Book Description

If you're feeling squeezed by the need to get out of debt, stay out of debt, and live within your means, Spend Joyfullycan help. It explores the basics of money in your life. - What does money mean to you? - How do you manage money? - How can you use money to your advantage? - Why do you make the choices you do when you spend? - How can you get the most bang-for-your-buck when you spend? With Spend Joyfully, James W. Stone changes the way you think about spending money. He explores how you can live your life with purpose and make decisions about your money to fulfill a goal in life. The result is a new attitude about money that leads to a more satisfying life. Tying that Attitude to a Budget, and understanding Cash Flow are the ABC's of managing your Financial Lifestyle. The subject matter is presented in three sections focused on: 1) Where your money is and how to manage it; 2) How to protect yourself from spending mindlessly; and 3) How to live in a world dominated by advertising. Spend Joyfullyis easy to read, with several small stories to illustrate the material and help you retain what you have read. Readers will identify with many of the examples given. Spend Joyfully focuses on avoiding financial problems, identifying problems when they do arise, and solving these problems. It does not tell you how to make more money or how to invest your money. Rather, it is about using the money you have to live a more satisfying life - and live without letting money take control over you. Out of the Coal Field and Into the Dealership Born in the coal mining fields of West Virginia and raised by parents of the Great Depression, Jim was taught the lessons that could help him make the most of what he had. They were lessons of frugality and making do. But like many lessons they were forgotten the moment he left Appalachia and saw how easy it was to have great new possessions, from TVs and tailored suits to that big, shiny Buick. Very impressive, too, until reality set in. Things "wanted" had become "needed." Bills piled up and soon Jim was in over his head because his purchasing decisions had no bearing on his ability to pay for them. Jim fought his way out of debt and developed his structured approach to Spend Joyfully with clear links between spending and paying, in this easy-to-read book.