Customer Reviews

Living Well on One Income: ...In a Two-Income World

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book was very well-written and instantly got me in the mood to reorganize my life! As a stay at home Mom, my husband and I were desperate to find ways to "cut corners." The author makes it very clear in the beginning of the book that she was NOT writing about debt management, investing, saving, etc. This is purely a book about organizing your life, your home, and how to be smart and frugal with things like shopping. It had great insight. I knew before I got this book that it is spiritual-based, and that's exactly what I was looking for too. I wanted a book that also followed my beliefs in the Bible and not simply a worldly view. I think that's a great asset to the book!
Definitely a great buy!

This book is interesting reading, but to me it read more like a hodge-podge of frugality tips, random anecdotes, and Sunday school lessons than an organized approach to making your money go further. The author is really enthusiastic, and she gives some very accurate and humorous descriptions of the clutter to be found in many homes. But I really had to pay attention to mine the best tips from the book because they got lost in hype, strange personal stories, and religious discussions. Some of the advice in the book struck me as just plain weird, such as to stay away from your microwave because it might explode; to put a bowl of ammonia into a warm oven to clean it (I can just imagine the smell !); to buy food in bulk and re-can it at home (that just sounds dangerous to me); to give someone a year's worth of old magazines tied up in ribbon as a gift. Finally, this book is very religious; there are references to scripture from the Bible inserted into almost every discussion. I don't mind a book on personal finance including some discussion of the spiritual basis of abundance, but I had a difficult time making the connection between the religious ideas presented and the surrounding points, and it just felt like opportunistic preaching to me. Overall I felt this book sort of meandered around without providing any clear direction that would help someone to change the way they think about money. Two alternatives to this book are "Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship With Money and Achieving Financial Independence" by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin, and "The Tao of Abundance" by Laurence G. Boldt. In closing, I will contribute my own frugality tip....if you want to read this book, do what I did and check it out from the library so you don't spend any money on it.

Cynthia Yates' 'Living Well on One Income' is a good read. It has humor, lots of personal examples that anyone can identify with, and it is filled with good tips. Yates challenges our attitudes about money and belongings and encourages everyone to "Waste Not, Want Not."

I'm not religious and I like a book to tell me it's a religious book before I've purchased it. You'll here a lot of religion in this particular finance book. Good, but very basic, instruction on cutting costs and budgeting. You are probably better off with "A Mom's Guide to Family Finance," or a straight finance book. I gave this book away as it didn't really change any of my practices.

Absolutely loved it. Great book. I recommend it to everyone.