In an age of great economic uncertainty when everyone is concerned about money and how they spend what they have, this new edition of the bestselling Your Money or Your Life is an essential read. With updated resources, an easy-to-use index, and anecdotes and examples particularly relevant today — it tells you how to:

• get out of debt and develop savings
• reorder material priorities and live well for less
• resolve inner conflicts between values and lifestyle
• save the planet while saving money
• and much more

In Your Money or Your Life, Vicki Robin shows readers how to gain control of their money and finally begin to make a life, rather than just make a living.

Welcome to Your Money or Your Life: Updated and Revised for the 21st Century. New readers will benefit from this practical and transformational approach to earning and spending money. Returning readers should find everything they loved about the old version — plus new helpful ideas and information. Since 1980 the program in this book has helped hundreds of thousands of people around the world get a grip on their personal financial lives. It can do that for you, too.

Today, big national and global changes are making it very hard to get control of money in your personal and family life — and to plan for a secure future. You don't need me to tell you that — you experience it daily. That's one reason we decided to update this classic book. Now more than ever, we need a new way of thinking about earning, spending, saving and the good life. When this book came out in 1992, we were at the beginning of the dot com bubble and shortly thereafter, the real estate bubble. Bubbly was flowing. We bought into buying more based on our newfound apparent wealth from this boom. But times have changed and many things are going bust — and many people along with it.

Before I touch on current challenges — and how Your Money or Your Life can help — I want to acknowledge that most generations have thought that the world is going to hell-in-a-hand-basket for one reason or another. Our current hand-basket, though, portends a fundamental, not just cyclical, shift in how we live. So many crises are synergizing into a perfect storm: savings are shriveling, debt is increasing, pensions are drying up, incomes are stagnating, jobs are going global, and social and health safety nets are unraveling. All this amidst a rapidly changing climate, crucial wells — like oil and water — beginning to run dry, populations starting to outstrip food supplies, and the global economy itself showing multiple signs of instability. If you're nervous, you have every right to be.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, "Growing numbers of economists believe that America is now in a transformational economy, where consumer spending may play a lesser role, as households belatedly recognize the need to "right size" their lifestyles."

Global shifts like these and more are trickling down to our everyday lives. We might not understand monetary policy, but we do understand our paychecks not increasing as fast as our expenses. We might not understand the science of global warming or the calculations of "energy return on energy investment" (an oil extraction and production discussion) but we do understand hotter, wetter summers and rising prices at the gas pump.

For all these reasons and more, the timeless common sense in Your Money or Your Life is actually timelier than ever. And it's not too late. While the early adopters who did this program in the 1980s and 1990s are now more insulated than most from global instabilities, it's never too late to shift to a more frugal way of life. Frugality, one friend said, is the new black — it's more in vogue than ever because it's so necessary.

So let's go through some of challenges we're facing — and see how transforming our personal relationship with money can shore up our personal levees and help us weather this gathering storm.

At the time of this writing, the savings rate in the United States has been below zero for three years — the lowest it's been since the Great Depression. In the richest country in the world, we can't save a dime. While we each bear responsibility for keeping our wallets zipped, temptation to overspend is everywhere. When Joe Dominguez and I wrote Your Money or Your Life, there were only TV, radio, billboards, direct mail and print ads to drive us to destruction... of our best intentions to save. Today, the Internet swamps us with advertising with every click - pop up ads, flash ads and banner ads greet us on each page. Even billboards have gone digital with flashing lights and eye-catching movement. Plus, ads are now on the seats of shopping carts, on floors of supermarkets and pouring into our email inboxes. In 2006, spending on advertising was estimated at $155 billion in the United States and $385 billion worldwide, and the latter to exceed $500 billion by 2010.

Saving money in the era of credit cards has come to seem quaint at best, a sucker's game at worst. We are taught that debt = freedom but that's the kind of doublespeak in George Orwell's dystopic novel, 1984 where they claimed that "hate is love" and "war is peace."

Okay, let's fix this mental glitch. Repeat after me. To have savings is to be free. Savings means freedom from debt. Money in the bank means the freedom to leave your job if the boss is intolerable or the benefits have just been yanked. And if you lose your job, having savings is the freedom to keep your house and car because you can cover your payments — if you have any to make in the first place. Having savings means you can start a business or buy land, even if the bank won't lend to you because, ironically, your habit of savings means you don't have a debt trail or a credit record.

People who follow the program in Your Money or Your Life, on average, lower their expenses by 25% within six months and almost to the person they say their quality of life has gone up. When folks really catch fire with the program, they often save 50% or more of every paycheck, shedding debt the way people with intractable weight problems — once they are committed — shed pounds.... read the full introduction.

Vicki Robin | Monique Tilford | Mark Zaifman | Joe Dominquez

Vicki Robin is coauthor with Joe Dominguez of the national best-seller, Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship With Money and Achieving Financial Independence (Viking Penguin, 1992), available now in 11 languages. Visit Vicki's web site at www.yourmoneyoryourlife.info and connect to additional support materials for implementing the 9 step program and to the networks of educators and practitioners.

Vicki has lectured widely and appeared on hundreds of radio and television shows, including "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Good Morning America" and National Public Radio’s "Weekend Edition" and "Morning Edition." She has also been featured in People Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Woman's Day, Newsweek, Utne Magazine and the New York Times. Newspapers around the world have reported on her work on lowering consumption in North America. Fluent in Spanish, she traveled to Europe in the Spring of 1997 to introduce the Spanish translation of Your Money or Your Life. In May, 2002, she did an 8-day publicity tour in Taiwan for the Chinese release. Both trips resulted in Your Money or Your Life becoming a bestseller in those countries.

Called the prophet of "consumption-downsizers" by the New York Times, she is a frequent speaker on this issue at conferences; to corporate, academic, religious and environmental institutions; and at professional meetings of organizations seeking to understand and contribute to the national trend toward sustainable lifestyles.

Born in Oklahoma in 1945, Vicki grew up on Long Island and graduated cum laude from Brown University in 1967. She has received awards from Co-op America and from Sustainable Northwest for her pioneering work on sustainable living. A&E Entertainment’s show "Biography" recently honored Vicki as one of ten exceptional citizens in Seattle. She lives now on Whidbey Island and, in addition to writing and speaking, she enjoys singing, dancing, swimming, hosting conversations and engaging in the rich creative life of her community.

Monique Tilford has worked for nearly 20 years on sustainable consumption and environmental issues. For ten years, she worked with the Center for a New American Dream, a national non-profit that helps Americans change the way they consume, serving most recently as the organization’s deputy director. Prior to joining New Dream, Monique was Executive Director for Wild Earth and for the Carrying Capacity Network. Monique has been promoting the principles outlined in Your Money or Your Life for over 17 years, as a public speaker, study guide group leader, and member of The New Road Map Foundation's board of directors. She lives outside Washington, DC with her husband and two young daughters.

Mark Zaifman, successful FIer, financial professional and advisor to Vicki Robin for the updated and revised edition of Your Money or Your Life, is not your father’s financial planner. Using a holistic, values-based strategy, Mark helps people across social classes effectively manage their money. He has been hailed as a "new breed" of financial advisor by Natural Health magazine for his tenets of financial responsibility and sustainability as well as for his hands-on approach.

Success first came to Mark as a tax accountant and then in his own firm as a financial planner. A graduate of Monmouth University in his native New Jersey, he worked as both a public and then private accountant for five years-experience that allows him to provide his present clients with a two-for-one service. Many of his financial planning clients share common values of frugality, sustainability and giving back. Most have already read Your Money or Your Life or may just be starting the process of financial empowerment, yet all share the burning desire to transform their relationship with money and achieve financial independence (FI).

While reading and applying the 9 steps of Your Money or Your Life, Mark saw the parallels between his own principles and the message of the book. Working as a team with his wife and business partner Pat, they reached Financial Independence in 2002. Soon after, he founded Spiritus Financial Planning; a fee-only firm helping clients align their money with their core values. Robins supported Mark in getting his new financial planning firm off the ground by making an appearance in Santa Rosa and speaking about how the book strongly connected with the Spiritus philosophy.

-- George Bernard Shaw

Michael Toms writes, in New Dimensions,

I recall asking him during a "New Dimensions" program, "Joe, how can you live on so little?" He replied without missing a beat, "How can you live on so much?" I can still remember the mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he said it.... His message of service, simplicity, balance and common sense will continue to inspire others because of its pragmatism and relevance to these times.

Richard Seid's article, "A Gentle Man of Vision," in the Mexico City Times says,

Joe Dominguez might prove to be one of the most influential men of the 21st century. If Nobel prizes were given posthumously, in 10 or 20 years -- or whenever the world comes to its fiscal senses -- Joe would be in contention for the economics award. Probably not sooner because the excess materialism of the American Dream will not be seen as a threat to national security until then. Joe taught differently. He saw that through individual actions our profligate societies need to change their wasteful ways.

"In Memoriam," in The New York Times:

He dedicated his life to leaving this planet in better shape than he found it.... He inspired hundreds of thousands of people to do the same by attaining financial integrity in their lives. He will not be forgotten.

"The Secret of Life" (below), written a number of years ago, is Joe's attempt to express his truth in as few words as possible. It is his message and final gift to you.

The New York Times bestseller, revised and updated for the 21st century

By Vicki Robin & Joe Dominguez
with Monique Tilford

"The seminal guide to the new morality of personal money management."

— The Los Angeles Times

When Penguin Books first published Your Money or Your Life in 1992, the book struck a chord with readers who appreciated its message of how to live well for less. Oprah Winfrey raved, "This is a wonderful book. It can really change your life." Penguin printed 600,000 copies of the book. A New York Times bestseller, Your Money or Your Life spent five years on the Business Week bestseller list and was translated into 10 languages. This new edition of Your Money or Your Life — featuring updated resources, an easy-to-use index, and anecdotes and examples particularly relevant today — arrives at a time of economic crisis, when many of us are struggling to pay mortgages and make car payments and pay off credit cards while simultaneously weathering layoffs and watching financial portfolios shrink.

Your Money or Your Life recognizes that many of us spend more than we earn. That sometimes making a living feels more like making a dying. That it may be easy to dislike your job, but hard to leave it. That money can fragment time as well as relationships with family and friends. Your Money or Your Life presents a road map to free ourselves from this money trap.

Vicki Robin and co-author Monique Tilford introduce the concept of "FI (financially independent) thinking" — Financial Intelligence, Financial Integrity and Financial Independence — and explore the 9 steps to becoming a "FIer." FIers have found that:

• On average, people at all income levels lower their expenses by 25 percent — and most feel happier. They find that their relationships with their partners and children improve.
• Money ceases to be an issue in their lives, and they finally have the intellectual and emotional space to take on issues of greater importance.
• They retire their debts, increase their savings and are able to live happily within their means.
• They increase the amount of their "free time" by reducing expenses and the amount of time on the job.

Many books about money assume your financial life functions separately from the rest of your life. Your Money or Your Life is about putting it all back together. The book accounts not just for earning, spending, debts and savings, but also the time these functions take in your life. It also recognizes that your relationship with money is reflected in the sense of satisfaction and fulfillment that you get from your connection to your family, your community and the planet. Regardless of whether you are in debt $50,000 (or more) or whether you have substantial savings, you too can embark on the road to financial independence and finally begin to make a life, rather than just make a living.

###

The following list of recommended resources support, either directly or indirectly, the 9 step program in Your Money or Your Life. Clicking on title links will take you to detailed descriptions of each resource on The Simple Living Network.

Supporting Resources for Your Money or Your Life

Blix, Jacqueline and David Heitmiller. Getting a Life: Strategies for Simple Living Based on the Revolutionary Program for Financial Freedom Your Money or Your Life. New York: Penguin, 1997.

Dominguez, Joe. Transforming Your Relationship with Money: The 9 Step Program for Achieving Financial Integrity, Intelligence, and Independence (CD/Workbook Course). Boulder: Sounds True, 2005.

Merkel, Jim. Radical Simplicity: Small Footprints on a Finite Planet. Gabriola Island, Canada: New Society Publishers, 2003.
-----. RADICALLY simple (DVD). Oley, PA: Bullfrog Films, 2005.

Click here for a list of Additional Internet Resources supporting the 9 step program in Your Money or Your Life.

Money Matters — Debt, Financial Planning, Socially Responsible Investing

Bogle, John C, et al. Common Sense on Mutual Funds: New Imperatives for the Intelligent Investor. John Wiley & Sons: Hoboken, NJ, 2000.

Clyatt, Bob. Work Less, Live More: The Way to Semi-Retirement. Berkeley: Nolo, 2007.
-----. The Work Less, Live More Workbook: Get Ready for Semi-Retirement. Berkeley: Nolo, 2007.

Mundis, Jerrold. How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously. New York: Bantam Books, 1988.

Swedroe, Larry E. The Only Guide to a Winning Investment Strategy You'll Ever Need: The Way Smart Money Invests Today. New York: Truman Talley Books, 2005.
-----. What Wall Street Doesn't Want You to Know: How You Can Build Real Wealth Investing in Index Funds. St. Martin's Griffin: New York, 2004.

White, John L. I'm In Debt, Over 40, with No Retirement Savings. HELP! How to Get Out of Debt and Start Saving for Retirement Now. Wesley Chapel, FL: Everlove and Bohannon Publishing, 2004.

Philosophy & Real Life Experiences — Enough, Simple Living & Voluntary Simplicity

Andrews, Cecile. The Circle of Simplicity: Return to the Good Life. New York: Harper Perennial, 1997.

De Graaf, John et al. Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic. Berrett-Koehler Publishers: San Francisco, 2005.

De Graaf, John, Producer. Affluenza (DVD). Oley PA: Bullfrog Films, 1997.
-----. Escape from Affluenza: Living Better on Less (DVD). Oley, PA: Bullfrog Films, 1998.

Elgin, Duane. Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life That Is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich. New York: Harper, 1993.

Holst, Carol ed. Get Satisfied: How Twenty People Like You Found the Satisfaction of Enough. Easton Studio Press: Westport, 2007.

Nearing, Scott and Helen Nearing. The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearing's Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living. New York: Schocken Books, 1989.

Pierce, Linda Breen. Choosing Simplicity: Real People Finding Peace and Fulfillment in a Complex World. Carmel: Gallagher Press, 2000.
-----. Simplicity Lessons: A 12-Step Guide to Living Simply. Carmel: Gallagher Press, 2003.

Schor, Juliet B. The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don't Need. New York: Harper Perennial, 1999.
-----. The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure. New York: Basic Books, 1993.

Thoreau, Henry David. Walden. 1854. Reprint, Boston: Beacon Press, 2004.

Urbanska, Wanda and Frank Levering. Simple Living: One Couple's Search For A Better Life. John F. Blair, Publisher: Winston-Salem, 1992, 2003.

Learning To Live Simply, Doing More With Less & Doing-It-Yourself

Bartholomew, Mel. All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space. Cold Springs Press: Franklin, TN. 2005.

Callenbach, Ernest. Living Cheaply with Style: Live Better and Spend Less. Berkeley: Ronin Publishing, 2000.

Conner, Bobbi. Unplugged Play: No Batteries. No Plugs. Pure Fun. 710 Games and Activities for Ages 12 Months to 10 Years. Workman Publishing: New York, 2007.

Cox, Connie and Chris Evatt. 30 Days to a Simpler Life. New York: Plume Books, 1998.

Dacyczyn, Amy. The Complete Tightwad Gazette: Promoting Thrift as a Viable Alternative Lifestyle. New York: Villard Books, 1998.

Denckla, Tanya L K. The Gardener's A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food: 765 Varieties of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Nuts. Formulas and Techniques that Control 201 Pests and Diseases Organically. Storey Publishing: North Adams, MA, 2003.

Fallon, Sally. Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats (Revised Second Edition). NewTrends Publishing, Inc: Washington, DC, 2001.

Longacre, Doris Janzen. Living More with Less. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1980.

Madison, Deborah. Preserving Food Without Freezing or Canning: Traditional Techniques Using Salt, Oil, Sugar, Alcohol, Vinegar, Drying, Cold Storage and Lactic Fermentation. Chelsea Green Publishing: White River Junction, VT, 2007.

Pangman, Judy. Chicken Coops: 45 Building Plans for Housing Your Flock. Storey Publishing: North Adams, MA, 2006.

Seymour, John. The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live it: The Complete Back-To-Basics Guide. DK Publishing, Inc: New York, 2003.

Sherlock, Marie. Living Simply with Children: A Voluntary Simplicity Guide for Moms, Dads, and Kids Who Want to Reclaim the Bliss of Childhood and the Joy of Parenting. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2003.

Storey, John and Martha Storey. Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance. Storey Publishing: North Adams, MA, 1999.

Taylor-Hough, Deborah. A Simple Choice: A Practical Guide for Saving Your Time, Money and Sanity. Belgium, WI: Champion Press, 2000.

Yeager, Jeff. The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches: A Practical (and Fun) Guide to Enjoying Life More by Spending Less. New York: Broadway Books, 2008.

Living Lightly On The Earth, Reducing Your Carbon Footprint

Alvord, Katie. Divorce Your Car! Ending the Love Affair with the Automobile. Gabriola Island, Canada: New Society Publishers, 2000.

Balish, Chris. How to Live Well Without Owning a Car. Ten Speed Press: Berkeley, 2006.

Blume, David. Alcohol Can be a Gas! Fueling an Ethanol Revolution for the 21st Century. The International Institute for Ecological Agriculture: Santa Cruz, 2007.

Clift, Jon and Amanda Cuthbert. Energy: Use Less-Save More (100 Energy Saving Tips for Home). Chelsea Green Publishing: White River Junction, VT, 2007.
-----. Greening your Office: From Cupboard to Corporation (An A-Z Guide). Chelsea Green Publishing: White River Junction, VT, 2008.
-----. Water: Use Less-Save More (100 Water Saving Tips for Home). Chelsea Green Publishing: White River Junction, VT, 2007.

Gershon, David. Green Living Handbook: A 6 Step Program to Create an Environmentally Sustainable Lifestyle. Empowerment Institute: Woodstock, NY, 2008.
-----. Low Carbon Diet: A 30 Day Program to Lose 5000 Pounds. Empowerment Institute: Woodstock, NY, 2006.

Horn, Greg. Living Green: A Practical Guide to Simple Sustainability. Freedom Press: Topanga, CA, 2006.

Hren, Stephen and Rebekah Hren. The Carbon-Free Home: 36 Remodeling Projects to Help Kick the Fossil-Fuel Habit. Chelsea Green Publishing: White River Junction, VT, 2008.

McMullan, Rory. Biking to Work. Chelsea Green Publishing: White River Junction, VT, 2008.

Scott, Nicky. Composting: An Easy Household Guide. Chelsea Green Publishing: White River Junction, VT, 2007.
-----. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: An Easy Household Guide. Chelsea Green Publishing: White River, VT, 2007.

Trask, Crissy. It's Easy Being Green: A Handbook for Earth-Friendly Living. Gibbs Smith: Salt Lake City, 2006.

Wackernagel, Mathis. The Ecological Footprint: Accounting for a Small Planet (DVD). Oley, PA: Bullfrog Films, 2004.

Wackernagel, Mathis and William Rees. Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth. Gabriola Island, Canada: New Society Publishers, 1996.

Inner Simplicity — Reverence & Spirituality

Alternatives. The Alternative Wedding Book: Create a Beautiful Wedding that Reflects Your Values and Doesn't Cost the Earth. Northstone Publishing: Kelowna, BC, Canada, 1993.

Foster, Richard J. Freedom of Simplicity: Finding Harmony in a Complex World. New York: Harper Paperbacks, 1981.

Harnden, Philip, ed. Journeys of Simplicity: Traveling Light with Thomas Merton, Basho, Edward Abbey, Annie Dillard and Others. Woodstock, VT: Skylight Paths Publishing, 2007.

McKibben, Bill. Hundred Dollar Holiday: The Case for a More Joyful Christmas. Simon & Schuster: New York, 1998.

Morgan, Ernest. Dealing Creatively with Death: A Manual of Death Education and Simple Burial. Upper Access: Hinesburg, VT, 2001.

Robinson, Jo and Jean Coppock Staeheli. Unplug the Christmas Machine: A Complete Guide to Putting Love and Joy Back into the Season. New York: Quill, 1991.

Schut, Michael et al. Simpler Living, Compassionate Life. New York: Living the Good News, 1999.

Twigg, Nancy. Celebrate Simply: Your Guide to Simpler, More Meaningful Holidays and Special Occasions. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2006.

Van Matre, Steve and Bill Weiler. The Earth Speaks. The Institute for Earth Education: Greenville, WV, 1983.

Whitmire, Catherine. Plain Living: A Quaker Path to Simplicity. Notre Dame: Sorin Books, 2001.