Book review: The Money Saving Mom's Budget

I recently had the opportunity to review a preview copy of Crystal Paine's new book, The Money Saving Mom's Budget, which is set to release on January 10, 2012.

Crystal blogs at Money Saving Mom.com - and I love her blog! I have learned so much about intentional living, goal setting, frugal living, deal seeking and more from her.

I took her new book along with me on my train trip in early December and raced right through it. It was a very quick and easy read. Overall, I enjoyed the book and learned quite a bit from it. While much of what Crystal writes about in the book is also on her blog, she does a great job of expanding on some topics, such as goal setting and saving money without using coupons.

Crystal is a huge proponent of a "cash only" lifestyle - which I do agree works for some people. I don't think cash only a bad idea, but I also think it's important to examine both sides of the issue. For some families, using cash may not be a good idea - and that is not addressed in the book. The book also makes a few bold statements about why credit cards are one's worst enemy and how cashback rewards are a rip-off. I tend to disagree with both of those statements, based on what works in our family.

However, those few minor disagreements will not keep me from recommending the book! I think this book is especially valuable for families that are new to budgeting and living below their means. On the other hand, it also offers sound wisdom for families that are already well into that journey.

Currently, you can pre-order The Money Saving Mom's Budget on Amazon right now for $11.09. As with any pre-order, if the price drops before its release date (January 10), you will pay the lower price.

Disclaimer: I was provided a free preview copy of The Money Saving Mom's Budget in order to review it for you. All opinions expressed here are purely my own.

3 Cheers...for used cars & savings accounts!

We had a seriously huge car repair this week...and while it was hard to part with that large sum of money (isn't it always?), being able to pull it out of the emergency savings account made it much easier.

I work part-time at our local school with the After School Program. I have a position through AmeriCorps, which means that I receive a very small "living stipend" each month. Because we have committed to living only on my husband's income (since we plan on me staying home full-time with our future children), we put all of my earnings into a savings account. I also put my earnings from substitute teaching and all of the money I receive from taking surveys into our savings account.

It really wasn't even stressful when the car problems happened because we knew we had the money to cover the necessary repairs. Our older car (a 2000 Buick!) was the one which needed major repairs, but we are hoping that by doing it, we can get a few more years out of it.

The car was gifted to me three and a half years ago and had always been kept in immaculate condition (by my grandpa!). In fact, when I received it, it was seven years old but had only 32,000 miles on it! The car still runs amazingly well and has not any serious problems until now. It has never bothered me in the least to drive a "grandma's car" (especially because it was my grandma's car!) and it is wonderful to have a paid-for, reliable car.

Three cheers for used cars - and for emergency savings accounts!

Budget Challenge

This week, I am going to challenge myself: I am not going to spend any money this week.

Why?

Last week, we spent more than I would have liked on grocery and household items. I generally try to keep all spending to $40 or less each week. This is usually fairly easy because I stockpile when I can, so I don't have to buy much each week - usually just fresh items (dairy, eggs, produce, etc.), plus I stock up on good sales for items we can use (pantry items, household items, health & beauty items, etc.).

We had to go to La Crosse to visit my husband's grandma last Friday, so we took advantage of the opportunity to shop at a larger grocery store while we were there. Because of that, we spent more than average last week. Since we're now well-stocked on meat, bread, produce and basically have a full pantry, I won't need to buy anything this week. I picked up eggs, milk & potatoes at our local gas station this weekend and that's all we needed!

So, as good as the deals are (and believe me, everything in me wants to go to Copps on Wednesday!), I will be staying home and avoiding the stores this week. Not only will this save money in our budget for grocery and household items, it will also save us in gas, since I have to drive so far for groceries!