Living With Less So Your Family Has More (Family Health) [Paperback]

Jill Savage (Author), Mark Savage (Author)

Book Description

Series: Family Health | Publication Date: March 1, 2010

Our culture believes that bigger is better, but Jill and Mark Savage believe that being satisfied with less materially can allow you to give your family more -- emotionally, relationally, and spiritually.

Jill and Mark Savage, a husband and wife team who have made it on less than society says they need for more than twenty years, lay out a three-step plan for investing in the things that really matter. First, they help you identify a long-term vision for your family, and then they show you the attitudes that you'll need to adopt to make that vision a reality. They then share practical action steps to help you make small and big changes -- from organizing coupons more effectively to changing a career path or transitioning to a smaller home. Whether your goal is allowing both parents to cut back work hours and stress, making it financially feasible for one parent to stay home full-time, or simply carving out more time in the day for family, Living With Less So Your Family Has More will help you get there.

Sprinkled with true stories from families who have used Jill and Mark's techniques for living richly, the Savages' honest, straightforward, in-the-trenches approach will inspire and encourage you to live well while still putting your family first.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

With five children of their own, Jill and Mark Savage are passionate about helping families. Jill is the founder and CEO of Hearts at Home, an organization that encourages, educates and equips mothers, and the author of five books, including the classic Professionalizing Motherhood. Mark has served as a pastor for more than twenty years. They are now traveling, speaking, and writing together to bring hope to parents all over the world.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

“In this book,

I undertake to study the periods of God’s absence from my life, both as a believer and as a nonbeliever, and to document the process of acquiring, reacquiring, and developing faith by collecting and reviewing the incontrovertible evidence of God’s ongoing but invisible presence. All sorts of circumstances can cause a person to lose track of God and misplace the gift of faith. Locating God again—or finding God for the very fi rst time—entails actively seeking God’s presence and then recognizing it when you find it.”

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: GuidepostsBooks (March 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824948017
• ISBN-13: 978-0824948016
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #406,541 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Resource!, February 19, 2010

By 

Megan (Normal, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living With Less So Your Family Has More (Family Health) (Paperback)

Mark and Jill have hit the nail on the head with this timely book! The first half focuses on the heart issues of living with less, things like contentment that really require a counter-cultural mentality. Then they get into the practical things-you-can-do to make the most of your money. Both parts are necessary if you desire to make positive changes in your financial and family life. It gave me practical takeaways that have changed my thinking in several areas.

This is a practical, must read book for any family wanting to put the focus back on relationships and not things. I would highly recommend it.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Radically responsible, March 26, 2010

By 

Jeanne Zornes (Wenatchee, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Living With Less So Your Family Has More (Family Health) (Paperback)

I'm on the same page with Jill and Mark regarding radically responsible finances, but I still learned a thing or two about simpler living through their book. This is more than a "cheap living" book because it first gets at the heart of living on less, and that's desiring less and being content with less. They've taken to everyday life the principles of "simplicity" writers like Richard Foster, and given us the tools to have happy but fiscally responsible families. I appreciated some of the fun ideas along the way, like suggesting kid games like "drop the penny on the quarter at the bottom of the bucket of water." The 10 Thrifty Thoughts defined in Chapter 7 were especially good. Some of the ideas may seem obvious to those of us who've lived frugally for decades, but there's a new generation out there that's racked up debt and never been taught the basic ways of cutting back. So, bravo! Get this book to read with your spouse. Recommend it for your young moms/young dads/young marrieds weekly fellowship. With Mark sharing the byline, it's NOT a "women's book"--it's a family TEAM book.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Such an encouragement!, March 24, 2010

By 

Deborah Raney - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living With Less So Your Family Has More (Family Health) (Paperback)

This book had great tips and advice about cutting back (we've recently been through a job layoff, so cutting back was a necessity, not a choice). But even more helpful and encouraging were the Savages' thoughts on priorities. Especially the idea that adults face peer pressure every bit as much as teens, and it usually shows up in financial ways. I found this book so practical and helpful given our situation, and would recommend it to anyone who truly wants to have more of all the important things in life. The way it was written, using real-life examples and stories, made it a very quick and easy read.