This article is part of "My Financial Life," a series helping people live and spend better. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Prisca Benson, a 34-year-old writer for the blog Our Green Life. Last year my husband's work slowed down; he basically worked the equivalent of about five or six months out of the year. It's a testament to intentional spending in the long term. Because this could be literally devastating — if you were living paycheck to paycheck, a loss of 25%, 30%, 40% of your income would decimate you.

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Persons: Prisca Benson, Benson, —, it's, I'm, hasn't, It's, We're Organizations: Service, Costco, Tropicana, Google Locations: Bali , New Orleans, Atlanta, Italy