Before
I got pregnant with my daughter, my husband and I were a two-income
family living in Southern California. I had several months off with
my daughter but felt certain that I had to go back to work when the
new school year started (I was a full-time teacher). I couldn't imagine
how we would have enough money to get by if I stopped working. We
would lose my income, and we would also lose my benefits, which were
being fully paid for by my school district. My husband and I took
a leap of faith, and I resigned from my teaching position. It's been
nearly a year now that I've been home with our daughter, and along
comes an opportunity for me to review Miserly
Moms: Living on One Income in a Two Income Economy. I'm happy
to say that we intuitively followed some of her principles without
knowing it, and I am discovering even more ways to get by on just
one income without feeling like we're giving up anything.
The author of
Miserly
Moms: Living on One Income in a Two Income Economy, Jonni McCoy,
outlines eleven miserly guidelines:
One:
Don't confuse frugality with depriving yourself
Two: Remove little wasters of your money
Three: Keep track of food prices
Four: Don't buy everything at the same store
Five: Buy in bulk whenever possible
Six: Make your own whenever possible
Seven: Eliminate convenience foods
Eight: Cut back on meats
Nine: Waste nothing
Ten: Institute a soup and bread night
Eleven: Cook several meals at once and freeze them
Trying
to apply all eleven principles at once, if you haven't been living
a lifestyle like this, can seem downright impossible! I like what
Ms. McCoy has to say about this right in Chapter One: ".take one
step at a time. Pick one idea and apply it. When it becomes comfortable,
apply another one. Even if you only choose to try a few of the ideas,
you will save. The more ideas, the greater the savings." It's reassuring
to read this, as it reminds us that we can take things one step
at a time and still reap some benefits.
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One
of Jonni McCoy's favorite recipes for soup and bread night:
Quick
Potato Cheese Soup
1
cup leftover mashed potatoes
1 cup water
2 cups milk
1/2 cup cheese
1 onion, diced
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
2 T. flour
1 T. butter
In
a saucepan, melt butter and fry onion until light brown. Stir
in the flour and salt and pepper. Stir, forming a rue paste.
Add water, stirring constantly. When mixed, add the rest of
the ingredients. Stir while it thickens and the cheese melts.
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The
first principle is more about a change in attitude than it is a
tip or trick. Ms. McCoy gently helps her readers reframe how they
think about cutting corners, eating out less often or making a meal
from scratch. Instead of feeling deprived, she challenges us to
keep in mind our goals - why do we want to save money? For me it
helps to remember that trying to live more frugally allows me to
be at home with my daughter, and that is more important to me than
yet another dinner in a restaurant or another trip to Kauai. In
addition, trying to save money where we can has actually allowed
us to save money and take some (frugal) family vacations!
In addition
to explaining what her eleven principles are all about, Miserly
Moms: Living on One Income in a Two Income Economy also has sections
that help put the principles into action. The book has roughly
50 pages of recipes and meal-planning; warnings about the difference
between "good deals" and "bad deals" at warehouse clubs (good
deals include spices, batteries and cheese, while bad deals include
plastic bags, paper products and milk); sticking to your budget
during birthdays, holidays and other special occasions; saving
money on baby-related expenses (try store-brand disposable diapers
or washing cloth diapers at home; make your own baby wipes; make
your own baby food); calculating the "cost of working"; tips for
working moms (do your grocery shopping once a month; don't eat
out; avoid buying clothes that require dry cleaning); suggestions
for husbands; ten ways to get children to save; and a whole slew
of miscellaneous tips for everything from photo developing to
bank fees.
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A
recipe for making your own play dough:
Play
Dough
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 t. cream of tartar
2 cups water with food coloring
2 T. oil
Mix together in a pan (non-stick is better). Cook over medium heat until it forms a hard ball. Knead when warm for a smoother consistency.
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Before
reading Miserly
Moms: Living on One Income in a Two Income Economy my husband
and I had already started working on principles one (Don't confuse
frugality with depriving yourself), two (Remove little wasters of
your money), five (Buy in bulk whenever possible), six (Make your
own whenever possible) and eight (Cut back on meats). Now that I've
had a chance to read this book, I have more motivation to try and
work on a few more principles, like eliminating convenience foods
and cooking several meals at a time. Ms. McCoy's book has plenty
of useful information to help anyone save more money, whether you're
trying to eliminate one income entirely or merely cut back on expenses
to free up your money for other things.
Book review by Jennifer Thompson
To Purchase:
• Miserly Moms: Living on One Income in a Two Income Economy at Amazon.com
• Miserly Moms: Living on One Income in a Two Income Economy at Amazon UK
• Miserly Moms: Living on One Income in a Two Income Economy at Amazon Canada
