In their thought-provoking bestseller, Your Money Or Your Life, authors Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin lay out their nine-step plan to help readers achieve "financial independence." The quest for financial independence should not be confused with becoming independently wealthy. Instead, being financially independent means "having an income sufficient for your basic needs and comforts from a source other than paid employment." Central to creating a more fulfilling life independent of paid employment is the recognition of the price we pay for the money we earn. The Trade Off This cost is described by the authors in terms of "life energy," meaning, the precious and limited time each of us has here on this earth. When you go to work each day, you are, in essence, trading your life energy for money. The popular pitch "buy now, pay later" takes on new meaning when you start to really assess the price of spending so much of your life energy earning money so you can buy more things. "If you spend your life energy on stuff that brings only passing fulfillment and doesn't support your values," the authors point out, "you end up with less life."
Read Valerie's entire article The Ultimate Decision: Your Money or Your Life
Valerie Young, our official Career Change Expert
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