When Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom asked me to review her new book, The Money Saving Mom’s Budget, there was no hesitation on my part.

A) She’s a wonderful friend!

B)  She’s giving all of her proceeds to Compassion International.

C)  I get a mention in the acknowledgements.  😉

D)  She authentically lives what she shares about on her blog.

E)  Her message is much-needed, and it has been instrumental in changing my life.

I have to tell you that before I read this book, I had begun to put together a workshop I hope to do for churches and other groups in my area.  I’d already made a basic outline and written down some ideas.

Then, I started reading the book.

And it kinda freaked me out.

My outline was so similar to what she shares in her book — I haven’t decided if I’ve been that influenced by her…

or maybe I’m just pretty financially savvy.  😉  Ha…

One of my favorite things about this book is that it’s not full of all the technical language and theories that make me want to run and hide like I do from some “financial management” books.  It’s written so you and I can easily begin to implement the strategies she shares.  It’s a step-by-step guide to get you on the road to financial freedom.

I don’t say that lightly at all.  I truly believe if you follow these steps, your life will change.  You’ll begin to view your money in a different way.  You’ll set challenging goals for yourself — and reach them.

Crystal is big on goals (she’s always encouraging me to set new blogging goals), and that’s how she begins the book — with the chapter, “If You Don’t Know Where You’re Going, Any Train Will Get You There.”  While she is definitely a kind and generous person, she also won’t let you get away with excuses.  It’s not easy to transform your finances (otherwise everyone would do it, right?!!), but it is possible.  Follow her “Rule #1:  Set big goals and break them down into bite-size pieces”, and you’ll have taken the first step.

There is much more to the book.  Just setting goals is not likely to get you far — unless you have a plan to implement them and the knowledge you need to succeed, you won’t reach your goals.  Crystal’s next few “rules” have to do with simplifying your life and the dreaded B-word (budget).  After that, you’ll find coupon basics, as well as some advanced techniques, and many other ideas for saving money and cutting down your expenses.  There is an amazing amount of information packed into this book!

If you’re looking to get out of debt or find some solid money-saving ideas to improve your financial health, I completely recommend this book.  Get the book and start this month with her plan, and in a year you will have made significant progress in your financial journey!

Disclosure:  I was given a free copy of this book for review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own!

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The giveaway is now closed.