Finally, I had a chance to sit down with Crystal Paine’s new book – The Money Saving Mom’s Budget. Crystal is the author my favorite frugal website – Money Saving Mom. I’ve been reading her blog for over half a dozen years now. She is always encouraging, positive and full of frugal ideas that have truly earned her the title of Money Saving Mom!

The Money Saving Mom’s Budget is exactly what the title promises. This book shows you ways to slash your spending, pay down your debt, streamline your debt and save thousands a year.

Crystal starts the book by outlining her 7 rules for success. These rules are as follows.

1. Set big goals and break them down into bite-sized pieces.

2. Streamline your life and cut the clutter.

3. Set up a realistic, workable budget.

4. Take the cash-only challenge.

5. Use coupons.

6. Never pay retail.

7. Choose contentment.

Crystal’s writing style is encouraging and convinces you that you can do anything you set your mind to in this frugal journey. The fact that her husband made it through law school without any debt, while she worked from home, and then they paid cash for a house in three years, makes her a voice to whom we should listen.

The Money Saving Mom’s Budget is full of many of the hints and tips you find on her website, but with more detail. I especially appreciate that Crystal writes from a strong Christian background. If you are looking for helpful suggestions on how to start (or continue) your frugal journey, go read this book!

Oh, and Crystal is donating all profits from the sales of The Money Saving Mom’s Budget to Compassion International.  What an amazing gift!

If you are interested in reading reviews of other frugal living books, you can see all my previous frugal reviews here. 

It’s a new year with new frugal books to be read! There were several recently published money saving / coupon / frugal books that I was eager to read.

The first on my list was The Lazy Couponer: How to Save Over $25,000 Per Year in Just 45 Minutes Each Week by Jamie Chase.

Jamie’s promise that she can save you money with no stockpiling, no sales chasing and no item tracking is certainly appealing. She had many points that I agreed with – and a couple with which I disagreed.

Let’s start with the excellent points that Jamie made.

1. There’s always another sale.

Too often, I think we get caught up in catching all the deals – especially when we start finding good deals. If we miss a sale this time around, there will always be another one.

2. If you’re denied, don’t buy. 

There will come a time at the checkout where someone will question your deals or coupons. It happens to the best of us. If you know your sales and that your calculations are right, don’t before afraid to walk away from the sale if the cashier doesn’t / can’t adjust the price. The more I coupon, the easier this is becoming. It’s all about confidence, really.

3. Sometimes it is less expensive to actually buy more items.

Here’s a case in point from my grocery trip this week. I could have bought 3 Motts individual applesauce packs at 3 for $5. However, I read my sales which said that when you buy 5 packages, you get an additional $5 off your sale price. I paid $3.35 and got 5 packages, rather than paying $5 and getting 3 packages. See how that works?

Now, let’s talk about a couple points on which I disagreed with Jamie.

1. Don’t stockpile.

Within reason, I think stockpiling is good. Now, I’m not suggesting hoarding by any means! If I can buy Kleenex for a quarter, I’m going to buy several boxes (with my coupons) even if I already have some at home. I know they won’t go bad and I know I’ll use them. If I have the money and space which aligns with my sale and coupons, I’m going to stockpile.

2. Don’t clip your coupons in advance. Rather, file your entire insert every week and only clip what you need.

This is a matter of preference. I know some couponers love this idea. I am more of the mindset that I’d rather clip as I get them so I’m ready. Either way works as long as you are comfortable with it and use your coupons efficiently.

3. You should chose one store and shop there only.

If I have the time and the sales are right, I often shop at two stores, due to their different coupon policies. If I only shopped at Meijer, I would miss out on some great Kroger promotions. That said, for many people this is the way of life. If you are going to shop at only one store, Jamie had some valid advice on choosing the right store.

The Lazy Couponer also has great abbreviation charts, and step by step directions of how to find deals. She also had lots of pictures of coupons with explanations about where they could be used and why.

All in all, this was a great first frugal book of the year! This book is perfect for those who think couponing takes too much time. Couponing takes as much time as you let it. You can spend a little time or a lot, and both can result in big savings.

I would highly recommend The Lazy Couponer for the experienced and inexperienced couponer alike. It was a great reminder to me that couponing can saving me large amounts of money in small amounts of time!

If you’d like to read about more frugal books I’d recommend, you can do so under my Frugal Reviews section. I’ll be back next month with a new review for you!