My Cheap Mama Handbook - Frugal Friday Inspiration

Depending on what you've read on my blog, you may or may not know that I was a working mommy before I became a SAHM.  About a year prior to my retirement I knew God was whispering to me to stay home but I didn't think that we would financially be able to do it.  I'm not sure anyone believes that they can go from two incomes to one which is why I wanted to do a post about a book that helped me so much during that time.

One day on my lunch hour I was browsing in Barnes & Noble and came across a book with the title Miserly Moms: Living Well on Less In a Tough Economy.  I don't know why I picked it up since at the time I was anything but miserly, but for whatever reason it caught my eye and I bought it that day.  Don't be fooled or put off by the word "miserly!"  It's not about being stingy or washing and reusing Ziploc baggies, but rather making every dollar count to best take care of our families.

As I began to read the story of Jonni McCoy and of how she learned to live on less I was encouraged that I could do the same.  So much of her story was my story.  They were living in a major city area and went from two incomes to one without changing houses or doing anything radical like eschewing food and clothing.  I didn't want to have to move houses or never buy a latte again but I wanted so badly to stay home with my children.  I read her book cover to cover and it became my handbook in frugal living.

I started implementing her strategies even while I was still working as a kind of test run to see if we could do with less.  This book was so helpful to me and it really made me see that a lot of what I thought we needed were only simply wants.  And it inspired me to live as chic of a life as I had been living but to find cheaper ways to do it.  I'm not saying that you will agree with everything she says but I guarantee you will find a lot of ways to save money that will fit into your lifestyle.

I have a couple of friends who are still working moms but are wanting to stay home.  "I just don't think we can do it financially" they will say to me.  I'll smile and tell them about this book.  I'm not saying it's a miracle cure for your financial situation but it helped me become a frugalista, made me realize I'm not alone in finding ways to stretch a budget and gave me the confidence that our family could survive on one income.

Now I'm off to refinish my Goodwill find.  I'm working on a sofa table that somehow, someway I will finish in between naps and laundry and snacks and will post the before and after pics soon!

Happy Friday Cheap Mamas!