When anyone asks me for a book recommendation on how to get started and inspired on the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) journey, I often suggest the book ‘Your Money Or Your Life’ by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez.
Robin and Dominguez originally wrote this book in 1992 before the FIRE movement was ever a thing and before Mr Money Moustache had even started work! It has been revised several times since though so it is still as relevant today as it was then.
It was the first book I read about personal finance and it helped me view money differently. Financial independence was something I had never thought possible before. I didn’t know anything about stocks or bonds and didn’t think there was any alternative to working full time until I could get my state pension at 68 and then finally enjoy life. Quite literally reading this book changed my life and it is probably one of the most influential books I have ever read.
It brings together some interesting concepts and ideas around money, life and work. One of these is around money being life energy. For example if we spend $300 on a hand bag, and you get paid $25 dollars an hour, you will have used 12 hours of life energy to pay for it. They are not saying this is right or wrong, it is whether the value is worth it to you. If the handbag is just going to be used once and then sit in a wardrobe was this worth working 12 hours in your job for?
They also discuss investing your spare money to provide an income to pay your everyday expenses. Once you have reached the ‘crossover point’ your investment income will cover all your living expenses. This is the point you have reached financial freedom/independence. I knew nothing about investing before reading this book so it gave me lots of useful information on where to start, enabling me to do further research on how best to invest the surplus cash.
It is a detailed book but also fairly easy to read and also practical. It provides 9 steps/chapters to follow. These include ‘Where is it all going?’, ‘The American dream on a shoe string’ and ‘For love or money: valuing your life energy’. It covers the psychology of money, some philosophy of why we work and our life purpose and also how to invest. They also give lots of examples of people using financial independence to achieve their life goals and purpose.
Reading the book will help you gain an awareness of what you are doing with your money. Question why you are spending on certain things and if it will help you achieve your “deep thrills ” rather than cheap thrills.
If you are looking for a thorough overall book on finance and financial freedom I would definitely recommend reading or listening to this book.
If you have read it let me know what you think in the comments below.
Semi-Retire FIRE 
it is very good
thank you
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