It has been 11 years since I left my job in order to be home with my newborn son. My husband and I had been planning on my quitting, so we thought we were prepared. In many ways we were prepared, but the reality of living on one income is still harder than just planning and preparing to live on one income. Over the years, I have gradually been cooking more from scratch and eating out less. We’ve learned to shop for the best prices and to just do without some things that we don’t need.
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Miserly Moms, 4th edition
By Jonni McCoy / Bethany House In Miserly Moms, author Jonni McCoy shows her readers creative and innovative ways to live in a tough economy for less money. The practical strategies and tips she shares include meal preparation, shopping tips, insurance & medical cost reduction, and much more. Try instituting her eleven miserly guidelines and watch your financial goals come into reach. Paperback. |
In the book, Jonni writes of her personal journey of living on less money, and shares her money-saving wisdom. Much of the focus of the book is on saving money on food because that is generally the area where people can make the biggest spending changes. But in addition to food related topics, she also gives frugal ideas for baby products, kids crafts, clothing, utilities, medical expenses, insurance, and more.
This is a terrific resource for anyone who is interested in living more frugally. The ideas are not complicated, but do require some work to implement. Saving money is one of the many jobs of the frugal homemaker. The thing that I most appreciated about the book was the reminder of the purpose for frugal living. Jonni stressed the difference between being frugal and cheap. She is not living a frugal lifestyle just to see how little she can spend, but there is a purpose behind her frugality. Her purpose, and mine as well, is to spend less money so that she can afford to be at home with her children. Having that sense of purpose can provide the extra encouragement you need to cook dinner when you’d rather order pizza.
Although I was familiar with most of the money saving ideas found in this book, I still found them to be valuable reminders. There are some things that I could be doing that I had either forgotten or have become complacent about doing. I highly recommend this book if you’re new to living frugally, or if you’re needing some reminders of the many benefits to living on less.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House in order to write this review. All opinions expressed are my own. I was not compensated for this review. Post contains an affiliate link.
By Kristen H.