How to Sew a Button: And Other Nifty Things Your Grandmother Knew


Erin Bried - 2009
    Food is instant, ready-made, and processed with unhealthy additives. Dry cleaners press shirts, delivery guys bring pizza, gardeners tend flowers, and, yes, tailors sew on those pesky buttons. But life can be much simpler, sweeter, and richer–and a lot more fun, too! As your grandmother might say, now is not the time to be careless with your money, and it actually pays to learn how to do things yourself!Practical and empowering, How to Sew a Button collects the treasured wisdom of nanas, bubbies, and grandmas from all across the country–as well as modern-day experts–and shares more than one hundred step-by-step essential tips for cooking, cleaning, gardening, and entertaining, including how to• polish your image by shining your own shoes• grow your own vegetables (and stash your bounty for the winter)• sweeten your day by making your own jam• use baking soda and vinegar to clean your house without toxic chemicals• feel beautiful by perfecting your posture• roll your own piecrust and find a slice of heaven• fold a fitted sheet to crisp perfection• waltz without stepping on any toesComplete with helpful illustrations and brimming with nostalgic charm, How to Sew a Button provides calm and comfort in uncertain times. By doing things yourself, with care and attention, you and your loved ones will feel the pleasing rewards of a job well done.

Couponing for the Beginner: A Guide to Couponing for the Uninitiated


Jenny Dean - 2012
    Such background knowledge will help you understand why couponing works for not only couponers but also the stores that accept them. You'll feel confident going into the store for your first real deal because of the well-rounded knowledge, couponing advice as well as the online coupon tips you will receive from Couponing for the Beginner: A Guide to Couponing for the Uninitiated. The sensible approach in Couponing for the Beginner: A Guide to Couponing for the Uninitiated will help you shop for free for some of your favorite items at some of your favorite stores like CVS, Rite Aid, Target, and Walgreens. You'll also learn how to find the best savings on items you use every day in your home - learn how to combine them with store sales and promotions, store rewards/loyalty programs, rebates and more.All you have to do is follow Dean's step-by-step guide that teaches you how to get stuff for free and you'll be shopping for free in no time. In fact, you'll be wondering why you didn't shop like this sooner!

Joyful Momma's Guide to Shopping & Cooking Frugally


Kimberly Eddy - 2011
    That’s where Joyful Momma’s Guide to Shopping & Cooking Frugally comes in.If you’re like me, you’ve been frustrated by the rising prices of groceries, while the family income either remains the same or goes down. It seems like everyone is looking for ways to cut back on their grocery bill.Let me help you learn how to save big money at the grocery store with some simple and easy-to-implement tips!☑ Do you wonder how some people seem to save big money with coupons while coupons only seem to make you spend more? (See page 26)☑ Do you always seem to go over budget when grocery shopping? (See page 40)☑ Are menu planning and making a shopping list overwhelming you? (See page 18)☑ Does your menu plan go out the window after husband and children snack on vital ingredients? (See page 23)☑ Are you struggling with managing or losing weight while keeping with a super tight budget? (See page 80)☑ Is the challenge of breaking free from using pre-packaged foods overwhelming you? (See page 57)☑ Do you find yourself frustrated with the challenge of making your frugal meals flavorful and healthy? (See page 53)☑ Is the time crunch keeping you from cooking from scratch, couponing, and planning? (See page 66)☑ Do you struggle with feeling overwhelmed and depressed over the challenges the economy is bringing to your family? (See page 5)All of these questions (and more) are answered in Joyful Momma’s Guide to Shopping & Cooking Frugally. I wrote most of this book based on real life questions I’ve gotten on Twitter, Facebook, and email about saving money at the grocery store, so it is geared towards answering real world questions.

All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan


Elizabeth Warren - 2005
    The authors lay out a groundbreaking approach to getting control of your money so you can finally start building the life you’ve always wanted. The result of more than twenty years of intensive research, All Your Worth offers you a step-by-step plan that will let you master your finances—for the rest of your life. The secret? It’s simple, really: get your money in balance. Warren and Tyagi show you how to balance your money into three essential parts: the Must-Haves (the bills you have to pay every month), the Wants (some fun money for right now), and your Savings (to build a better tomorrow). No complicated budgets, no keeping track of every penny. Warren and Tyagi will show you a whole new way of looking at money—and yourself—that will help you get your finances on track so you can enjoy peace of mind for the rest of your life.

The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future


Chris Guillebeau - 2012
      Still in his early thirties, Chris is on the verge of completing a tour of every country on earth – he’s already visited more than 175 nations – and yet he’s never held a “real job” or earned a regular paycheck.  Rather, he has a special genius for turning ideas into income, and he uses what he earns both to support his life of adventure and to give back.    There are many others like Chris – those who’ve found ways to opt out of traditional employment and create the time and income to pursue what they find meaningful.  Sometimes, achieving that perfect blend of passion and income doesn’t depend on shelving what you currently do.  You can start small with your venture, committing little time or money, and wait to take the real plunge when you're sure it's successful.   In preparing to write this book, Chris identified 1,500 individuals who have built businesses earning $50,000 or more from a modest investment (in many cases, $100 or less), and from that group he’s chosen to focus on the 50 most intriguing case studies.  In nearly all cases, people with no special skills discovered aspects of their personal passions that could be monetized, and were able to restructure their lives in ways that gave them greater freedom and fulfillment.   Here, finally, distilled into one easy-to-use guide, are the most valuable lessons from those who’ve learned how to turn what they do into a gateway to self-fulfillment.  It’s all about finding the intersection between your “expertise” – even if you don’t consider it such -- and what other people will pay for.  You don’t need an MBA, a business plan or even employees.  All you need is a product or service that springs from what you love to do anyway, people willing to pay, and a way to get paid.   Not content to talk in generalities, Chris tells you exactly how many dollars his group of unexpected entrepreneurs required to get their projects up and running; what these individuals did in the first weeks and months to generate significant cash; some of the key mistakes they made along the way, and the crucial insights that made the business stick.  Among Chris’s key principles: if you’re good at one thing, you’re probably good at something else; never teach a man to fish – sell him the fish instead; and in the battle between planning and action, action wins.   In ancient times, people who were dissatisfied with their lives dreamed of finding magic lamps, buried treasure, or streets paved with gold.  Today, we know that it’s up to us to change our lives.  And the best part is, if we change our own life, we can help others change theirs.  This remarkable book will start you on your way.

Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House


Cheryl Mendelson - 1999
    Choosing fabrics, cleaning china, keeping the piano in tune, making a good fire, folding a fitted sheet, setting the dining room table, keeping surfaces free of food pathogens, watering plants, removing stains -- Home Comforts addresses the meanings as well as the methods of hands -- on housekeeping to help you manage everyday chores, find creative solutions to modern domestic dilemmas, and enhance the experience of life at home.Further topics include: Making up a bed with hospital corners, Expert recommendations for safe food storage, Reading care labels (and sometimes carefully disregarding them), Keeping your home free of dust mites and other allergens, Home safety and security, A summary of laws applicable to the home, including privacy, accident liability, contracts, and domestic employees and more in this practical, good-humored, historic, philosophical, even romantic, guidebook to the art of household management.--back cover

Bad with Money: The Imperfect Art of Getting Your Financial Sh*t Together


Gaby Dunn - 2019
    In the first episode of her “Bad With Money” podcast, Gaby Dunn asked random people at a coffee shop two questions: First, what’s your favorite sex position? Everyone was game to answer, even the barista. No holds barred. Then, she asked them how much money was in their bank accounts. Deathly silence. People were aghast. “That’s a very personal question!” they cried. And therein lies the problem.Gaby argues that our inability to speak honestly about money is our #1 barrier to understanding it, nurturing a stigma that leads to our shame, embarrassment, and anxiety, which in turn prevents us from taking ownership over this important part of our lives. She wants you to know that there are real reasons to feel helpless when it comes to managing your money, and that the patronizing know-it-alls on TV who blow air horns in your face and charge you up the wazoo for their self-help seminars do not have the answers.But despair not, there is a light at the end of this dark, moneyless tunnel. Through her own journey toward “financial literacy,” Gaby uncovers the real reasons that we feel so disempowered when it comes to finance—deeply rooted habits we inherited from our families, systemic imbalances, and intentionally-complicated terminology that makes it impossible for regular people to feel competent. Bad With Money isn’t going to tell you how to get rich or erase your debt, nor will it offer up a litany of humiliating confessions about horrible financial decisions that Gaby has made (okay, maybe some): it is an invitation from a friend who is just as clueless as you are. Equal parts memoir and journalistic investigation, Gaby covers topics like the financial dynamics of dating, the costs of mental health, and how to maintain your self-respect as a freelancer. In addition to debunking the “entitled millennial” stereotype, Gaby reveals essential truths like how “401K” is not the name of a sci-fi movie, why it feels like your bank teller is speaking a foreign language, and how to decide whether to take an unpaid internship.Weaving her own stories with the perspectives of various researchers, artists, students, her parents, a financial psychologist, her exes, and more, she reveals the ways that money makes us feel confused, hopeless, and terrified, and what it might look like to start taking control of our financial futures.

Clark Howard's Living Large in Lean Times: 250+ Ways to Buy Smarter, Spend Smarter, and Save Money


Clark Howard - 2011
    A lifelong entrepreneur who is now the hugely popular host of a talk radio program and television show and the bestselling author of several books, Clark consistently delivers expert financial advice to his wide and devoted fan base.Living Large in Lean Times is Clark's ultimate guide to saving money, covering everything from cell phones to student loans, coupon websites to mortgages, investing to electric bills, and beyond. In his candid and friendly next-door-neighbor manner, Clark shares the small, manageable steps everyone can follow to build a path towards independence and wealth. Chock-full of more than 250 invaluable tips, the book outlines how to:Locate missing and unclaimed money in your name Lower your student loan payment Find legitimate work-at-home opportunities Get unlimited texting and e-mailing for less than $10 per month Know what personal info not to post to social media sites Determine the best mortgage rate, and much, much moreAs Clark demonstrates, there are myriad ways to reduce debt, buy smarter, and build a future. Follow his lead and he'll get you there.

On My Own Two Feet: A Modern Girl's Guide to Personal Finance


Manisha Thakor - 2007
    This lively, no-nonsense financial guide explains:How much of your income to saveHow to avoid the perils of credit card debtHow to create a budget you can live with (and still have fun!)How to invest widely using a keep-it-simple planHow to deal with real-life situationsThe sooner you apply the financial concepts highlighted by Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar, the more likely you'll achieve common life goals--all free from financial stress.

The Good Life for Less: Giving Your Family Great Meals, Good Times, and a Happy Home on a Budget


Amy Allen Clark - 2012
    In this book, Amy offers up a clever lifestyle plan that is long on creativity and short on cost to help you achieve a peaceful, thrifty home and a loving, happy family: - Set a reasonable budget and stick to it- Save half price or more on nearly everything- Cook delicious, frugal meals for any size family, and save money by making your own easy salad dressing, barbecue sauce, and homemade mixes- Manage an organized, clean house without spending valuable time and money- Create traditions and family occasions kids will remember forever--without breaking the bank You'll be inspired by a wealth of smart and creative ideas for families living on a budget and a guide for everyone who finds themselves challenged to juggle all the roles that come with parenting. Amy gives you the tools, the guidance, and the inspiration you need to run your own household with wisdom, wit, love, and style.

The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke


Suze Orman - 2004
    They're called "Generation Debt" and "Generation Broke" by the media -- people in their twenties and thirties who graduate college with a mountain of student loan debt and are stuck with one of the weakest job markets in recent history. The goals of their parents' generation -- buy a house, support a family, send kids to college, retire in style -- seem absurdly, depressingly out of reach. They live off their credit cards, may or may not have health insurance, and come up so far short at the end of the month that the idea of saving money is a joke. This generation has it tough, without a doubt, but they're also painfully aware of the urgent need to take matters into their own hands.The Money Book was written to address the specific financial reality that faces young people today and offers a set of real, not impossible, solutions to the problems at hand and the problems ahead. Concisely, pragmatically, and without a whiff of condescension, Suze Orman tells her young, fabulous & broke readers precisely what actions to take and why. Throughout these pages, there are icons that direct readers to a special YF&B domain on Suze's website that offers more specialized information, forms, and interactive tools that further customize the information in the book. Her advice at times bucks conventional wisdom (did she just say use your credit card?) and may even seem counterintuitive (pay into a retirement fund even though your credit card debt is killing you?), but it's her honesty, understanding, and uncanny ability to anticipate the needs of her readers that has made her the most trusted financial expert of her day.Over the course of ten chapters that can be consulted methodically, step-by-step, or on a strictly need-to-know basis, Suze takes the reader past broke to a secure place where they'll never have to worry about revisiting broke again. And she begins the journey with a bit of overwhelmingly good news (yes, there really is good news): Young people have the greatest asset of all on their side -- time.

The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half: The Strategic Shopping Method Proven to Slash Food and Drugstore Costs


Stephanie Nelson - 2009
    Taking the nation by storm, with appearances ranging from The Oprah Winfrey Show Stephanie Nelson has shown countless women and men how to save thousands of dollars by becoming savvy coupon clippers-without sacrificing nutrition or quality. Now, in The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half, Nelson demonstrates all of the tricks of the trade-beyond coupons and tailor-made for a variety of shopper lifestyles. Whether you're a "busy" shopper and have only a small amount of time each week to devote to finding the best deal; a "rookie" shopper who is ready to put more effort into cutting bills; or a seasoned "varsity" shopper who is looking for new ways to get the deepest discounts possible, this book offers techniques thatw ill make it easy to save money at any level and on any timetable. Extending her Strategic Shopping protocols to mass merchandisers, wholesale clubs, natural-food stores, drugstores, and other retailers, Nelson proves that value and variety can go hand in hand. With meal- planning tips, recipes, and cost-comparison guides, as well as inspiring real-life stories from the phenomenal Coupon Mom movement, this is a priceless guide to turning the checkout lane into a road of riches.

Living with Less So Your Family Has More


Jill Savage - 2010
    This book includes true stories from families who have used Jill and Mark's techniques for living richly.

The 5 Money Personalities: Speaking the Same Love and Money Language


Scott Palmer - 2012
    It doesn’t matter if you’ve been married for 40 years or dating for 4 months, money touches every decision you make as a couple—from the $5 cup of coffee to the $50,000 car. And when the two of you don’t see eye-to-eye on how much to spend or how much to save, that’s when arguments turn into ugly toxic fights that leave both persons feeling hurt and angry. It’s why money has become the #1 cause of divorce in the U.S. Obviously, something needs to change. The reason this crisis has not been addressed is because it has never been identified, defined, or given a name. Scott and Bethany Palmer, aka “The Money Couple,” have identified and defined this problem and offer concrete solutions to fix it.Once you know your Money Personality, you can get to the root of money arguments and start really working together. You’ll discover what has an impact on your loved one’s money decisions, and you’ll learn how to talk about money in a way that’s actually fun! You’ll figure out how to put an end to money secrets and lies once and for all.It’s not just about money management, and it’s definitely not just about overcoming debt. It is a whole new way of living that will change everything in your relationship. Tens of thousands have already been transformed. Are you ready?

The Lazy Couponer: How to Save $25,000 Per Year in Just 45 Minutes Per Week with No Stockpiling, No Item Tracking, and No Sales Chasing!


Jamie Chase - 2011
    Chase instructs readers on where to find coupons, how to use them, where to get the most bang for your buck, and how to start thinking like a couponer every time you make a purchase. Sound too easy? With a little practice, you'll see the savings rolling in while you live your life -- stress-free and thousands of dollars per year richer!