Whereas Miserly Momsoffered advice on how to use frugality to cover the necessities, Frugal Familiesexplores the non-essentials and how to make room for them in a disciplined budget. Reiterating her admonition that "cheap" and "frugal" are notsynonymous, Jonni McCoy discusses holiday celebrations, vacations, interior decoration, pets and family entertainment....and how to achieve them without going beyond your family's means.
She also covers less exciting occasional expenses like insurance, car repair, home maintenance, moving to a new house, and more. The chapter on insurance is one of the longest in the book as McCoy guides you through determining your insurance needs and finding the policy that best suits them, providing worksheets to help with calculations and estimates.
Like its predecessor, Frugal Familiesis intensely practical. McCoy claims to have implemented all the ideas and strategies she describes, and given the amount of detail we believe her. One of the best features of her book is the number of websites and resources offered on everything from hiking trails to RV campgrounds to government agencies and all designed to help you accomplish your goals while maintaining your financial boundaries.
A lot of the ideas here are just common sense, but in the daily chaos of living they're often easy to overlook. McCoy helps families (moms in particular) settle down for a few minutes and figure out what you can do with the resources at hand while at the same time planning for both unforeseen and planned future expenses. Not simply a "how to cut corners" book, Frugal Familiesis a guide to living affordably without going to extremes.
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