Preface ix

Acknowledgments xv

About the Author xix

Introduction 1

Part I On the Road to Financial Wellness 5

Chapter 1 Are You Living YOLO? 7

The Millennial Experience 7

The YOLO Mindset 8

Chapter 2 Financial Education and Living Your Dream Lifestyle 11

What Is Financial Education? 13

The ACT Process 14

Part II Awareness 15

Chapter 3 Know Where You're Starting From 17

Your Money Mindset 18

What Is Your Relationship with Money? 19

How Is Your Spending Contributing to Your Life? 20

How Are You Using Your Time? 22

Cultivate a Wealthy Money Mindset 23

Chapter 4 Know Where You Want to Go 31

Clarify Your Values 32

Have a Vision for Your Life 35

Follow a Money Philosophy 38

Chapter 5 Getting What You Want 41

Change Your Financial Behaviors and Habits 41

The Habit of Spending 42

The Habit of Saving 43

Get in the Know 45

Part III Creating a Plan 63

Chapter 6 Building a Lifestyle Budget and Spending Plan 67

Dealing with Your Fear of Lifestyle Change 70

Living the YOLO Lifestyle 74

The YOLO Budget 77

Chapter 7 Using the Purposeful Money Strategy to Spend and Save 97

Dual Checking Accounts Method 98

The Purposeful Savings Method 101

Chapter 8 Improving Credit Use and Eliminating Debt Forever 111

Credit Card Debt 115

Using the Debt Avalanche Method 117

Using the Debt Snowball Method 118

Part IV Taking Control 121

Chapter 9 Creating a Purposeful Life 123

Finding Happiness 124

Increasing Your Awareness 126

Organizing Your Finances 128

Managing Your Time 130

Having Better Conversations 132

Improving Financial Relationships 134

Chapter 10 Spending Rules 137

Spending Mindfully 138

Spend Less Than You Earn 139

Pay Less for Every Purchase 139

Spend on Loves, Not Likes 140

Use Credit Purposefully 142

Chapter 11 Living Mindfully 145

Building Your Freedom Fund 146

Don't Quit Your Job 148

Traveling the World 151

Lending Money to Family and Friends 152

Making Money with Money: Investing 153

Protecting Your Legacy: Insurance 155

Finding an Expert 156

Conclusion 159

Index 161