Free: Spending Your Time and Money on What Matters Most

This book is a great tool for sorting out what really matters to me in life and giving motivation for staying on a spending plan (for both money and time). So many times, we balk at doing a budget and staying on a budget because we feel that we're being deprived. But if we really had our values sorted out and if we really focused on them, then we'd realize that the purpose of the budget is to help us live the life of our dreams. This book helped me sort out and focus on what is really important to me and I can see myself using it again and again to stay on track. Plus, there are free on-line videos available and a facilitator guide to use in sharing this book as a small group study, which I'd like to do.

Very insightful! I appreciated the revealing facts in the beginning of the book. I read it with my husband and highly recommend it. The author is practical and the exercises help to apply the new mindset. The seven steps to follow are crucial for every family to reflect on and follow. I wish I would have read it sooner because it truly shapes your perspective toward a Godly mindset. I feel more at peace with my life in general because now I have a plan in place that echoes my core beliefs.

A great read. If you really sit down and thoughtfully do the exercises, it can be a transformative experience. It looks at money from both a practical and spiritual perspective. I appreciate that it doesn't make a virtue of simply spending less but rather spending appropriately and according to your personal gifts and life purpose. I reference and recommend this book to people constantly. Couldn't recommend more highly.

Rather than just tell you what you should think this book openly talks about the authors journey towards understanding what mattered most for them and then invites the reader to go through the exercises that help YOU think about what truly matters most to you and how you might get better at investing your life - time, money, and energy - in those things that truly matter most.

This is a fabulous book that combines finances and faith in a practical way. We are very frugal, and believers, but we have never found a book that so beautifully weaves the two topics together and also adds the concept of earth care and mindfulness. Great read. Very simple to understand.

I am an accountant and have taught many classes on money and have read many books on the topic. Frankly, this is the best and I recommend it frequently. I love how Mark sees the connection between time and money. He treats both of them, as they should be, as our most valuable resources. Good job!

Excellent book! Our entire church is reading it right now and working through it in small groups. Mark and Lisa share examples of how they have lived out a life of radical generosity and continually focusing on what matters most. This book will challenge you to look at your life and make changes to move towards what matters most. Get a copy of this book!

This was a good book for young adults beginning their financial lives. However, I am well into my 70's and have done most of the items already suggested in the book. I was also too much like a textbook for me.

This book promises to give a radically different view on wealth. However, as I read the opening chapters, detailing Mark and Lisa's story I kept finding myself thinking: "these are just people who don't like to spend money very much."It doesn't seem very radical; there's not a lot of depth or examination into money, our relationship with it, God's views on it etc, it's just a couple who are quite thrifty encouraging others to follow their lead, and giving some practical tips as to how. In fact, I'm not sure they are both as thrifty as one another: I found quite sad the section where Lisa describes how she used to spend lots of money on gifts for others, but now doesn't. It gave me the impression that Mark really pulled the strings in their marriage, and that given the choice, she wouldn't have been so extreme in her thriftyness.A key problem I had with this book's philosophy was brought into focus with the description of their buying a big house in San Francisco, and the subsequent large increase in value of the property. Owning property in one of the most expensive areas in the richest country in the world makes make them extremely wealthy. But this made me confused: what message were they trying to give? They sound a bit like they are extolling the virtues of Christian poverty, but at the same time they had amassed great wealth. Were they saying then that saving as much as possible is the key to becoming wealthy and financially secure? Maybe, and maybe they are right, but you could also argue that you'd be better off earning a bit more and spending a bit more, and you could still save the same amount without, say, getting your food out of dumpsters. Anyway, they don't seem to be all that free when it comes to money, it seems more like they are very preoccupied with spending as little of it as possible.As an alternative to this book I would recommend Justin Welby's book 'dethroning mammon,' which is a far more informed, broad and biblical critique of how we use money.Overall, I was very attracted to the premise of 'free,' but found the content didn't live up to what was promised. I WOULD like to be more free in my approach to money, but I'm not persuaded that following Mark and Lisa's example would make me so.

There are various reasons you might want to simplify your life, such as sustainability or freedom. This book explores a more unusual motivation:“simplicity is about making space in our lives from which good can freely grow.” Yes, a simpler life can mean more leisure time, more room for ourselves and the things we enjoy. It can be greener. But those who want to make an impact in the world should also apply – “become more free to seek the greater good.”That’s a motivation that is drawn from the Gospels, and while you’re likely to get more out of the book if you are a Christian, it’s not written exclusively for a Christian audience. Scandrette’s work in spiritual formation gives him a useful perspective, recognising that outward simplicity will flow from inward change. The book tackles both, with practical guides to managing money and time, and also exercises for practicing the attitudes of contentment, gratitude, trust and generosity that underpin a simpler life.The book is nicely grounded in personal experience, as Mark and Lisa have modelled this simpler life and are able to draw on their own story and the stories of those they have helped out along the way. Each chapter concludes with practical exercise to put into practice yourself, from budgeting to auditing how you spend your time, to charitable giving. There are really practical and honest sections, such as how to deal with worries about money, or how to avoid getting too busy.The author suggests the reader takes “a playful approach to this book”. Everyone’s journey into simplicity is different. “Simplicity is about progress, not perfection” he writes. “Just take the steps you feel invited into.” There are serious messages here about sustainability and global equity, so those aren’t skirted around, but neither are they laid down as things for us to feel guilty about. A sense of invitation runs through the book – come and experiment, try it, see what you can put aside so that you can “risk being fully alive”.Being US-centric, not all the advice is applicable to the UK (on student debt or medical expenses, for example) but whether you’re new to the idea of simplifying or well on your way, I suspect you’ll find Scandrette’s welcoming and down-to-earth approach inspiring. “We can reimagine our assumptions about time, money and material possessions,” he suggests, “to pursue a life of greater freedom, leveraging our time and resources towards what matters most.”

Awesome book, really really really helpful!!

I love the book, the concept and the very practical approach with many exercises that help to recognize your autopilot behaviour and potential discrepancies with your beliefs. As there is ENOUGH, this book is a great companion that helps you to grow into that life attitude. The author shares honestly how they managed to work out life in alignment with what matters most to them.