I have a great new giveaway for you tonight! I’m giving away five copies of The Money Saving Mom’s Budget: Slash Your Spending, Pay Down Your Debt, Streamline Your Life, and Save Thousands a Year
If you follow other frugality sites, you’re probably familiar with Money Saving Mom — and it’s so useful that Crystal Paine has distilled down many of the principles in her blog into this simple and succinct step-by-step guide.
Review
I received a pre-release copy of the book to review. This is not a couponing book — only two of the chapters are devoted to saving money with coupons. She breaks down her seven rules for financial success into a year of action points, and gives straightforward steps for achieving each:
- Set big goals and break them down into bite-sized pieces
- Streamline your life and cut the clutter
- Set up a realistic, workable budget
- Take the cash-only challenge
- Use coupons
- Never pay retail
- Choose contentment
The Money Saving Mom’s Budget will be released on January 10, and is available for pre-order on Amazon for just $11.20.
Break it down
If you’re looking for a new instant financial breakthrough, look elsewhere. Look here for realism and advice to get you going and help you stay on track. Crystal’s gift lies in breaking the process of slashing spending and getting out of debt into small, achievable steps, and she makes it clear that this is not an overnight process for anyone. It’s so easy to become overwhelmed that the idea of setting goals, breaking them down into steps, and remaining accountable to those goals can be very powerful. Worksheets in the back help you with your own planning process.
You might also be interested to know that “all of the author’s proceeds from this book will be donated to Compassion International, an organization that exists as a Christian child advocacy ministry releasing children from spiritual, economic, social, and physical poverty and enabling them to become responsible, fulfilled adults.”
On to the giveaway
Five Mashup Mom readers will each win their own copy of The Money Saving Mom’s Budget! To enter, simply comment on this post and let us know your own biggest budget challenge.
Enter through 11:59 PM Central on 1/13/12. One entry/comment per person, and U.S. residents only, please. If you are reading this through email or Facebook, please click on the title of this post (up at the top where it says “Giveaway — The Money Saving Mom’s Budget…”) to go back to the blog. Scroll down to the bottom of the post and you will see a box to enter your comment; just comment there to enter.
Email and Facebook entries will not be counted. If you are reading the Mashup Mom homepage on the web, look at the bottom of this post where it says “___ comments.” Click on that to get the box to enter your own comment.
The fine print
Money Saving Mom provided the information and prizing for this giveaway. I received a book for my own review; however, all thoughts and opinions here are my own. The winners will be chosen on or around 1/14/12 through random number generation at random.org and will have 48 hours to respond to email notification; Mashup Mom reserves the right to choose a runner-up if no response is received.
No purchase necessary. The number of eligible entries receives determines the odds of winning. Void where prohibited.
Posts on Mashup Mom may contain affiliate links. Please see the disclosure and disclaimer statement here.
biggest budget challenge = gambling budget , just can’t seem to get ahead … lol
My biggest budget challenge is quite simple, but so frustrating – I have more going out than I have coming in. Need help! Would love to win the book. =D
Biggest Budget Challenge is trying not to use credit cards/debit cards. Plastic is just so easy to use.
Getting the rest of the family to want to live by the budget like i do
My biggest budgeting challenge is that we are fMily of carnevores and we can’t find enough deals to stock up. Also brand loyalty is a challenge.
Biggest Budget challenge is the online shopping sales- you don’t realize how much you spend until the credit card statement!
Staying on a budget. We are getting married in May and think now is the time to setup a budget we can live with.
I have a picky eater who also cant tell me what they want to eat when they wont eat what i make. We tend to eat out way more than i want.
Getting out of debt is a life goal.
I am a single Mom, and we eat out way too much. Which doesn’t help my weight or my budget.
My biggest challenge is we like to eat out and that takes a lot out of the budget.
Biggest budget challenge is finding enough to finish home projects. Once they get started they tend to cost more than anticipated
My biggest challenge is sticking to the budget..
Keeping the smile on my face when I get the looks at times when people behind me in line see I have a strategy and they turn their cart and go in another line…. Or I see people I know and they just have those looks of oh I didn’t know it was bad or something and it is just what I learned to do in good times and bad…. Would live to hear some inspirational words…
My biggest budget challenge is getting my credit cards paid down and then destroying 90% of them!
My biggest challenge is trying to afford anything even using coupons – prices for everything keep going up but my salary stays the same.
I would like to read this new money saving book. I have read her blog but MUM is still my favorite!
My biggest challenge is that my family of 4 likes to eat out.
My biggest challenge is staying on track. Checking how were doing at the end of the month doesnt always work
My biggest budget problem is that I don’t have one – money stresses me out so I would just rather not deal with it. BTW this method is not working for me
My biggest challenge is that my family likes to eat out and that definitely is a budget buster.
my biggest challenge is budgeting after losing my job last month. it’s a whole new world for my family, so I am hoping to become an expert!
I am ALWAYS looking for new ways to save money so that I can spend that money on my family. New years resolution is to read more…so a win/win either way!
My biggest budget challenge is feeding my family of five
healthy meals and staying within my monthly grocery/household budget.
I have a lot of MEATEATERS in my house. Can’t seem to find a solution to budgeting for expensive red meat.
Since I started couponing, it has really helped our budget tremendously! But I would love to take it to another level and hopefully the book will give me some pointers!
My biggest challenge is staying organized with my budget/coupons/statements/incoming snail mail…
If I could stay organized I feel I would be more successful in making sure I did not go outside the budget limits.
I would love to read this book! I am always looking for new ways to cut costs!
My biggest challenge is getting hubby to get rid of cable. Next would be the food budget no matter how hard I try I can’t seem to cut costs there.
My biggest budget challenge is trying not to spend money on tech toys
Our biggest challenge is eating out. We spend about $400 eating out and I’d really like to decrease it to $200.
My biggest challenge is just making a budget….
This would be great, i keep saying I want to make 2012 my year
My newest mantra, “do you really need that? or would you like to retire before you die?” LOL
The whole reason I started couponing was when I lost my job and realized it might be a long time before I would find another one. Over two years later, we are close to filing for bankruptcy and its hard to find any other options at the moment.
My biggest budget struggle is two fold medical bills and eating out too much.
Last year, my biggest budget challenge was eating out too much.
My husbands paycheck was cut last year by 40% and just when I thought I figured out how to live on that my pay got cut a week ago. All they say is at least your employed.
Book sounds like a great read. Biggest hurdle financially is balancing expenses daycare mortgage. Cash chapter sounds interesting
My biggest budget challenge is impulse purchases.
Biggest challenge is sticking to the budget. But after doing this for three years, the end of credit card debt is in sight. I love Dave Ramsey podcasts, Til Debt Do Us Part the show, and The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley.
My biggest budget challenge is insurance costs, insurance is very high where we live.
My biggest challenge is that I work for a retail company and we get such great deals they are hard to pass up… And I rarely do!!!!
My biggest challenge is our eating out budget. Convenience is so tempting.
My biggest budget challenge is prioritizing. There are so many demands on my money, and if I don’t plan ahead (and stick to that plan) than I am not spending my money on what is most important to me. I spend a lot on my kids because, of course, they are very important to me. However, I am ignoring retirement. I need to make a more conscious decision as to exactly which things are most important (and stick to it!!).
My biggest challenge is living on cash. I just finished reading “The Great Money Makeover” and have learned so much. In 2012 if we can’t pay for it with cash we can’t get it. We will wait until we have it in cash. No Credit Cards…………..
My biggest budget challenge is to recover from the mountain of debt we incurred when we moved across the country, then I lost my job. Back at work (one paycheck supporting us all) I’m now battling rising interest rates and gas prices (450m per week commute!).
Our biggest challenge seems to be cutting down the credit card debt. A few rough months and it totals up so quickly! Would love some tips on how to help get rid of it sooner, before the new baby comes is a goal I fear we might miss.
Sorry, I forgot my budgeting challenge… to balance the deals & not spending money on items just because they are on sale…
My biggest challenge is making a budget and sticking to it. I always say I will but am easily sidetracked.