Work Your Money, Not Your Life

Chapter 1You're Worth More Than You Think

Since you're reading this book, chances are that you can relate to my story in some way. Maybe you have what is considered a “good” job by most standards, yet you feel like you don't have much to show for it. Your net worth seems to be growing slowly, or not at all, and may even be negative … and to make matters worse, it's not like you hop out of bed in the morning skipping to work. Or maybe you love your career, but you can't figure out how to meet your financial goals. At times you may wonder, “What am I doing all this for? I imagined life to turn out a little differently than this.”

You're not alone. Nearly 70% of Americans don't like their jobs, according to a Gallup study,¹ and 65% of Americans lose sleep over their financial worries, based on a CreditCards.com poll.² Career and money woes appear to be especially prevalent among young professionals. In fact, a LinkedIn survey found that 75% of people in their 20s and 30s had experienced “insecurity and doubt” around work and money (no duh, right?) — or what they might call a “quarter-life crisis.”³

While many of us have tried to improve our careers and our finances, we may have done so by approaching them as two totally separate problems. But in reality, decisions you make in one of these areas can have a huge impact on all other areas of your life. When I came to this realization for myself, it totally changed how I thought about work and money, and how I chose to live my life. ...