Great Reads: All the Money in the World

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!

Great Reads: Quitter by Jon Acuff

In today's economy, those who are employed are considered lucky. This does not seem like a prudent time to consider quitting a job.

Surprisingly, that's really what Quitter is about--not quitting your job (right now) but working on your dream (or preparing for your dream job) while "falling in like with a job you don't love".

If you are unhappy in your current job and have a dream you would like to pursue, this book provides solid advice about how to make the transition from your day job to your dream job. Acuff cuts through all the excuses people come up with for not pursuing their dream job. If you are a _____________, but want to be a ________________, you need to read this book.

Acuff writes from his own experience. He has walked the road from his day job to his dream job. He has made the tough decisions and lived to tell about it. As a bonus, he is hilarious.

Quitter is an enjoyable book with life-changing implications--an honest, inspiring book that every dreamer should read.

Great Reads: 168 Hours: You Have More TimeThan You Think

168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think is not so much a book on time management as it is an encouragement to really think about how you use each of your 168 Hours.

Using examples of real people who have constructed lives most people only dream about, Vanderkam encourages readers to complete a detailed analysis of how they use their time. I used the printable spreadsheet Vanderkam provides at her website. You can download the spreadsheet here.

Vanderkam explains that "there should be almost nothing during your work hours - whatever you choose those to be - that is not advancing you toward your goals for the career and life you want". She explains how to determine what the "next level" of personal and professional development looks like and how to "seize control" of your schedule while completing a transition to that level.

But this is not just a book about having time for your business or career. The real people whose lives are described in this book are able to carve out more time for family and carefully selected leisure activities than most people who accomplish much less professionally. 

Vanderkam also illustrates how many accomplish extraordinary acts of charity or volunteerism. It's a matter of selecting the causes are important to you and focusing on activities where you can have the greatest impact.

Some of her suggestions about how to "outsource" tasks are extreme. She apparently wrote this book while she lived in Manhattan where I suppose tasks such as laundry and wardrobe management are more easily and economically outsourced than they are in my life.

Still, she makes some very good points. Many of the activities that we assume are necessary, or that we assume that we must accomplish ourselves are either not necessary, or we can find another way to get them done. It's a matter of setting priorities and being creative.

I'm still doing my own laundry and cleaning my own house, but 168 Hours has challenged me to become more disciplined and intentional about how I use my time. I found this to be an enjoyable, thought-provoking book and I highly recommend it.

Free Thriving Family Magazine

Focus on the Family is currenlty offering a free subscription to Thriving Family magazine.

Free ebook: The Very First Easter

Amazon currently has the Kindle version of The Very First Easter from the Beginner Bible series listed as free. Remember, Amazon prices can change at any time so check the price before downloading.

If you don't own a Kindle, you can download this free application which will allow you to read Kindle books on your PC.

Favorite Finds: The Easter Story by Brian Wildsmith

If you are looking for a children's version of the Easter story, here's my personal favorite, told from the perspective of the donkey carrying Jesus on Palm Sunday.

I have read many children's books featuring the story of Easter, but this is my all-time favorite, The Easter Story by Brian Wildsmith.

Book Review: Your Money God's Way

Amie Streater is the associate pastor of financial stewardship for the 10,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs. From her own experience, as well as the experience of countless others she has assisted, she knows what it’s like to look at an impossible pile of bills. In Your Money God's Way, she walks through her own financial turnaround and, in the process, uncovers seven “counterfeit convictions” Christians believe that hinder their personal finance success.

I began this book by reading the introduction. The introduction consists largely of her personal experience of financial disaster. It was so similar to other financial disaster testimonies I have read, that I almost didn't continue reading. But please, if you read this book, read beyond the introduction, because beginning with the first chapter is a wealth of information. I had my highlighter at the ready because there was so much in this book that I wanted to remember.

Sprinkled with scripture reading and suggested prayers, anyone dealing with financial difficulties will certainly find comfort and hope in this book. Streater walks through the 7 "counterfeit convictions". Then, in the final chapters, helps readers to develop a plan for moving forward. She doesn't pretend it will be easy, but instead offers very practical suggestions for making it work.

Your Money God's Way: Overcoming the 7 Money Myths that Keep Christians Broke is available at Amazon.

Disclosure: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.