When the author purchased a property in the mountains, he daydreamed about owning a large tract in the area. On reflection, he asked himself, What will I do with it? Without a use, the land would have no value. This insight showed him that the value of the land depended on the objective for which the land would be used, not some other person's opinion of its value. As a result, when he studied economics in college, he questioned the basic definition of an economic transaction. Rather than finding that that transaction was an exchange of currency for goods and services, he found that the basic transaction in economics was the use of a resource for accomplishing an objective. This enabled him to look at economies where money was not used.The title of this book, Budget Your Goals Not Your Silver, is the result. Car salesmen are taught not to sell cars but what the cars will be useable for. The real estate agent must sell what the house can be used for and not the house itself. Cash economies must use data, and data is not available unless there is a unit of measurement, but the process of obtaining what is needed is not limited to cash economies. This book discusses the process of economies. As essential as economic studies are, valid economic studies must use data. But understanding the process goes beyond that study.