Achieving financial freedom involves understanding why we spend, learning how to change those habits, and building a balance between what we need and what we have. More money, and the stress of pursuing those dollars, is not always the answer. Instead, readers must examine the behaviors - both rational and irrational - behind those motivations, prioritize and compromise between needs and wants, and find contentment with what they have rather than being influenced by peers and marketers to chase after artificial satisfaction. Establishing a budget and learning to live within our means allows us to maintain a sustainable lifestyle that accounts for what is most important to us and no longer depend on debt to supplement an impractical standard of living. The Balancing Act provides a Step-by-step guide to creating a budget, setting goals, eliminating debt and staying on track so readers can reduce financial stress, spend dollars in ways most meaningful to them and create financial freedom in the balance between what they need and what they have.