After reading 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam, I knew I had to read her latest book, All the Money in the World: What the Happiest People Know About Getting and Spending
.In this book, Laura Vanderkam encourages us to figure out how to use what we have to create the life we want.
One eye-opening chapter involves retirement. Beyond the fact that many people these days will be unable to retire, Vanderkam asks the broader question, why would you want to? If you are involved in work you love and you feel you are making a difference in the world, why would you want to stop? Of course this opens a whole new area of self-examination: do you love what you do? is it making a difference?
Another very useful exercise is contemplating how we could create our "best weekend ever". When you really reflect on this, you will likely realize that your "best weekend ever" requires no more resources than you already have, you just need to reorganize and implement the plan.
My favorite chapter is on giving, where Vanderkam shows us that we can make a difference with what we have, no matter the size of our bank account. There are so many ways to make a difference--some involve money, some involve time. But if you are giving to a cause that is meaningful to you, it will make a huge difference in how you view your life.
All the Money in the World will change the way you think about money, both how you spend it and how you earn it. The book will make you think about what you have and how you can best use it to create a life that is meaningful to you.
Update: I just came across a great review of this book that I think summed it up much better than I did. Check it out!