Have you ever been to Money Saving Mom's blog? It is one of my most favorite blogs and I have had her button on my sidebar for forever it seems. I am privileged to be able to review her new audio book, The Money Saving Mom's Budget by Crystal Paine.
About Crystal Paine:
Crystal Paine is a wife and homeschooling mom to three young children who has been writing on topics related to frugality for the last five years—and living a frugal, simple, and debt-free life since she was born. Her blog, MoneySavingMom.com, is one of the top personal finance blogs on the web averaging over four million pageviews per month.
My Thoughts:
I really like that the audio book is read by Crystal herself. Although I have never met her in person, she is very down-to-earth and I feel as though we are friends. We are "like-minded" on numerous life issues including money! David and I have been on a cash budgeting system since 2003, and we've read a lot of books on the subject. This one easily makes it into my top 5 - it's that good.
So here's the scoop. If you're carrying a lot of debt (like we were), you need to read something like Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover in addition to this book. The Money Saving Mom's Budget is fantastic for teaching budgeting skills and strategies for reducing your living expenses - a very important financial concept that Total Money Makeover seriously lacks. But, you won't learn about things like debt snowballs from Crystal. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, ask me - or read the books!
I like that Crystal outlines how to do this step by baby step. She helps take the mystery out of budgeting and how one can truly live debt free. And you won't find academic theories here - Crystal is living it out, proof that it works. It isn't always easy, and it takes discipline but it can be done.
I found this audio book encouraging personally - to keep pressing on so to speak. This was actually the first book I have listened to with headphones, and I enjoyed having it in audio form because I could listen to it while picking up my house or preparing dinner. The chapters are well divided so you can pretty much listen to it as you can one chapter at a time.
The one annoyance I found with the audio format is the repetition of "... a MoneySavingMom.com reader" for every included testimonial; but I'm not sure how to do this better. In the print edition, it is easy to get this information at a glance and move on.
I like that she mentions that you can be frugal without being miserly. And I absolutely love the fact that you can choose contentment - Crystal gives a clear and strong reminder of this great choice. There are numerous nuggets of great advice for those who have been budgeting and living frugally for years and for those who are just getting started. I highly recommend this book.
Crystal has many helpful videos that you can check out here. You can purchase your copy of this audio book here. So here's the scoop. If you're carrying a lot of debt (like we were), you need to read something like Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover in addition to this book. The Money Saving Mom's Budget is fantastic for teaching budgeting skills and strategies for reducing your living expenses - a very important financial concept that Total Money Makeover seriously lacks. But, you won't learn about things like debt snowballs from Crystal. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, ask me - or read the books!
I like that Crystal outlines how to do this step by baby step. She helps take the mystery out of budgeting and how one can truly live debt free. And you won't find academic theories here - Crystal is living it out, proof that it works. It isn't always easy, and it takes discipline but it can be done.
I found this audio book encouraging personally - to keep pressing on so to speak. This was actually the first book I have listened to with headphones, and I enjoyed having it in audio form because I could listen to it while picking up my house or preparing dinner. The chapters are well divided so you can pretty much listen to it as you can one chapter at a time.
The one annoyance I found with the audio format is the repetition of "... a MoneySavingMom.com reader" for every included testimonial; but I'm not sure how to do this better. In the print edition, it is easy to get this information at a glance and move on.
I like that she mentions that you can be frugal without being miserly. And I absolutely love the fact that you can choose contentment - Crystal gives a clear and strong reminder of this great choice. There are numerous nuggets of great advice for those who have been budgeting and living frugally for years and for those who are just getting started. I highly recommend this book.
Celebrate with Crystal by entering her iPad2 Giveaway (a GREAT tool to keep track of your budget!) and RSVPing to the Live Webcast Event on 4/5!
One savvy winner will receive:
- A Brand new iPad2
- The Money Saving Mom's Budget by Crystal Paine, audio edition
So grab your copy of The Money Saving Mom®'s Budget and join Crystal and friends on the evening of April 5th for an evening of fun of learning, sharing and encouragement.
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Hi Kathryn
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by my blog and following me. I came to check out your blog and follow you back.