro Queiroga Carrilho mas se quiseres ler em inglês, as recomendações do r/personalfinance são excelentes.

Alguns dos que recomendo:

  • Everyday Millionaires - este é do género do "The Millionaire Next Door" que é recomendado na lista deles mas é mais actual. É escrito pelo Chris Hogan e foi publicado este ano (ou o ano passado, não me recordo bem). É bom numa perspectiva motivacional e comportamental, não tanto um guia de dicas práticas.
  • Dave Ramsey's Complete Guide to Money - recomendo para as bases de como fazer um orçamento mensal, poupar e pagar dívidas (se tiveres).
  • Your Money, Your Life - este é mais de lifestyle e de fazer repensar a nossa relação com o dinheiro. É tido como o livro que, sem querer, originou o movimento FIRE.
  • The Motley Fool Guide to Investment - sobre investimento em acções (visão mais a longo prazo, buy and hold).

    Desses 4, eu apostaria nos dois primeiros. Um porque te vai deixar motivado e o outro porque te vai forçar a mudar comportamentos. Eu cresci a ler estes livros. Li o Rich Dad Poor Dad com 11 anos, o investment guide for teens do Motley Fool também na adolescência e pouco fiz com isso porque, como diz o Dave Ramsey, finanças pessoais é 20% conhecimento, 80% comportamento. Só anos mais tarde quando fiz o programa dele (Financial Peace University) é que realmente mudei alguma coisa e arrependo-me de não ter começado mais cedo.
u/vtjohnhurt · 8 pointsr/news

CS? If you're a programming savant or even moderately gifted and self-disciplined, then college is optional. To try it, first get a programming or IT job for a gap year, but plan to return to school if the self-education route does not pan out. You can tell if it is working, if you are happy and if your programming skills and knowledge improve dramatically, and your salary goes up dramatically. Do not work any less hard outside of school and be sure to have a serious programming project (however small) outside of your job.

Join a club or two to maintain a social life.

Read 'Your Money or Your Life' and see how you can have a better life on a lower salary. A key step may be to avoid crushing student debt. http://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412786131&sr=8-1&keywords=your+money+or+your+life

As a transition, you might try to get an IT job on campus. Some of those jobs include free tuition for one course a semester and you retain some of the perks of being a student.

u/johnsmithindustries · 6 pointsr/personalfinance

The Millionaire Next Door changed my entire perspective on money and life. If you read no other PF book, read that one - it's an eye opener. Along the same lines, I'd recommend Your Money or Your Life. If you don't want to be really hands-on with your finances (I have a lot of friends like this) I usually recommend The Automatic Millionaire. It's got a infomercial-esque title, but in reality it's an easy read with really good ideas, particularly for the uninterested/inattentive.

As for investing, try The Boglehead's Guide to Investing. A lot of the info is free at the Boglehead Wiki.

For FREE reading, head over to The Simple Dollar and Get Rich Slowly. Both are incredibly useful websites with extensive archives on investing, frugality, debt, and all things personal finance. I read both every day!

(as an example, here's an article on the 25 Best Books About Money over at GRS.)

A lot of people like Dave Ramsey, but I don't recommend him very much. He's got good advice in there, but his books contain religious references that I feel are particularly useless in a personal finance guide.

u/windchilladvisory · 5 pointsr/financialindependence

Sometimes you can use books as "mentors." I'd recommend:

Your Money or Your Life - This motivated me to get my savings rate up to 70%+

The 4-Hour Workweek - Currently reading this and it definitely seems like a good read to get motivated to start a business, run a business more efficiently and reclaim your time.

Check out Library Genesis for a possible free download of the epub/mobi/pdf...if that's your thing.

u/jone7007 · 5 pointsr/financialindependence

I got the Richest Man in Babylon! by George S. Clason out of college It was published in 1926 and is still great advice. There is also a free audio version here!. The book is written very differently than most personal finance books. The author uses parables to teach financial lessons. This makes it a great introduction for the financial newbie. The part that most stuck with me is:

"“A part of all you earn is yours to keep. It should be not less than a tenth no matter how little you earn. It can be as much more as you can afford. Pay yourself first. Do not buy from the clothes-maker and the sandal-maker more than you can pay out of the rest and still have enough for food and charity and penance to the gods."

I joined the Peace Corps after college so I didn't get around to implementing Mr. Clason's advice. For some reason, over the three year period I was out of the US, his advice changed in my memory to three-tenths. So since I got my first full-time professional job at 27, I have been aiming to save 30% of income. I haven't always met this goal but I have averaged saving at least 20% of my gross income.

This past May, I read Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence! which introduced me to FIRE. While I'm a little sad about the 6 years, I wasn't saving for FIRE, the savings I accumulated is a great start. The approach in this book has been very useful in figuring out what I am willing to give up in order to increase my SR and achieve FIRE sooner.

Edit: fixed hyperlink

u/wonder_er · 4 pointsr/financialindependence

Nassim Taleb wrote a book called Antifragile that gives one possible perspective on your question.

By putting yourself in a "safe" place (not 100% dependent on a job to pay bills, spending all your income, etc) you're making a small contribution to the health of the whole.

A small thought experiment: If everyone in America started saving 40% of their income tomorrow, what would happen?

Plenty of jobs would disappear, but there would be more than enough reserved to fund those who lost their jobs until something else became available.

Right now I'm planning on making significant contributions for my in-laws when they can no longer work. I'm 26, and am positive that I'll be providing a lot of care for them in less than ten years. That means that the more I can save now, the more I can care for them later, and keep them healthy and happy, while preventing them from being a drain on "the system".

Last thought - there's not a fixed dollar cost per child's life saved. If it was that simple, some huge foundation (Gates, Zuckerburg) would kick all the money needed to eliminate all malaria-related deaths ever. They could afford it. The challenges are so much more nuanced than that. So you couldn't save 30 lives a year with your $100k, even if you tried.

Great question, though. I love thinking through all of these kinds of things.

PS have you read Your Money or Your Life? I think it might help answer some of these questions.

edit: spelling

u/[deleted] · 4 pointsr/StudentLoans

Hey, we graduated at the same time! As long as you keep paying extra towards your high-interest loans first, you will pay them off quickly. One thing that will allow you to pay off your loans even faster is to change your repayment plan to 25 years instead of the standard 10.

This sounds counterproductive, but what this will do is dramatically reduce your minimum monthly payment. I did this and my monthly payment went from $500 to $260. However, I still pay the full $500 (plus some). Now, I am able to force $240 of the original $500
minimum payment to my loans with the highest interest rates.

This only works on federal loans because the interest rate will not change. Call your loan servicer and ask about a 25 year FIXED repayment plan. They will try to get you on an income-driven repayment plan, but don't do this as your payments will change as your income does. You want the 25-year fixed payment. I had a friend that tried this, but for some reason, his loan servicer would not let him do it. I think that your income and debt balance have some influence on whether or not you can get on the 25-year plan.


Another thing that you can do to retain more of your income is to rework your car insurance. You are on the right track by not paying it monthly. This saves you some premium as you pay for it all at once. To get the cheapest rates, you should buy a policy that lasts a full year (not 6 months because your rates can increase 2 times per year as opposed to 1). You should also get a $1,000 deductible. Most people have $500 deductibles. If you get a $1,000 deductible, you get put in a lower risk pool and will have a lower premium to pay. Just be sure that your emergency fund could take a $1,000 hit instead of a $500 one if you get in a wreck. Make sure that you also have good coverage like 100/300. Don't ever get the state minimums as this is not enough coverage and you will get sued to cover everything your insurance fails to pay if you are in an accident.

Another thing that you should do is read these 3 books. It sounds like your debt is under control and you are already familiar with Dave Ramsey (you are ignoring his snowball method for the much much much much much better avalanche method). So your debt is under control and will be paid off in a few years. What happens then? You should read these three books now, so you can set up your future today:

"The index card" by Harold Pollack.

This book tells you everything you need to know about personal finance. It is very simple and you will be ahead of the curve if you read this.

https://www.amazon.com/Index-Card-Personal-Finance-Complicated/dp/0143130528/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1536937178&sr=8-2&keywords=the+index+card

The second book you should read is "Unshakeable" by Tony Robbins. This book covers some of the same stuff in "the index card", but it goes into more depth about how to invest in index funds for taxable accounts, 401k, Roths, and other IRAs. This book can show you how to minimize your fees and help keep your risks manageable. It is a great book for learning how to invest for the long haul (it's not a get rich quick scheme).

Honestly, depending on what your interest rates are on your student loans, you should probably start investing some of your money rather than just paying off loans. Sure it will take you longer to pay off loans, but why pay off a loan today that has a 2-3% interest rate when you could buy into an index fund that will pay you 10% on average? I would aggressively pay down the high-interest stuff (anything above 4%) as fast as possible. Once that is paid off, I would shift some of the money to invest. I would still pay more than the minimum on the remaining loans. Doing this will allow you to take advantage of compounding interest and your net worth will be higher when your loans are paid off. This is where you should stop listening to Dave Ramsey. Ramsey's goal is to get you out of debt as quick as possible. His goal is not to increase your net worth as much as possible. Once you get all your student loans above 4% paid off, your student debt is manageable and will be close to the traditional inflation rate. As long as you keep paying the current minimums, it will be gone by 2025 (sooner if you pay a little extra). But your net worth could be significantly higher if you take a few hundred dollars a month and invest it.

https://www.amazon.com/Unshakeable-Your-Financial-Freedom-Playbook/dp/1501164589/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1536937326&sr=1-2&keywords=unshakeable+tony+robbins

The third book you should read is "Your money or your life" by Vicki robbin. This book is crazy and has a cult-like following on places like the financial independence subreddit. This book shows you how to become financially independent. It has a foundation based on the mindset that "if you always want more, you will never have enough." This book shows you how to make a plan to retire as soon as humanly possible based upon your age, income, and fixed expenses. I have read it and adopted many of the concepts. I don't necessarily plan on retiring early, but I will be secure and able to retire if shit hits the fan, the option will be up to me and not my employer.

https://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1536937840&sr=1-1&keywords=your+money+or+your+life+2018+edition

I hope this helps. Good luck!




u/rolyhammond · 4 pointsr/financialindependence

So I’ve just started out also, and in not too much of a dissimilar scenario.

I heard a podcast, read a blog and I was hooked! So like you it started to spiral even further but the 1st real stop for me was this book.

Your Money or Your Life , 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence - Vicki Robbin

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0143115766/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_fKJxDb0YNBSP8.

There are plenty more out there but this basically gave me a good starting point, leading down a path of more and more resources.

Good Luck.

u/RDMXGD · 3 pointsr/personalfinance

There is a very good chance it is possible. The keys are to (a) spend very little money, and (b) make a decent bit of money.

A potential reading list includes

  • https://smile.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766/
  • https://smile.amazon.com/Jacob-Lund-Fisker/e/B0049I0MOI/
  • http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/
  • http://earlyretirementextreme.com/
  • /r/leanfire/
  • /r/financialindependence/

    If you don't track your spending, start. Be deliberate as you change it in the future. A lot of people don't even understand where their money goes.

    > I am still renting my living space ($650/month)

    Sounds like a likely-good decision.

    > hope to have a family...in the future (hopefully before retirement).

    Raising kids has a lot of cost, but also varies a ton by how you do it.

    If your partner is of one mind about living frugally and retiring early, you can cut costs by sharing things and can encourage each other. Most people aren't of that mind, so this is a common struggle.

    > hope to...own a home in the future (hopefully before retirement).

    I would encourage you to rethink this as an end unto itself. Owning a home makes sense sometimes for some people in some places. Other times, renting makes more sense. To the extent that owning a home is a sign of being a responsible, stable, grownup, it's just a status symbol. Don't chase status symbols.

    Try to analyze the decision to buy a house rather than renting in terms of whether it actually makes sense for your situation.

    > My question is, how much money does someone like me need to have in order to completely retire at 40-45 and still live comfortably?

    The common rules of thumb range from 20x-50x your annual expenditures for whatever 'live comfortably' means to you. The online community of early retirees and (more often) hopeful early retirees tends to push 25x your annual expenditures. http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-behind-early-retirement/ plugs in some assumptions and computes, with tons of assumptions, the target savings rate to let yourself retire by a certain age.

    Any such rule of thumb has tons of variability based on risk tolerance, the unpredictable future, details to tax, details to pensions, tax-deferred savings, social security, etc., but these things can be approached by some pencil-sharpening when you're closer in. The main things are (a) make a lot of money, and (b) don't spend much money.
u/barnefri · 3 pointsr/childfree

Basically you must work on paying off your debts and still save as much as you can every month until you reach the point where you have saved so much money that you can live on the interests/dividends/passive income (such as renting out a room or an apartment), for the rest of your life, without working.

How long it will take you to get to that point depends on your annual spending, how much debt you have, and how much of your income you are able to save. Some people have done it in 5 years by living extremely frugally, even while raising a family. The point is not how much money you make, but what % of your monthly income you are able to save.

I highly recommend the book "Your Money or Your Life", but you can start by watching some YouTube videos and read online blogs.

u/HyperApples · 3 pointsr/japanlife

u/GravityTxT, geekguy has the best advice on this thread. "will, fortitude, and action".

I never earned much money and retired at 35 to travel full-time. It's not about how much you earn, but how much you spend.

If all my investments magically disappeared and I had to start again, I would get a job in rural Japan, doing something I like, where housing is essentially free, and there's a labor shortage. That's an immediate strong economic position from which to rebuild capital.

Do what you love, avoid lifestyle inflation, enjoy life.

And as a former software industry worker, I say the industry is awful for quality of living, and emotional fulfillment. IT, too.

You need to get concrete on what you want out of life. Read Your Money or your Life by Dominguez/Robin.

If you're a numbers guy read http://earlyretirementextreme.com/, if you're a heart guy read https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/. Even if you want to work to 75, these are great resources for living a examined life, rather than just floating along.

u/iluv2sled · 3 pointsr/Frugal

Your Money or Your Life is a personal finance classic.
http://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301279772&sr=8-1

It was a game changer for me as to why it matters. Once I got that, the rest became easier.

u/escapeartist · 3 pointsr/Frugal

This is one of the things I liked about Your Money or Your Life. It advocates identifying where you can cut expenses that are less of a priority but reminds the frugal person that life is also to be enjoyed, and you shouldn't deprive yourself of the things that give you joy just because they cost more.

u/110_115_120 · 3 pointsr/personalfinance

Congratulations on your achievement! Here are my responses to your bullet points:

  1. Track your expenses, if you aren't already. Use something like Quicken or Mint. This is important, because as explained by the book "Your Money Or Your Life", it will help you focus your spending on things that are truly important to you, rather than squandering your money (or life energy) on things that are of little value to you.

  2. The way the power of compounding works is, the earlier you start the greater its effect will be. So yes, you absolutely want to start as early as possible and stuff away as much as you can. Those early dollars will grow far more than dollars you put in later.

    > It seems scary to invest all my retirement money and potentially losing it all.

    The risk with "safe" investments like CDs and bonds is that they probably won't keep up with inflation, and you may not end up with enough savings to live on during retirement. While the stock market can be volatile over the short term, over the long haul (30+ years) it's proven to be pretty safe and capable of generating the high returns that you'll need to support your post-retirement.

    Normally the advice for retirement contributions goes like this (in the following sequence):

  • Contribute to your 401k up to the point of the match

  • Contribute to your ROTH IRA

  • Max out the remainder of your 401k contributions

  • Invest in after-tax accounts (if so desidered)

    Given your high salary, you may fall into the ROTH IRA income phase-out range depending on what your mAGI ends up being. You can always do a backdoor ROTH IRA, but that might be too advanced for you to deal with as a new worker.

    What I would do in your case is probably the following (and it's basically what I'm doing since my income is similar to yours):

  • Max out your 401k. You'll want to focus on index funds with low fees, and include large company (S&P 500), small/med company, and international funds in your portfolio.

  • Do your taxes early next year and determine how much you are eligible to contribute to a ROTH IRA for 2013, and make that contribution prior to the IRS deadline (you can make contributions to your 2013 IRA up to the tax return deadline). If it isn't much, consider doing the backdoor ROTH IRA contribution for the remainder amount.

  1. Keep 3-8 months of expenses in a liquid (cash savings) emergency fund.

  2. RSU is basically your employer giving you stock over a certain period to provide incentive for you to stay with them. So every year, you'll probably receive (or become vested in) $16k worth of company stock. After 5 years, you'll own the entire $80k. At least that's the way I think it works; I've never worked for an employer that offered it. I would probably sell the stock after I receive it so as not to have too much of my portfolio in one basket, and use the proceeds to purchase index funds or invest in other financial goals.

  3. If you're willing to list the funds available to you within your 401k, and their associated fees, we can help you choose the ones that we think are best fit for your retirement plan.

    EDIT TO ADD: Since your ability to earn an income is your biggest asset right now, be sure to protect it with appropriate short term and long term disability insurance. More young people have life insurance than disability insurance, but statistically speaking, they are more likely to become disabled than die before the age of 65.
u/Voerendaalse · 3 pointsr/personalfinance

I would suggest "Your money or your life" by Vicky Robin and Joe Dominguez. http://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766

At least the Dutch version helped me to "see" the value of money more - how you can only earn a finite amount during your lifetime and how it can help improve your life if you use it wisely.

Perhaps it isn't very practicaly (some of the information is probably outdated), but it maybe helps with the psychology of money and philosophizes about the meaning of money.

u/used-books · 2 pointsr/personalfinance

So you already know that your household spending is out of control, it should not be hard to live within your means at 15K per month. It's great that you are already using YNAB, so you know exactly where you stand. It would be a totally reasonable goal to pay off the credit card debt by the end of the year. As a high income houshold you are in a very good position to start planning for financial independence. This book is a classic:
Your Money or Your Life

It sounds like your family could benefit from financial relationship consuling. I just googled it, it is a real thing and it sounds like exactly what your family needs to turn things around.

Sometime when you are in a hotel room with time to kill, read this blog:
Mr. Money Mustasche
Read the whole thing. He is hilarious, very little fluff in the articles. It will change the way you think about money.

I'll offer a reality check for food budget. I am also in the NE US, and spend about $400 a month on groceries for a family of 4. Resturants sub $20. Eating largely local and organic (can't afford OG dairy all the time).
The three keys to how we do this:

  1. Buy grass fed meat in bulk from a local farmer once a year. A $200 chest freezer was one of the best purchases we have ever made.
  2. Join a CSA for vegetables. Ours is $25 a week for more organic, local veggies than we can handle. It runs in winter too. There is also a fruit option. At the very least, you can eat more seasonally , and stop paying $5 for a tiny container of berries.
  3. Cut out all processed and packaged food.

    Good luck!
u/ludwigvonmises · 2 pointsr/financialindependence

Depends on your interests. I would consider these important for any human, though:

u/Rhameolution · 2 pointsr/personalfinance

> Not all of job satisfaction is from pay, the way I see it.

I completely agree with this. I try to recommend Your Money Or Your Life to as many people as I can.
Edit: formatting

u/jburkert · 2 pointsr/AskReddit

I'm gonna throw some book titles at you.

u/sylvan · 2 pointsr/ZenHabits

See books like Your Money or Your Life.

The story he references at the beginning gives examples of what you can do with that money. Invest in your own business(es), real estate, or a portfolio.

By choosing to live frugally, you can build up assets that generate income, until your comfortable living expenses are lower than your investments generate. At that point, you're financially independent, and can just keep investing a growing portion of the returns back into more investments.

u/sub_zero23 · 2 pointsr/personalfinance

that's exactly what we are thinking of doing, just not to Maine. We really love the outdoors so california is great, but it's $300k for a decent house way out in the desert now.

if we want to live in a decent area, it's $500-700k for a 40 year old home. With that much money, we could live somewhere nice, pay off our home early and then invest the rest. that's why we are thinking of moving somewhere like Galveston Texas. It's a beach city, lots to do, close to Houston to get our city fix, and the COL is pretty low.


I righly recommend the book 'Your money or your life' by Vicki Robin. It talks exactly about what you are referring to and has examples of people doing that.

https://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503338083&sr=8-1&keywords=your+money+or+your+life

seriously, buy it now, it's great

u/SpicedApple · 2 pointsr/personalfinance

> I want a nice car - think BMW or Corvette.

Read this and this.

Cars aren't indicators of success. They are oftentimes indicators of poverty or middle class wealth bleeds. You need an emergency fund, need to max out your 401(k) / IRA, and be responsible. Don't throw good money after bad because you're emotional right now.

u/vorak · 2 pointsr/Frugal

For me, the short answer is I spend less money.

The long answer, though, has to do with the YNAB method, reading some key financial books and ultimately changing the way I view money. Earlier this year my soon-to-be father-in-law gifted me The Millionaire Next Door. Then I read Your Money or Your Life. Those two books, combined with being so exhausted from living paycheck to paycheck, got me started down the path of actually really caring how I handled my money.

I had been using a basic spreadsheet to track income and expense but after finding YNAB, via Reddit of course, things just started to change. I stopped buying stupid shit I didn't need. I eliminated impulse buying. I stopped buying coffee and going out to eat a few times a week. Those little things add up. I saved for things I wanted instead of putting them on credit and paying for them later.

It sounds like you've got a lot of that under control already though. Like /u/ASK_IF_IM_PENGUIN said, it's the method. The four rules. You can absolutely incorporate those four rules into your existing spreadsheet and not pay a dime for the software. But the software they've developed is so goddamn good it just makes doing it myself so unappealing.

The other thing that helps is their support system. There is so much content available on YouTube. The podcast is awesome. You can even take their online courses for free.

Give the trial a go. You can use it fully featured for 34 days I think. There's a good chance it'll drop to $15 whenever the steam sale happens in a week or two. Pick it up then if you like it. If not, no harm!

u/USCEngineer · 2 pointsr/personalfinance

Do yourself a favor and read your money or your lifehttp://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766

u/elpoco · 2 pointsr/AdviceAnimals

http://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766

Not a bad read, if a little clunkier to read than the first edition.

u/intirb · 2 pointsr/TwoXChromosomes

I'd recommend reading the book Your Money Or Your Life, if a copy is available at your local library. I think it does a good job of helping you to change the way you think about spending and money and to reorient yourself towards longer-term financial stability.

u/splorf · 2 pointsr/AskReddit

has anyone here read your money or your life?


i haven't read it, but i understand that it teaches you to save and invest until your investments pay for your bills/lifestyle. apparently some people take it to the extreme and use the book's model to retire in a few years.


would love to hear anyone's experience with this book. i guess i should read it, too.

u/Future_Eater · 2 pointsr/TheRedPill

Just to add a real good resource for figuring out how to live frugally and get the most out of your money, [Your Money or Your Life] ( https://www.amazon.ca/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766) this book helped me figure out my internal yardstick for happiness, which turned out to be quite minimal, and got me on a budget that allowed me to live a life of simplicity and minimalism. Here's an excerpt.

> Did I receive fulfillment, satisfaction, and value in proportion to life energy spent?

> Answering this question helps you develop an internal yardstick for fulfillment and in the process kick any unhealthy shopping habits. You maky discover that you’ve been measuring your fulfillment, or lack of it, by what those around you have or by what advertising says you should want. Being fulfilled is having just enough. Think about it. Whether it’s food or money or things, if you don’t know, from an internal standard, what is enough, then you will pass directly from “not enough” to “too much,” with “enough” being like a little whistle-stop town. You blink and you’ve missed it. You will rarely have an experience of fulfillment. By diligently working with this question, you will begin to identify, for yourself, an internal yardstick that you can use to measure how much is enough

> The primary tool for developing this internal yardstick is awareness. The affluence that surrounds us has been called the American Dream and with good reason: we’ve been asleep. We wake up by questioning the dream. Asking yourself, month in, month out, whether you actually got fulfillment in proportion to life energy spent in each subcategory awakens that natural sense of knowing when enough is enough.

u/Independent · 2 pointsr/Frugal

I don't know why you're getting downvoted. Your question is both interesting and nuanced. It's a disgusting sign of the times that people just assume that if you're not a trust fund brat that the only other option is to be a wage slave. A third option is self employment, working whatever part of the time you personally feel you require to meet your needs.

The career trap can have both benefits and huge drawbacks. Everybody concentrates on the wages and benefits, but having been stuck in a career rut for 30+ years, it's worth pointing out some of the drawbacks.

u/jazybp · 2 pointsr/personalfinance

Taking on the advice that everyone else here has shared like consolidating credit cards into a 0% one for 12 - 18 months and trying to negotiate a payment plan for your hospital bills is a good idea.

As others have mentioned, you need to have a budget and be able to stick to it. Have you taken the time to go through your last 3 months of bank statements and work out where your money is going? That's the only way to identify areas that you can cut back. I'd categories them as:

  1. Must have: Without these, you really would be in a bad place... (e.g. rent, critical bills, groceries and basic clothes)
  2. Should have: Without these, you lose some key comforts but you can get them elsewhere for free but more effort (e.g. broadband [you could go to a public library], running a car)
  3. Nice to have: Without these, you'll sacrifice a nicer lifestyle (e.g. going out for lunch, nice clothes, new gadgets, gym membership, Spotify subscription)

    Then look really hard at each item in those categories, even the must-have (e.g. are you living in a bigger apartment than you need? Do you shop at a fancy grocery store as opposed to a more affordable one?) to see where you can make cutbacks. The only way to get out of debt is to spend less than you earn, use what remains to clear it.

    There are plenty of tools out there to help you, like Every Dollar and YNAB. Also worth checking out podcasts by the likes of The Minimalists and reading Your Money or Your Life, which offer very practical advice.

    In terms of tackling the debt, you have 2 options:

  • The mathematically smart way: Start paying off as much as you can on the debt with the highest amount of interest
  • The rewarding way: Pay off the smallest debt you have (e.g. your $1,000 credit card), then work on the next smallest, adding on your previous payments so they snowball into bigger ones. This is more rewarding, as you see debt disappear and you feel a sense of progress.

    All the best with your situation. You can do it, your debt is definitely not insurmountable, you just need to be disciplined and make some sacrifices to clear it.
u/InnocentManWasBenned · 2 pointsr/LegalAdviceUK

Don't let it loom over you.

Unless you're going to blow all the money you inherit, it probably shouldn't change your life plans much.

I'd expect you're going to finish school and maybe go to uni. You've probably always expected to get a job and, in about 10 years time, think about buying a house.

Given the value of the estate, your third is enough to buy a flat or a house, but it's not enough for you to be able to quit working (well, if you do you'll run out of money in 10 or 20 years, at most).

This money gives you a little security and flexibility, but it doesn't fundamentally change your life plans, I don't think. If you leave it invested for the next 40 years, with compounded returns, then it'll probably ensure a comfortable retirement (but you should probably still top it up, anyway, to make sure and to cultivate good financial habits).

I think you should try to be as grown up as possible about managing the probate period - a solicitor, for example, would help you ensure that your uncle and grandfather are fairly assessing the value of his share of the business. For all you know he owns a 50% share of a £10,000,000 business - how do you know they're not fobbing you off with just a fraction of it? My solicitor was a godsend - very helpful and insightful and she filled me with confidence at a very difficult time; I encourage your mum to call her if you haven't yet decided upon one.

Having got that side of things out of the way, just chill about the money and don't let it worry you too much. You can't afford to blow it, so you'll need to stick it somewhere safe and leave it for a long time.

Subscribe to /r/UKPersonalFinance and try to read a post or two there every day - ask questions there about anything you don't understand. Buy a copy of Tim Hale's Smarter Investing and Vicki Robin's Your Money or Your Life. You don't need to read them all at once, but they're pretty easy reading and you can dip in to them from time to time.

I think you should be planning to learn more about finance over the next year or two, so that you know the best way to save (well, invest, really) this money.

u/Frenchbulldog716 · 2 pointsr/AskWomen

You are Are The One You've Been Waiting For. Made me look at my childhood with different eyes and realize I don't need my husband to "complete" me.

Oh, also Your Money or Your Life.

u/yolfer · 1 pointr/personalfinance

Good question! First off, I feel that retiring at 50 is an honest goal for me, since like any other goal, I have a realistic plan to make it happen, and key metrics to track my progress. I'm using the plan described in Your Money Or Your Life.

I plan to do volunteer work, and (at the same time, if possible) bicycle touring. My wife wants to sail around the world. At least we have over a decade to figure it out.

We live very frugally, by choice, not to deprive ourselves in the present in order to retire sooner. We're a family of 5 and our monthly expenses are about $8k/month. I figure when it's just the two of us, they'll be around $5/month (in today's dollars).

Current savings are in the low 6-digits. 401k and Roth IRA, invested in Vanguard's Target Retirement 2040 Fund.

I guess my original question is what investment strategies should I use to "bridge the gap" of about 15 years between when I retire and when I'm able to draw out of my 401k and Roth IRA. (I'm able to draw the principal out of the IRA at any time, right?)

Thanks!

u/tufty_thesinger · 1 pointr/financialindependence

You'd probably benefit from reading Your Money or Your Life. Chapter 6 or 7 deals with redefining your relationship with work. There's an argument to be made that differentiates between paid employment and work. It goes something along the lines that we do all sorts of work every day: from cooking, cleaning, and learning to higher level concepts like raising a family and contributing a community. Recently, we've elevated money as the reward from work ignoring the less tangible rewards from those other forms of work.

u/RepairmanSki · 1 pointr/AskReddit

This is probably the best book I have ever read regarding money.

It deals very specifically with what you talked about, your relationship with money. I strongly recommend it. I've talked to hundreds of people in your situation and have yet to have anyone come back years later without tales of woe and regret that they "shoulda listened."

Please, be the first.

u/dequeued · 1 pointr/personalfinance

In addition to what everyone has said, read the sidebar:

https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/teachme

And read this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766/

(Your library system should have a copy.)

u/josh2485 · 1 pointr/personalfinance

Check out Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence: Fully Revised and Updated https://www.amazon.com/dp/0143115766?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

Great book. Don’t forget to budget: YNAB.com (awesome) and mint.com are good rescoures for budgeting.

u/feralfinds · 1 pointr/personalfinance

I recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766

It's not just budgeting, but helps you get at what kind of life you are trying to create and how that matches up with how you are currently living. Each chapter has assignments and lots of stories/examples.

u/Enphuego · 1 pointr/personalfinance

You should start with Your Money or Your Life. That's the only book I've read that really helps you to make a budget that's designed to maximize your own personal goals.

That book paired with A Boglehead's Guide to Investing will put you both on a sound financial footing. Then you can decide if you want to see the financial adviser.

u/longlivedasset · 1 pointr/personalfinance

Read and listen to Dave Ramsey if you want to be "good" with personal finance.

If you want to "optimize" finance, then come hang out with us in r/financialindependence

Podcasts: ChooseFI, Afford Anything

Blogs: Mr. Money Mustache

Books: Simple Path to Wealth, Your Money or Your Life, Millionaire Next Door, The Richest Man in Babylon

​

Some pointers:

  1. Don't do what most people do. Chances are, they know less about personal finance than you do.
  2. Spend based on your value (within your means of course), not based on the percentage of income.
  3. Don't spend money to impress others.
  4. If you think 20's is time to spend every penny to have "full" experience, look at this chart.

    ​
u/SisyphosOnTop · 1 pointr/asktrp

Set yourself a goal and then follow up on it mercilessly. Easier said than done.

Man I wish someone told me to read these three books when I was 17:

u/TheRearguard · 1 pointr/investing

Here is a random article I found about stock simulators.

How do you like to learn things? There are tons of books, podcasts and blogs about investing. Here are some popular ones or ones that I have read and used

  • Books
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
    • Money Tree Podcast -- pretty poor production quality but good general stuff.
    • There are tons of others, Google it.

      Warren Buffett famously/supposedly read every book in the financial section at the library by age 12--I think the important thing to take from that is you are still young and have tons of free time and aside from starting to invest as soon as you can (you can usually start as soon as you have earned income) you should be investing in yourself...getting good grades, figuring out what you want to do after high school, trying out businesses, learning marketable skills (e.g., coding, good writing skills, good interpersonal skills, good organizational skills, etc).

      Good Luck!
u/KickAClay · 1 pointr/personalfinance

Congratulations and great tips!

​

Some things I've learned in life so far as well (maybe it will help others too):

  1. If you have debt, use a debt snowball calculator to get rid of the smallest debts first (as it feels like you're getting somewhere). On my last debt now, excluding my mortgage. Feels so good!
  2. Read/Listen to Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin.
  3. Automate as many bills/debts as you can (using things like Bill Pay or ACH at your credit union). Once my account sees by paycheck deposit (into spending account), it sends funds to my mortgage, bills, savings, other savings, and groceries accounts. The remaining is what I have each week for gas, eating out and "fun" money (~$100/week. I try to not spend it all and then I put more towards debts). This requires a budget. I have a debit card for bills and spending, and use the bills card for auto charges like Netflix, Utility bills...
  4. Look around for better deals on your utilities every year or sooner. I have saved over $2k in the last 1.5 years from just calling/chatting with my cell provider on a regular bases. Also, my trash company has matched any deal I can find, then beat it. I've cut most of my bills by 25% or more, just making calls.

    Best advice I got from my dad when I was a teen:

    "Dad, Im scared to get a CC."

    "Why"

    "Because it puts people in debt!"

    "Come with me..." [walks me to bathroom mirror] [points at me] "THAT'S who you should be afraid of! You have the control." AKA don't spend what you don't have and you'll be just fine. Hell, it worked. I think the most I had on a CC was $3k, which was due to both cars breaking in the same month.
u/flashbang123 · 1 pointr/asktrp

Compound interest is the closest thing to magic in this world. You need to at least learn the very basics of investing. Check out r/financialindependence and read this and this.

Never stop exercising. Start doing 5x5's if you aren't already. If you have time to watch TV you have time to lift.

Don't waste your time and attention on mental opiates. Kill your facebook account. Fuck social media.

u/bghanoush · 1 pointr/Economics

Get a general investing book, as well as a book on investor behavior/psychology. Finally something on market history to help you realize that this time is not different during the next downturn.

general: The Four Pillars of Investing, by William Bernstein

behavior: Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes, by Belsky and Gilovich

history: Capital Ideas, by Peter Bernstein

A Random Walk Down Wall Street is also quite good -- a combination of general and historical. I also really liked Wise Investing Made Simple, by Larry Swedroe -- but only as a second or third book, not the primary one.

Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman are great for personal finance, but don't follow their investing advice. Ditto for Your Money or Your Life.

u/m741 · 1 pointr/Frugal

Read this book: Your Money or Your Life

Really think about what money means. In your case, you're spending an hour of your time in exchange for $10. But it's probably less than that, because you're wearing out clothing, spending gas to commute, maybe paying taxes, etc. So let's say you're spending an hour of your time for $7.

So if you spend $21 on something (movie tickets, let's say), that means you're spending about 3 hours of your life for that thing (in addition to the time at the movie). Maybe that's worth it - or maybe it's not.

u/racl · 1 pointr/personalfinance

I’m really glad that you’re being honest with yourself, introspective and detailed with your relationship with money. There are a lot of fantastic recommendations already so I won’t belabor the point.

However I’d like to recommend two books that may be of great use for you:

  1. Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robbins (https://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766/ref=nodl_). The other posts in this thread have great tactics and suggestions that I wholeheartedly agree with.

    In addition to implementing those tactics, I would encourage you to read this book which does a wonderful job of also adding more logic, data, perspective, “oomf” and meat to the feelings of “this has to stop” you currently have. It’ll be a book that helps your attitude stay changed if you are tempted to relapse.

  2. I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi. The title is rather flamboyant and lame. The content is not. Ramit is a Stanford grad son of Indian immigrants who takes a no-nonsense and often hilarious attitude to writing about getting your shit together when it comes to personal finance. It has a fantastic list of tactics, strategies AND philosophical frameworks to think about money contained in it. Really worth the read. Get the 2nd edition (recently released) since it has about ~80 new pages of content that covers some of the newer fads (e.g., roboinvestors like Wealthfront and the like).
u/Subject_Beef · 1 pointr/personalfinance

> Removing the stress of worrying about finances is a tremendous boon on a family's quality of life.

Absolutely. Having grow up dirt poor, the financial peace & security that my nest egg gives me is something that no material item or travel experience could provide.

On the other hand, as I've grown older, I've come to realize that there is more to life than hoarding money. [Here's a comment I wrote on this subject] (http://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/2bzru8/your_secret_to_retiring_early_from_morningstarcom/cjeprd1?context=3) in an FI thread which details my perspective on it.

I think one of the best things anyone can do for themselves is to read Your Money or Your Life. Then determine your own priorities, and align your finances accordingly.

u/El_Poopo · 1 pointr/Frugal

I know several people who have been saved from ruin by this book: Your Money or Your Life

I've read lots of personal financial management books and it's my fave by a healthy margin.

u/thethax · 1 pointr/Frugal

Give this a spin. http://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766

And in keeping with the spirit of the exercise.. check it out from the library instead of buying it.

u/Nodoxxintoxin · 1 pointr/PurplePillDebate

It was written many decades ago, and the actual investment advice was very much tied to the times, but the philosophy is still valid, it is entitled “Your money or your Life” . https://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766

MMM (Mr Money Mustache) blog and forum are somewhat international, but English speaking based. The blog is a great resource for understanding the math behind savings rates and time to retirement https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/

This guy is a little too out there for me, but Jacob Lund Fisker. Aka “early retirement extreme” or ERE, is a Scandinavian guy who lives by extreme frugality https://www.amazon.com/Early-Retirement-Extreme-Philosophical-Independence/dp/145360121X
He has his own website and forum too

u/masterdebaater · 1 pointr/financialindependence

Check the sidebar for this book and others. You really ought to read this and The Millionaire Next Door. https://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766

u/AskWhatNext · 1 pointr/personalfinance

I have three recommendations. The first is The Coffeehouse Investor by Bill Schultheis.

The second is Your Money or Your Life on financial independence.

And third is totally self serving but if you have an entrepreneurial bent then What Next: A Proactive Approach to Success by this humble responder might be of interest.

u/gomezaddamz · -1 pointsr/booksuggestions

I don't think this is exactly what you are looking for, but I would recommend this - it is not your average 'money book' - it's much more about thinking about your money in new ways, and I think the new ways of thinking is what you're after.
https://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766