Gabrielle Cot is an oil-on-canvas painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, produced in 1890.

The eponymous subject is the daughter of the French painter Pierre Auguste Cot, who was
Bouguereau's most notable pupil. He started the work as a study for another painting but
decided to develop it into a full work after becoming enthralled by Gabrielle Cot's charm and
beauty. It was the only non-commissioned painting he ever painted. Bouguereau gifted the
painting to Gabrielle Cot's grandmother, Madame Duret, and it has been privately held since
then. It was exhibited to the public in Paris in 1891 and in New York in 1999.
So Many Great Questions Ever since I wrote about leaving my corporate job at age 29, a lot of people
have asked a lot of questions, many of which revolve around finances. How are you going to make a
living? How are you going to pay all of your bills? What expenses do you still have? What expenses do
you get rid of? How can I apply this to my life when I still have to deal with X and Y and Z? Hopefully this
essay will address most of your questions. But first, a note: living a meaningful life has nothing to do
with how much money you make. I used to make a lot of money. I don’t make nearly as much money
anymore. Not even close. And that’s OK because contribution and growth and pursuing your 92 Joshua
Millburn | Ryan Nicodemus passions are more important. I’ll address those concepts later in this essay
and tie it all together—finances and living a meaningful life—with a neat little bow at the end. Enjoy.
Budgeting Let’s start with how I manage expenses. As you can imagine, I like to keep it simple, so let’s
look at it in a way that will apply to anyone: regardless of your income, you must spend less than you
take in, otherwise the math does not work, and you will go into debt —or further into debt—if you
spend more than you make. This might sound overly simplistic or vapid or trite, and yet more people are
in debt today than ever before. And I know this first hand. I used to spend more than I made, even when
I was making well over six figures. It didn’t matter because I was spending more money than I brought
home. That will never get you ahead. Never. This all sounds like common sense, I know. But the problem
is that common sense isn’t all that common these days. Bottom line: you must spend less than you
make. Resources I realize that your situation is different than mine, but that doesn’t mean you have an
excuse, it doesn’t mean you can keep putting it off, it doesn’t mean that you have to remain trapped in a
job you hate, in a life without freedom. Because everyone’s situation is different, I want you to have
some resources to tackle your finance and debt problems: Minimalist Finances and Budgeting 93 Joshua
Millburn | Ryan Nicodemus Debt: Baker over at Man vs. Debt has some outstanding resources to help
you get out of debt. That’s a great place to get started. It doesn’t happen over night (it took me nearly
two years), but you must get out of debt—or a least be on the journey towards a debtfree life—before
you can live a life of freedom. Money Management and Tracking: the best site to track all of