Comments on: Joyful Momma’s Guide to Shopping & Cooking Frugally: Tasty Tips for Saving Money from the Grocery Store to the Dinner Table

By: P. Fox "truth trumps pretty much everything else"

P. Fox "truth trumps pretty much everything else" — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 11:44:50 +0000

Worth at least $10 Yep, I usually bestir myself to write reviews as warnings about truly dismal books and stories, but this book is so good that I just had to add my praise for it to that of others.The author does make a point of her faith but she doesn't bludgeon you to death with it: it's a part of her life just as being frugal is. Her frugality came out of necessity when the family income took a nosedive and even had to survive two bounced paychecks that were never recovered. She mad the best of a difficult situation and her solutions are pragmatic and practical. She acknowledges that really tight budgets may mean a less than optimal nutritional picture but offers realistic suggestions for making the most with what you do have.The tips on economizing are worthwhile and the recipes are helpful for anyone struggling to survive or simply wanting to simplify. I applaud her suggestion to buy local as much as possible.Not only is the book itself valuable but the links provided greatly expand its value and I for one will be reading her own website in the future.

By: Lucy Ditty

Lucy Ditty — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 11:35:19 +0000

A Bit Chirpy, but Helpful Yes, indeed, the author is a “person of faith.” One reviewer took exception to this, so I thought I’d get it out of the way first off.I don’t seek out books with a specifically Christian viewpoint, but I don’t avoid them, either, and I don’t get outraged when someone discusses their relationship with God. (It’s amazing, truly. I’ve seen reviews on other books where people seem to think that authors “tricked” them into reading about God. *gasp*)Anyway. I didn’t find the faith aspect to be a problem. It gave me a picture of the author’s personality and viewpoint and it certainly wasn’t proselytizing.I thought the book was pretty good. She makes some valid points about attitude, and I’ve experienced the same sort of mental attitude myself. Something along the lines of “I can’t afford ‘good’ food so I’m just going to cook whatever and they’ll just have to eat it.” Whether one uses faith to bolster one’s attitude or just believes that life is a LOT more pleasant that way doesn’t really matter.The discussions on planning meals, planning shopping trips, and couponing could, I think, be helpful to those who haven’t really thought along those lines.I can’t say that the information in the book was a huge revelation, but I did get some new recipes to try that looked interesting.Bottom line – if I knew someone who was interested in learning about being more frugal, it’s a book I’d be happy to pass along to get them started.

By: Marcus Andrews

Marcus Andrews — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 11:31:32 +0000

At last, a book that pays for itself I’m something of a frugal shopping and cooking zealot, and I’m always looking for new ways to stretch my food dollar while still enjoying healthy and flavorful meals. Over the years I’ve seen quite a few books like this one, and frankly, I seldom find one that tells me anything I didn’t already know. This book, however, is well worth the price of admission.The author, Kimberly Eddy, has clearly “walked the walk,” managing to feed her large family over many years on far less than what most people spend. I’m talking FAR less, people. She shares all of her money-saving strategies with us, and while clearly not everyone will find it practical to buy grain in 50-lb. bags or beef by the side, it wouldn’t be stretching things to say that most folks (even city dwellers like me) will learn something of real value from this book.For example, I’ll never again buy those packaged frozen veggieburgers from the store, now that Kimberly has shown me how to make them at home for a fraction of the price. This one tip alone is going to save me a small fortune (sorry, Gardenburger people), which means the book will pay for itself over and over again… and isn’t that the point? A definite thumbs-up from this cheapskate.