What an awesome and inspiring book. In it, Jill Cooper tells how she was able to pay off $35,000 debt in 5 years on $12,000 a year income. During that time, she lived on $5,000 a year and put the rest toward debt. Later, she became disabled and got $500 a month from disability and took care of her two children and herself on that income. Some of the advice she shares:
1. Barter for services when possible. For example, Jill traded ironing for haircuts for her daughter.
2. Learn to fix things for yourself. Especially now with the internet, one can learn to fix about anything simply by doing an internet search. Don't have internet? Check at your local library! This made me think about how Tom fixed our washing machine last summer. He felt so good about himself after he fixed it. Being able to fix stuff yourself can be a great feeling!
3. Jill studied nutrition information and found out what they needed to have a healthy and balanced diet and that's what they ate. She feels they were healthier then than at any other point in their life.
4. If something breaks or you are out of something and you don't have the money right then to fix it or get more, figure out a way to live without it.
5. There are lots of free things to do for fun, Jill lists several in her book. Go to the library, have a picnic, and read a book are just a few. This reminded me of when Tom and I were a young married couple with 3 small children. Going out on dates meant paying a babysitter as well as paying for the date. We sometimes traded child care with another family and one of our most memorable Valentine's Day dates was spending the evening at home, eating Lean Pockets and watching TV together.
There is a lot more in the book and if you like to read, I highly recommend buying or borrowing this book!
The other book I received is Dig out of Debt, I can't wait to get started on it!
Wow that is great they sent you free books! This is great advice. John is slowly learning to fix more things on his own. His partner helped him to grout our kitchen cabinets and taught John how to do it. He was so happy he did it himself.
ReplyDeleteI know, it was so nice! And you know me, I love to read, especially if it's about saving money. LOL. That's cool that John learned to grout.
ReplyDeletesounds like a great book, how did you get going doing the book reviews, have ai missed a post, I am very behind on reading
ReplyDeleteBrenda, I subscribe to the Living on a Dime newsletter and last week she asked if there were any bloggers interested in reading and reviewing books. I jumped on it! LOL! I already had Dining on a Dime and I reviewed it just because I love it. Then they sent me two others to review.
ReplyDeleteGreat!!
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