Your Money or Your LifeAbridged by Vicki Robin

Your Money or Your LifeAbridged Reviews

• 
  Charlotte Allen

  I've known about the concept of FI long before, but I think this book made the big picture of it click for me. The idea of not having to do anything for work, to be able to do a job just because you enjoy it, it a very good one.
• 
  Stacie Stevens

  This book literally changed my life. Can’t recommend it enough!
• 
  Ashley

  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.
• 
  Trace

  Great and emotional read for anyone who wants to take control of their life.. it’s hard looking reality in the face but now I feel I have a road map to get me to my “green pasture” ... excited to start this journey to FI
• 
  Adrian Lică

  In order to improve your relationship with money, you first must know where your money come from and where they are going.
  - Keep track of your finances (down to the cent, if possible)
  
  Think about what ‘enough’ is for you. Without the notion of ‘enough’ you will always want more, going down on an endless spiral of ‘not there yet; not satisfied’.
  
  Think about money in terms of life energy. When you want to buy something, figure out how much actual time you spent earning that amount of money and think if you are willing to give that time in exchange for an item.
  
  Take care of your possessions, repair if necessary. We would rather buy a new object than take care of what we already have, which is a mistake.
  We also must take care of our body, in order to avoid costly medical procedures in the future and enjoy our lives.
  
  Separate work from wages in order to discover your true self. If you have to work for money, but you don’t enjoy what you do, recognize that the job is just a mean to earning money on your path to become what you truly want.
• 
  Heidi

  I was tickled to revisit a short-format recording of Joe Dominguez & Vicki Robin's classic work, which I found via Libby on Thanksgiving Day. The version I heard was narrated by Vicki as a conversational update on her work with Joe to share the message on living well with less and their 9 steps.
  
  The original book was a formative find when I read it in about 1999, underscoring a lifestyle of frugality with the aim of financial independence and not being subsumed by consumer culture. Always a work in progress, so the chance to review and revisit those themes with others was well worth it.
• 
  Hector

  Wrapped up this morning. This felt more like listening to a few podcast episodes and kind of flow of conscious. Luckily, it's short, so it didn't lose me. Some interesting perspective, but not mind blowing.
• 
  Heather

  I didn't realize this was the abridged version, but it was plenty to get the idea across.
• 
  Michael Slattery

  Perfectly nice booking for getting your financial house in order by your choices and investments, but nothing ground breaking revealed.
• 
  Alvaro

  I'm amazed with how a personal finaces book written in the 90's can be so relevant in 2020's
  The structure of the book is 9 chapters with 9 action steps really easy to implement.
  
  The approach of the authors to personal finance is hollistic and tackles the root of the "problem", which is your ideas about money, your relationship with it and makes you question what you REALLY want in your live.
  
  I love that they dont encourage you to make budgets (which create nothing but guilt frustration when they dont work) but rather they give you tools to track your expenses, show them in a very graffic way, and then you decide if those expenses are aligned with the life that you want.
  
  I cannot think of a more millenial personal finances book.
• 
  Kimball

  3.5 stars. I must have listened to the danged abridged version because it was not 400 pages. If you're into finances this book could be valuable. It doesn't quite mimic Dave Ramsey's Doctrine but there are similar principles.
  
  Notes:
  
  We're not making a living. We are making a dying because we're dead at the end of the day from our jobs. The only times where this wasn't true was when I worked at Hansen Engineering and the Anasazi Foundation. I was, of course, exhausted from the work at the end of the day (or week) but still felt rejuvenated mentally and wasn't annoyed for the most part.
  
  I remember that belief back in 2008-2009 to keep spending so that you can help the economy. Back then there was always talk about "the economy." I guess Vicki says this wasn't the wisest thing to do. She seems to be a big believer of 'save your money and spend minimally.' She didn't really talk about investing or buying land. IE: Financial Defense. Which is good but it can only get you so far in being financially independent. The True wealthy people attack and incorporate financial offense.
  
  When you're in a state of relaxation you can see opportunity and options. Having a six month savings supply does that for you. Although when it comes crunch time and you're down to the wire that can also help you to focus and know exactly what you have to do. So the real lesson is know thyself.
  
  Developing competencies is empowering. It gives you freedom, makes you independent. That freedom and independence is most valuable. Having the opportunity to choose is empowering. That's why being healthy is so crucial for happiness. You act how you want to act instead of reacting to the limits of your morbidly obese body. I've had these awakenings over the past few months in other readings that I've discovered. Liberty.
  The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less is a paradox because too many choices make you overwhelmed and sometimes powerless. But the ability to make many choices isn't a paradox and that is where the empowerment, liberty, and ultimately, True Happiness comes from.
  
  A gazingus pin? Supposedly, t's a cheap thrill of a purchase. What a strange phrase. But here I am just calling the stove black.
  
  She refers to health insurance as given to you by your body. Your employer gives you sickness care insurance. Yes, let's refer to it as that so we can stop wearing our depends on what we call stupid health insurance.
  
  Part of your capital needs to produce an income. It's good to invest in gold or land but you need to generate cash. I think that was what made Dave Ramsey bankrupt when he first became a millionaire.
• 
  Bill Tress

  I believe this book should be read by every student in High School. The lessons are life changing and can be called lifesaving. In today’s world, after high school decisions are made by unprepared minds that affect the rest of their life. We are told do not borrow money, yet money must be borrowed in order to go to college, to buy a car, to get married, to buy a house; do these things wrong and you can be facing debt that will take a lifetime to repay.
  I read this book with the eyes of an old man, looking back I did a few things right, but I also made some big financial mistakes that could never be corrected; I wish that I had read this book early on in life.
  There are a few things in this book that confuse me, for instance how do you do the things noted above without incurring debt?
  Another aspect of this book that bothers me is the advocacy for a very conservative lifestyle that requires great amounts of discipline to forego many of the pleasures of life. A life that channels all excess money into savings and investment avoiding spending for a nice car or a vacation or a big house. The writer is advising us to gain financial freedom from debt and worry; is the sacrifice worth it?
  I agree with the author’s premise that you should endeavor to be debt free and somewhat frugal in your spending while hoping for the pleasure of financial freedom. There is a lot of pain and worry in this world caused by debt.
  The author did not address how do you keep what you have earned? How does one ensure financial stability for the rest of your life? Recessions, depressions, job loss and a myriad number of catastrophes take our hard-earned money; rich people know the answer to these questions but most of us do not. The book is silent on advice that would ensure the retention of money that a lifetime of frugality achieved. I have found that money is like trying to hold water in your hand….it quickly disappears if not managed properly!
  This book does provide good advice that if followed with make your financial life much easier. But it also raises questions not answered by the author.
  
• 
  Adam

  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.
• 
  Carol

  I’ve been wanting to read this one for a few years. Vicki Robin narrates this book with lots of enthusiasm—her passion comes through. The audiobook is a great way to “read” this book even though you don’t see the charts she references.
  
  Lots of creative ideas about how to change our view about and how we handle money, and ultimately our life. The idea of thinking of our money in terms of “life energy” spent particularly resonated with me.
  
  Well worth my time.
• 
  Cameron Nuckols

  The ideas are worth putting into practice, but the book itself was slow. This book may have played a big part in FI becoming more popular, but I would recommend other books first for learning about FI.
  
  I learned about FI elsewhere, and the first eight chapters didn’t feel all that novel. They were filled with a lot of fluff that could be explained in a single chapter.
  
  The last chapter is when I finally started getting to the meat of what I was looking for.
  
  
• 
  Dave Pusey

  I really enjoyed Vicki Robin's take on financial intelligence. The pursuit of wealth really can get in the way of living. Vicki's book is a great reality check on how we are doing on living the life we want and providing for that life. Simple yet very helpful.
• 
  Terrie

  This is the updated version of the 1992 classic. I'm re-reading it to get re-inspired.
• 
  Stefan Shirley

  Just like every other great advice about money ... it only works if we apply what is taught.
• 
  Emma

  Mind you, this is an extremely abridged version of the book, told (not read) by the author in 2 one hour sessions.
• 
  K

  The updated audio book was much better.
• 
  Matt

  Updated adaption of the FI classic takes a conversational tone on the application of mindfulness to personal finance.