Living Well, Spending Less: 12 Secrets of the Good Life


Ruth Soukup - 2014
    She gives her readers even more of what they love about the blog: lots of creative, helpful ideas and advice for moms on a budget along with stories from her own journey to discovering what the Good Life is really all about.

Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half with America's Cheapest Family: Includes So Many Innovative Strategies You Won't Have to Cut Coupons


Steve Economides - 2010
    Sound too good to be true? For the Economides family, it's a reality, and it can be yours too.What could the average family do with an extra $3,000 a year? America's Cheapest Family show you strategies, tips, tools, and tricks in Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half, so you can achieve huge savings year after year. It's a fact, the Economides say, saving money on groceries is one of the quickest ways to start making a positive difference in your family's financial future.And these tips and strategies can ork whether you're shopping for seven or for one.•Spend less time shopping and cooking•Get more bang for your grocery buck•Plan meals for picky eaters and busy schedules•Discover kitchen tools that streamline meal preparations•Learn many ways to eat out or eat in and save big•Turn your freezer into a money-making machine

Miserly Moms: Living on One Income in a Two-Income Economy


Jonni McCoy - 1996
    The McCoys made a successful transition from two incomes to one while living in one of the most expensive parts of America: the San Francisco Bay Area. Her Miserly Guidelines will help you save thousands of dollars a year on everything from groceries to electricity to insurance and household cleaners--as well as reveal the hidden costs of holding a job and common money wasters. Her practical, proven cost-saving techniques, strategies, tips, and recipes will help you live frugally without feeling deprived.

Food Babe Kitchen: More than 100 Delicious, Real Food Recipes to Change Your Body and Your Life


Vani Hari - 2020
    This book will inspire you to take control of your health and ditch processed foods for good.Get ready to ditch processed foods for good, and eat the cleanest, healthiest food on the planet!With more than 100 mouthwatering recipes-from Biscuits with Whipped Honey Butter to Baja Fish Tacos, Grapefruit Goddess Salad, Luscious Lemon Bars, and even Homemade Doritos-the Food Babe Kitchen will show readers how delicious and simple it is to eat healthy, easy, real food.Food Babe Kitchen shows you how to shop for the healthiest ingredients by breaking down every aisle in the grocery store with expert label-reading tips and simple swaps, plus a handy meal-planning guide and pantry list to stock your kitchen for success.Eat healthfully, close to the earth, with the best ingredients that you choose, so when you sit down to enjoy a delicious meal you know what you are eating, and you haven't spent all day in the kitchen!Easy-to-follow directions, eye-catching photography, and simple substitutions to accommodate vegan, dairy-free, grain-free, and other diets, make this the ultimate guide to getting back into the kitchen to create healthful meals for yourself and those you love.Getting off processed food has never been easier-or more delicious.

Little House Living: The Make-Your-Own Guide to a Frugal, Simple, and Self-Sufficient Life


Merissa A. Alink - 2015
    Their life had hit rock bottom, and it was only after a touching act of charity that they were able to get on their feet again.Inspired by this gesture of kindness as well as the beloved Little House on the Prairie books, Merissa found that a life of self-sufficiency and simplicity could be charming and blissful. She set out to live an entirely made-from-scratch life, the “Little House” way, and as a result, she slashed her household budget by nearly half—saving thousands of dollars a year. She started to write about homesteading, homemaking, and cooking from scratch, and over the next few years developed the recipes and DIY projects that would one day become part of her now beloved website, LittleHouseLiving.com.As whole foods became staples of the family diet, Merissa realized the dangers of putting overly processed ingredients not only into our bodies, but on or near them as well. In addition to countless delicious, home-cooked meals, she developed natural, easy-to-make recipes for everything from sunscreen to taco seasoning mix, lemon poppy hand scrub to furniture polish. With their simple ingredients, these recipes are allergen friendly and many are gluten-free.With over 130 practical, simple DIY recipes, gorgeous full-color photographs, and Merissa's trademark charm in personal stories and tips, Little House Living is the epitome of heartland warmth and prairie inspiration.

The Complete Tightwad Gazette


Amy Dacyczyn - 1998
    Now The Complete Tightwad Gazette brings together all of her best ideas and thriftiest thinking into one volume, along with new articles never published before in book format. Dacyczyn describes this collection as "the book I wish I'd had when I began my adult life." Packed with humor, creativity, and insight, The Complete Tightwad Gazette includes hundreds of tips and topics, such as:Travel for tightwads¸ How to transform old blue jeans into potholders and quilts¸ Ten painless ways to save $100 this year¸ Picture-framing for pennies¸ A comparison of painting versus re-siding your house¸ Halloween costumes from scrounged materials¸ Thrifty window treatments¸ Ways to dry up dry-cleaning costs¸ Inexpensive gifts¸ Creative fundraisers for kids¸ Slashing your electric bill¸ Frugal fix-its¸ Cutting the cost of college¸ Moving for less¸ Saving on groceries¸ Gift-wrapping for tightwads¸ Furniture-fusion fundamentals¸ Cheap breakfast cereals¸ Avoiding credit card debt¸ Using items you were about to throw away (milk jugs, plastic meat trays, and more!)¸ Recipes galore, from penny-pinching pizza to toaster pastries¸ And much much more . . .

How to Hygge: The Nordic Secrets to a Happy Life


Signe Johansen - 2016
    There are countless viral articles comparing the happiness levels of Americans versus Danes. Their homes are more homey; their people are more cheerful. It’s an attitude that defies definition, but there is a name for this slow-moving, stress-free mindset: hygge (pronounced “hoo-ga”). Hygge values the idea of cherishing yourself: candlelight, bakeries, and dinner with friends; a celebration of experiences over possessions, as well as being kind to yourself and treasuring a sense of community.How to Hygge by chef and author Signe Johansen is a fresh, informative, lighthearted, fully illustrated how-to guide to hygge. It’s a combination of recipes, helpful tips for cozy living at home, and cabin porn: essential elements of living the Danish way—which, incidentally, encourages a daily dose of “healthy hedonism.” Who can resist that?

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.

Cheaper, Better, Faster: Over 2,000 Tips and Tricks to Save You Time and Money Every Day


Mary Hunt - 2013
    How to make white shoes look like new. How to make gourmet coffee without the gourmet price. How to keep your cat out of your houseplants. And hundreds of other things. "Cheaper, Better, Faster "is all the best advice you've ever heard, collected into one handy volume. Every tip is short, to the point, and helps you make the most of your money and your time, making everyday life less hectic and more enjoyable.

Be CentsAble: How to Cut Your Household Budget in Half


Chrissy Pate - 2010
    Like most Americans, stay-at-home moms Chrissy Pate and Kristin McKee spent the lion's share of their budgets on what they assumed to be static costs such as groceries and utilities. But when using traditional couponing and cheapskate guides didn't help their budgets shrink by a dime, Pate and McKee decided to come up with their own way to save.Within a few months, their household expenses dropped by more than half-from spending $800 each per month to less than $350! only a few years after developing their be centsable system, Pate and McKee have helped thousands of subscribers save money without spending hours finding and cutting coupons, or giving up extras like travel and entertainment. In this prescriptive guide, these authors show how anyone can save thousands of dollars on cleaning supplies, pet care, toys, travel, and most importantly, groceries-without giving up healthy foods, favorite products, or the occasional splurge.

Meet the Frugalwoods: Achieving Financial Independence Through Simple Living


Elizabeth Willard Thames - 2018
    But the couple had a dream to become modern-day homesteaders in rural Vermont. Determined to retire as early as possible in order to start living each day—as opposed to wishing time away working for the weekends—they enacted a plan to save an enormous amount of money: well over seventy percent of their joint take home pay. Dubbing themselves the Frugalwoods, Elizabeth began documenting their unconventional frugality and the resulting wholesale lifestyle transformation on their eponymous blog.In less than three years, Elizabeth and Nate reached their goal. Today, they are financially independent and living out their dream on a sixty-six-acre homestead in the woods of rural Vermont with their young daughter. While frugality makes their lifestyle possible, it’s also what brings them peace and genuine happiness. They don’t stress out about impressing people with their material possessions, buying the latest gadgets, or keeping up with any Joneses. In the process, Elizabeth discovered the self-confidence and liberation that stems from disavowing our culture’s promise that we can buy our way to "the good life." Elizabeth unlocked the freedom of a life no longer beholden to the clarion call to consume ever-more products at ever-higher sums.Meet the Frugalwoods is the intriguing story of how Elizabeth and Nate realized that the mainstream path wasn’t for them, crafted a lifestyle of sustainable frugality, and reached financial independence at age thirty-two. While not everyone wants to live in the woods, or quit their jobs, many of us want to have more control over our time and money and lead more meaningful, simplified lives. Following their advice, you too can live your best life.

The Money Saving Mom's Budget: Slash Your Spending, Pay Down Your Debt, Streamline Your Life, and Save Thousands a Year


Crystal Paine - 2012
    With hundreds of inspiring “why didn’t I think of that?” TIPS, plus WORKSHEETS, Paine breaks down your goals into easy, manageable steps so you can:• Achieve a complete financial makeover • Set up a realistic budget • Never pay retail • Slash your grocery bill • Organize your time & your home • Use coupons wisely • Pay with cash only • Live simply • Become debt free • Choose contentment • Make every dollar count

Frugal Luxuries: Simple Pleasures to Enhance Your Life and Comfort Your Soul


Tracey McBride - 1997
    Tracey McBride created the newsletter Frugal Times in 1993 and has since delighted thousands by elevating the skill of living frugally to an art form.  Now Tracey's commonsense techniques for making "every day a feast" and her wisdom on how to cultivate abundance are gathered in one volume.Tracey shows us how to savor the intangible gifts we receive when we create a nurturing home, share luscious yet low-cost meals with family and friends, master our budgets, learn to combine style and thriftiness, and cultivate our dreams and imaginations without spending a cent.Filled with ingenious, heartwarming, and practical advice, Frugal Luxuries helps us remember what is truly of value in our lives--our time, our loved ones, and our inner sense of prosperity.  Combining the spiritual nourishment of Simple Abundance with the practicality of The Tightwad Gazette, Frugal Luxuries is destined to become the classic on how to live every day with a sense of abundance, beauty, and luxury.

Dinner: A Love Story: It All Begins at the Family Table


Jenny Rosenstrach - 2012
    Even when they work long days. Even when their kids' schedules pull them in eighteen different directions. They are not superhuman. They are not from another planet.With simple strategies and common sense, Jenny figured out how to break down dinner—the food, the timing, the anxiety, from prep to cleanup—so that her family could enjoy good food, time to unwind, and simply be together.Using the same straight-up, inspiring voice that readers of her award-winning blog, Dinner: A Love Story, have come to count on, Jenny never judges and never preaches. Every meal she dishes up is a real meal, one that has been cooked and eaten and enjoyed at least a half dozen times by someone in Jenny's house. With inspiration and game plans for any home cook at any level, Dinner: A Love Story is as much for the novice who doesn't know where to start as it is for the gourmand who doesn't know how to start over when she finds herself feeding an intractable toddler or for the person who never thought about home-cooked meals until he or she became a parent. This book is, in fact, for anyone interested in learning how to make a meal to be shared with someone they love, and about how so many good, happy things happen when we do.

Family Feasts for $75 a Week: A Penny-wise Mom Shares Her Recipe for Cutting Hundreds from Your Monthly Food Bill


Mary Ostyn - 2009
    Staying within a budget these days is a hard act to stick with, especially if you have a family of four or more. When juggling a busy schedule dedicated to school, work, and family activities, convenience has a tendency to overrule thriftiness-and we all know convenience comes at a cost. But if you can master your spending in just one area-your food bill-you will greatly expand your spending options for other, more rewarding areas of your life. What would you do with more free time in your day?You 've heard the saying " time is money, " and time well spent can save you big bucks. Learning how to compile grocery lists, compose weekly menu plans, and shop less will not only save money at the register, it will also save you time in the store and in the kitchen. Come to the table prepared to enjoy the feast as you build time-saving skills that will serve you and your family for a lifetime to come.What would you do with more fun-filled family opportunities?Saving time and money will not only make you feel good about yourself, it will also give you the greatest spending opportunity of all-more family fun. Whether planning for a special getaway, staycation, or simply a weekly family night, your family is your best investment. With all the time and money you 'll save, you 'll be able to refocus your energies where they matter most-with the ones you love.Whether you 're overhauling your entire budget or just trying to save a little here and there, making a dent in your grocery bill may seem challenging in today 's market. A typical supermarket trip can easily cost a minimum of $100, and if you 're feeding an average family or larger, that number can soar even higher. What 's a mom on a budget to do?Family Feasts for $75 a Week to the rescue! Written by blogger mom and penny-pincher extraordinaire Mary Ostyn, who prepares three meals a day for her family of 12 for $800 to $900 a month, this book is stuffed to the gills with Mary's expert, in-the-trenches tips on savvy food shopping, plus 200 delicious recipes for homecooked meals that make the most of economical ingredients. Selected by Good Morning America as one of the best cookbooks of 2009, Family Feasts for $75 a Week offers real-world advice teaches real-world families how to save in more ways than one.