Just in time to help us all get through this economic crisis, a new edition of Your Money or Your Life (2008), by Vicki Robin & Joe Dominguez with Monique Tilford, offers help that I know works.

When I read this book in the early '90s, I had no idea what I was doing for myself. It is only now after 15 years of marriage, three children, a move to the U.S. and the loss of our main source of income two and a half years ago that I can tell you with certainty that this book is empowering.

Originally published in 1992, author Dominguez devised this plan to help individuals become savvier about money. It's an informative and practical guide to personal finance, and one of the few books to take you step-by-step toward a thorough understanding of your relationship with money. Joe worked on Wall Street and retired at the age of 31. Not bad, eh? Unfortunately, he died in 1997, but he left behind his recipe for obtaining financial intelligence, financial integrity, and maybe even financial independence (FI3).

After I read the book, my husband and I adopted a lifestyle of conscious spending and attention to values. My husband's layoff was the beginning of our understanding of what we had "bought" ourselves in terms of FI3 -- at least for a couple of years. We came to see job loss as "an opportunity." No, we're not financially independent in the sense that we don't have to work again, but we do have enough to feel comfortable about weathering some leaner years in income. And we have discovered so much about ourselves: our needs and what "enough" is for us.

We have a much better perspective of our futures in terms of the work we want to do and the lives we want to lead. We also know how long we can make a certain amount of money last. I must also tell you that even when both my husband and I were working, we never made six figures. So the possibility for saving and developing a satisfying lifestyle does not require a big salary.

As I realized how much the book had done for us, I got interested in joining the speakers' group so I could share this information with everyone I meet! Financial security doesn't happen overnight and like any big project, it takes patience and perspective, but it can be done, and the program can lead to a greater understanding of one's own path to happiness.

-- Written by Suzanne Ballantyne, a public educator, lifestyle coach, who will be offering 90-minute seminars in Raleigh on achieving financial integrity. For details on the classes, contact her at www.simplepractice.net or go to www.yourmoneyoryourlife.info.

Suzanne will be speaking at Triangle Networking Group on Tuesday, Feb. 10. For details, click here.