Book Review

I finished reading this book last week. Wow. I saw them on the Today Show awhile ago, and immediately wanted to read their book. I am all over learning new techniques and reading about how they live so frugally. They are truly amazing. And very very disciplined.

A few amazing things about them:
* paid off their first house in 9 years on an average income of $35,000
*they spend $350 a month on groceries for a family of seven
*have never had debt of any kind, except for a home mortgage

That is a only small bit of info on their amazing habits. I thought I was organized and disciplined. After reading this book I realized that they are on a level all their own.

While their techniques will not work for everyone, what I found helpful were the chapters on grocery shopping and budgeting. I plan on implementing some of their techniques soon. Currently I do budget, but I could be better. I keep track of my finances on Quicken (I am sooo anal about all that) but I have some frustrations with that, and doing it the way they do, all on paper, might be a better route for me. Who knows. I also really liked how they taught their children about money. There were many similarities with that and how I grew up being taught about finances. They stress responsibility from the start, and I agree completely. It is never too early to start that with your kids.

I felt like they missed some key points in their book, like utilizing such websites as Freecycle and Craigslist for many free and cheap items. Those two websites, especially Freecycle, have done wonders for my checkbook. Being LDS, I also appreciated their opinion of having a stockpile and planning ahead. I have a passion about that myself.

This book is definitely worth the read. Check it out from the library before you purchase to make sure you like it first. Here is their website with info and where you can sign up for a free email newsletter with lots of money saving tips.

Read the book and let me know what you learn!

Book Review