Want to build a happier, more prosperous financial life? All I ask is 5 or 10 minutes a day for the next 77 days. Some days, I'll offer a brief financial lesson. Some days, you'll learn about yourself. And some days, I'll suggest a few simple steps for you to take.

Think of this book as a conversation. It's between you and me – though you should also invite your spouse or partner, if you have one. Have you ever had a conversation where the other people blather on endlessly about themselves while you struggle to get in a single word? It happens all the time, right? I may have written this book, but you'll get to do a fair amount of the talking.

With that in mind, keep a pencil handy. By the time we're done, I hope you'll have scribbled all over this book – and then erased and revised what you earlier wrote. In the coming days and weeks, we'll work to figure out what you want from your financial life, probe your money beliefs, gather information, and take the necessary steps toward a better life.

Along the way, you'll come to understand some of the key ideas needed to be a prudent manager of your own money. Those notions aren't just about dollars and cents. Instead, we'll devote a fair amount of time to the human side of money – why we do what we do and what money can do for us. My fondest hope: By day 77, you'll be thinking of money not as a burden, but rather, as something that's integral to your life and that, with a little effort, can make it so much richer.

We all get just one shot at making the financial journey from here to retirement, and we can't afford to fail. Even if we want to work for the rest of our lives, that simply isn't realistic: One day, our employer or our aging body will force us out of the workforce – and at that point, we'll need a hefty pile of savings.

How can we stack the odds in our favor, so we have a high likelihood of amassing that decent‐size nest egg? In the days ahead, we'll focus on some simple, no‐nonsense strategies:

This stuff isn't all that exciting, though the results will be: You'll set yourself on a course that not only brings financial peace of mind today but also ensures a much more prosperous tomorrow.

“But I don't want to be prosperous,” you might respond. “I want to be rich.”

Depending on how you define rich, that could happen over time, but it won't happen quickly.

“But what if I started day‐trading stocks, or borrowed a bunch of money to buy rental properties, or invested in a franchise?”

Yes, those are all potentially faster roads to riches – but they could also be shortcuts to the poorhouse. Never forget that risk and potential reward are inextricably linked. If a strategy holds out the possibility of tremendous wealth, it also runs the risk of terrible failure – and, with the riskiest strategies, terrible failure is the more likely outcome. Our goal: Get you safely and happily from here to retirement.

If money were no object, what would you change about your life? What possessions would you buy? What things would you do? Would you continue with your current job, change careers, or retire? Let your mind wander, conjuring up dreams big and small, and then list them below. These things don't necessarily have to involve money, though there's a good chance that dollars and cents are somehow involved.

I'm not promising you'll be able to turn every wish into reality. But this is your chance to articulate what you want – a crucial first step in figuring out how best to handle your money, while also motivating yourself to make the necessary short‐term sacrifices. If we're to say “no” to today's many temptations to spend, we need to make our longer‐term goals even more tantalizing.

In the coming weeks, we'll take the aspirations you have sketched out here and we'll think about them in three broad buckets: daily spending, large purchases, and major life goals. The objective: Fine‐tune your list and introduce a dose of reality, so you focus on the dreams that are within reach – and that matter most to you.

We tend to be a self‐confident lot, which is a helpful trait. Those who are self‐confident tend to be happier, be more resilient, and enjoy greater career success. But self‐confidence isn't nearly so helpful when it comes to managing money. Want to avoid major financial mistakes? We should start by acknowledging five key failings.

First, we don't necessarily know what we want from our lives. We settle on a career and then realize it isn't for us. We buy a house and find it makes our lives harder, not happier. We lust after a luxury car and finally manage to buy it, only to discover it isn't nearly as life‐enhancing as we imagined. So what do we want from our lives? It takes a lot of thought, which is why we'll tackle the topic multiple times in the weeks ahead.

Second, we don't know what the future will bring. We imagine tomorrow will look like today. But our lives can be turned upside down in the blink of an eye. We might lose our job, fall seriously ill, meet our future spouse, suffer a death in the family, get divorced, stumble upon the home of our dreams, have a child. Most of us have an astonishing ability to cope with change, and we adapt with surprising speed. As you'll learn in the days that follow, that's both good and bad.

Third, we expect too much from money. Yes, a bigger paycheck and greater wealth can enhance our lives. But blindly pursuing wealth and indiscriminately spending money don't guarantee happiness, and they could backfire. If we devote too many hours to getting ahead in our careers, we'll have less time for friends and family – a crucial contributor to happiness. If we spend without thought, we might accumulate possessions that involve constant upkeep and that prove more of a burden than a blessing.

Fourth, we lack discipline. Given a choice between spending today and saving for tomorrow, we're quick to sacrifice the future. Indeed, many folks seem to engage in magical thinking, imagining that their financial future will be bailed out by high investment returns, a rich aunt's bequest, or the next lottery ticket purchase. But none of these things will likely come to pass. Want to grow wealthy? For most of us, the road to riches lies in diligently socking away dollars for three or four decades.

Finally, we overestimate our investment prowess. We almost certainly won't pick stocks that beat the market – and it's highly unlikely we'll find someone who can do so on our behalf. We probably won't grow wealthy by flipping homes, trading options, or investing in our sister‐in‐law's startup. In short, we won't get rich quick, but, with patience and tenacity, we could amass more than enough to live comfortably.

Talk to financial advisors and they'll tell you that everybody's financial situation is different, so there are no one‐size‐fits‐all solutions. That's largely true. Still, there are two pieces of advice that apply to everybody – and, if you aren't following them, it's time to start.

First, if you have a 401(k) or similar employer‐sponsored retirement savings plan that includes a matching employer contribution, you should sock away at least enough to get the full match. Let's say your employer matches your contributions at 50 cents on the dollar up to 6% of pay. If you contribute 6%, your employer will kick in 3%, for a total of 9%. It's like getting an immediate 50% return on your money. Not contributing the full 6%? Do it today. Failing to contribute enough to get the full 401(k) match ranks as one of the most foolish financial mistakes.

Second, you should never carry a credit card balance – another of the most foolish financial mistakes. Your credit cards might charge 20% interest, and possibly more, on the unpaid balance. Over the long haul, that's far more than you'll likely make by investing your money, even if you invest in the stock market. Got a credit card balance? Make it a priority to get it paid off.

• Yes, I'm contributing enough to my employer's retirement plan to get the full match.
• Yes, I've paid off all credit card balances or I've got a plan to get it done as quickly as possible.

Yesterday, I harangued you to fund your 401(k) and pay off your credit cards. Why? Both show the power of compounding – for better and worse.

Compounding is the process by which money grows. Each year, we earn returns not only on our original investment but also on gains from previous years that were left in the account.