Here's the next installment from top personal finance bloggers offering their single-best financial book they've ever read. Today, we'll hear from Michael at It's Your Money who says:
"Having read piles of books in both the investment and personal-finance realms, I can recall only one which absolutely changed the way I viewed the world. That book was Your Money or Your Life, by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin.
Honestly, I really didn’t appreciate the book that much when I first read it. But subsequent readings opened my eyes to some really vast truths, foremost among them the YMOYL concept that we trade the better part of our lives for money (via working), and so it only makes sense to take great care regarding the spending and use of that money. I’ll admit that the “simple living” encouragements in the book didn’t move me all that much – I love “stuff” just as much as the next guy – but everything else the authors conveyed went straight into my money soul.
When Dominguez and Robin wrote that “Your worth as a person does not come from what you are paid; it comes from who you are and what you give,” I knew they were right. When they repeatedly stressed that debt (no matter the form) is bondage, I listened. They weren’t the first to tell me this, but they were the first to make me believe it. And they made me believe I could change my life, and that of my family, by planning my spending, saving, and giving. They were right. In my opinion, there are a lot of good personal-finance books . . . and then there’s YMOYL. For pure “money thinking” realignment, I’ve found none better.
Your Money or Your Life caught me at the right time. It truly spoke to me, and I am absolutely thankful for it."
Pretty good recommendation, don't you think? I've got even more reading to do now. ;-)
I agree...this book did the most to actually change the way I thought about money. I didn't really take to the 9 steps (yet?) but I read this a while ago and it really set the stage for me to truly change. In my case I guess is was pre-transormative ;) I would say this book is THE must read!
Posted by: Caitlin | July 31, 2005 at 06:08 PM