The True Cost of Happiness: The Real Story Behind Managing Your Money

Chapter 10. Your Bottom Line

In the past few chapters, Stacey has been helping you to define the life you really want. You've identified the internal resources you have to make those goals a reality, and you've identified any beliefs and behaviors that may be standing in your way. In the coming chapters, you will learn how to use your finances in a way that makes that life possible.

Unfortunately, for most of us, our finances tell tales of people making spending decisions that don't necessarily reflect who we really are or what's really important to us.

In Part II, you're going to learn how to change that. We will create a plan that integrates your goals, finances, and your "financial personality" (the stuff you learned about yourself in Part I).

In order to get the numbers side of your story, we need to determine what you're worth, what you owe, and what you spend. We must also identify your spending that is the result of scripts, or beliefs and behaviors, that don't serve your best interests. We're going to put a dollar figure on those expenses, and reallocate that money toward your most important goals.

Your Bottom Line

We will be working from a chart, which we'll call your Bottom Line, throughout Part II of this book. It will serve as the road map for all your future financial decisions.

As you've learned, there is much more to your financial choices than dollars and cents. This is reflected in your Bottom Line. We've made space for you to account for the beliefs that drive your choices, ...