Retired by 50: What it really takes

[tryan]

Preaching to the chior ... but still a good read. Living in your van for 6 months in mega corps parking lot seems a little extreme!

Enjoy!

Retired by 50: What it really takes - MSN Money

[Eyerishgold]

Interesting article.

Anybody ever read that book they kept talking about, Your Money or Your Life?

[jnojr]

Originally Posted by Eyerishgold

Interesting article.

Anybody ever read that book they kept talking about, Your Money or Your Life?

It's on my to-read list

[heyyou]

The acronym for the book is YMOYL. Most of the ERs at the Life After FIRE forum read the book before ER. The authors' anti-consumerism view is that each purchase represents some amount of time spent at a job. They feel that most objects are not worth that much effort. The book helps you see how spending is what keeps you at your job.
The portfolio advice is dated because CDs and bonds were paying 8-12% in those days, so the author suggested only owning them, not owning equity investments. The book is inspiring in that it honors living, not "working for a living." As noted in the magazine article, frugality is the shortcut to retirement, obviously on the saving part but less intuitive is the smaller nest egg needed if your expenses are low in retirement. Frugal living while working is just practice for retirement living. You have more control of your expenses than your investment returns.

[Sarah in SC]

It is an incredible book, life changing for most of the people who read it, like I did, in their early 20s. It would not be so earth shattering to this crowd.

I give it away to folks all the time! It is interesting that it is still so rabidly supported by so many folks, because the investment advice is completely out of date. I always point out that caveat when I give it away.

[bow-tie]

Uh-oh... part two of her article references PassionSaving.com and the dude who writes it - doesn't that belong to hoco-loco.?.?.?

[ajs56]

ymoyl

[ajs56]

YMOYL is an excellent book dealing with how you value money in relation to your life's time energy, etc. Really made me think a lot about LBYM and not overconsuming. The investment advice is not great, but the book really enlightened us as to how people become slaves for $$ just to buy and consume things without any thought as to what these things cost in terms of their time and efforts. Read it for sure.

[Khan]

Originally Posted by bow-tie

Uh-oh... part two of her article references PassionSaving.com and the dude who writes it - doesn't that belong to hoco-loco.?.?.?

Janine and Rob pay the same PR company for placement.

[Milton]

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC

It is an incredible book, life changing for most of the people who read it, like I did, in their early 20s. It would not be so earth shattering to this crowd.

I give it away to folks all the time! It is interesting that it is still so rabidly supported by so many folks, because the investment advice is completely out of date. I always point out that caveat when I give it away.

My thoughts exactly. I also have given away copies.

Here are a few reviews, for anyone on this forum who is unfamiliar with the book (difficult though that is to believe!):

Your Money or Your Life - Joe Dominguez - Review @ Moneyspot.org;

Book review: Your Money or Your Life | Wise Bread;

» Blog Archive Book Review: Your Money or Your Life » The Road to Harvard;

Book review: Your Money or Your Life | zen habits.

And see also: Home - The New Road Map Foundation.

[tricky88]

nice reviews Milton - thanks.

I suppose that new people find this forum regularly and some of them aren't familiar with the book. I found a copy a few years ago and on one hand I love the change it's made in my life - trying to live rather than living to work.

On the other hand it's made question every purchase, question my job, my "career," all the books and CDs I own... My TV just died, and I'm having a very hard time justifying buying a new one.

These aren't necessarily bad things, but just an effect of the very real impact that book can have on your life.

[Fred333]

Nice read. I had not seen that before. Thanks for posting it.

[Lusitan]

YMOYL is one of the most influential books I have read; it gave me a new perspective on life and money.

[SteveR]

Any book or article that helps folks understand there is another way to live beyond living paycheck to paycheck with very little savings and next to no investments and with the prospects of forced retirement at 66+ and having to live on SS.

I have given away several books to family and friends along with a word of advice that reading them is only the first step. Nothing happens unless a change is made in their thinking and their actions. Start by saving a little each paycheck. Then increase it by 5%...then another. Once you learn to live within your NEW means cut back on your expenses and find ways to save an other few percent of your income. Then learn to invest in simple but cost effective index funds and money markets, CDs, Bonds, etc. Go slow and learn how it all works at the level you want to understand and then move to other areas as you are comfortable. In time, you will be wealthy and your family did not have to wear rags or eat cat food to do it.

Motivation is always the first step to change....followed by action in some folks or inaction and the status quo in others. Some folks "get it" but just don't "do it". They are in some ways, worse off because they know what they should be doing and the feelings of inadequacy must be very painful for these folks as opposed to the others who are just ignorant...and blissful as a result.

Lecture over.