The Complete Frugal Living Bible A to Z
Learn How to Cut Everyday Expenses in Half and Live within Your Means
As a family of five, even with two incomes, we were facing serious financial hardship, especially after our 3rd son was born. My wife had some pregnancy-related complication which our health insurance didn't cover, and I ended up taking a huge personal loan to pay for it.
Since then, every month we were falling short of making ends meet. I even took a second job, but that didn't help much at all until one day, a good friend shared his journey into the frugal living lifestyle and showed us how we could do the same and eventually enjoy true financial freedom.
Not having any other options, we decided to try his ideas, and this book is all about that 16 months journey to our financial freedom and ultimately a much healthier and happier yet more fulfilling life.
We wrote this book because we wanted to share with anyone who is looking for the same freedom and happiness. This is not something you can do overnight, but it can be achieved easily by following what we outlined in this book.
We always took notes of what we did and how they came out, so this book is essentially the summary of those steps. If we can help even one person to the finish line of their own personal financial freedom, I think we will consider our job a success.
At a glance, this is what you will learn from this book:
- 5 steps to cut our grocery bill in half
- How to reduce your utility bills by 25%
- How to cut clothing and school supply cost by 50%
- How to save on fuel/gas expense
- How to start homesteading
- 9 ways to save on pet food
- 10 ways to be frugal when eating out
- How to start a backyard gardening
- How to raise live chickens
- How to preserve and can and freeze foods
- How to be great at fishing
- 6 ways to save on cable bills
- 7 essential apps and websites to help you save money
- How to travel for cheap
- How to find the cheapest hotel and airline tickets
- 5 organic ways to save money on cleaning products
- 7 organic beauty product items
- Best herbal remedies for common ailments
- How to find free stuff both on and Offline
- How to have a budget and still save 25% regardless of income
- How to invest your savings smartly and let it grow
Lastly, as a bonus, Joyce put together a list of 101 Smart Money Tips, which can be a handy quick reference guide for any family.
Enjoy your journey to financial freedom and family wellness.
About the Author: My name is David Coleman. I work as an assistant store manager for a national drug store chain. I have been working for this company for the last four years. I married my high school sweetheart, Joyce, and we have three kids. Joyce works from home as a virtual assistant for an online marketing company, but, since our youngest son was born, even with dual income, we have been suffering financially. It all started out with me taking a personal loan to pay for the expense of some unexpected pregnancy-related medical bills that our insurance company didn't cover. We were never well off by any stretch of the imagination, but I would say we got by okay until two years ago, but lot has changed in the past two years. I found myself not being able to meet the expenses of our basic necessities at times and the frustration of not being able to meet my family obligations drove me crazy. I even got a part time pizza delivery job, but that didn't help much either. During my time at the pizza place, I met a fellow driver, Nathan, who had been working there for 8 years, who told me he too has 3 kids and he lives off the income he has from delivering pizza full time. I broke down and told him how badly I was suffering just to make ends meet and told him I was seriously considering about filing for bankruptcy. Nathan strongly advised me against filing for bankruptcy, and told me it is not hard to make ends meet as long as I can learn how frugal living works and plan accordingly. He then shared ideas and facts about how he started in a frugal living lifestyle, how the savings accumulate, and how it can truly be a healthy living lifestyle. The conversation was so eye opening that I rushed home and told my wife Joyce all about it. Long story short, we started out trying his ideas, one after another. At first, I will admit, it was hard to change some of the old habits, but we were able to do them almost all. Nathan was the angel in our life who showed us how we can still have a normal life. I am happy to report that I paid off the loan that I took two years ago. More importantly, after seven years of married life, we finally have a little savings now. Since I paid off the loan, I just set aside the same amount of money, but instead of paying for the loan payment, I just put it in our IRA account. Finally, we are free! Financial freedom at last! We are happier than ever, and I was told recently that they are looking to promote me as a store manager!!
