Money and Love

Money & Love: An Intelligent Roadmap for Life’s Biggest Decisions is a guide for navigating life’s most consequential and daunting decisions using research-based insights road-tested in a popular Stanford University course.

Should I move in with this person? Should I quit my job? When is the “right time” to have another child? All these life-altering questions at the juncture of money and love can be overwhelming. Often, we answer them either by staying overly rational or by only listening to our—at times fickle—hearts. Hardly ever, when faced with daunting questions, do we have the keys to combine both head and heart in a balanced and fulfilling way.

Labour economist and Stanford Professor Emerita Myra Strober and social innovation leader Abby Davisson know that in our daily lives money and love are interdependent. Whereas most decision-making guides focus only on one or the other, Money and Love shows us and our loved ones how to consider them jointly using the original, step-by-step 5Cs method:

• CLARIFY: Consider what you want vs. don’t through self-reflection.
• COMMUNICATE: Include input from those who will be impacted by your decisions in your decision-making process.
• CHOICES: Broaden your perspectives to open up your options.
• CHECK IN: Ask around for advice, guidance, and resources.
• CONSEQUENCES: Consider the effects of your decisions and how that may impact all aspects of your life.

At a time when we are experiencing the most significant shift in work-life balance in decades—marked by remote work, the Great Reshuffle, and a mass reconfiguring of family dynamics and social/professional networks—Strober and Davisson’s framework offers simple and effective steps to empower readers to make the best strategic decisions without having to sacrifice their careers or personal lives.