Many parents today believe that two steady incomes are not only desirable but absolutely necessary in order to raise a family. Yet most full-time working mothers say that if it weren't for the money, they would not work, and instead would stay at home with their children. After the birth of her second child, Denise Topolnicki faced this common dilemma: Continue working full-time, or spend more time with her family? As a former editor of Money, Denise used her financial expertise and discovere
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COMMON SENSE THAT REALLY WORKS!,
There is a big difference between “what we WANT in life” and “what we NEED in life.” As a counsellor, I hear so many people with families say, “there is simply not enough money to go around,” and in many cases, particularly single-parent families, that is true. However, in the case of many (and certainly not all) two-parent families, there WOULD be enough money to go around, if people had their priorities in order and actually knew how much they were spending on the “wants” in life, as opposed to the “needs. All the frills, luxuries, power lunches and expensive “play toys” i.e., cars, boats, motor homes and exotic vacations, can bring financial burden. Long after the novelty of the new “play toy” has worn off, the debt continues.
It is most unfortunate that all those who choose to live in a materialistic world, do not read this book before they lose sight of what is truly important in their life, and how short life is. The time, in the overall life cycle, that we have our children all to ourselves to enjoy is very short, indeed. Children need parents or a parent, depending on your family structure, to give them quality time and love far more than they need designer jeans and a car by the time they are sixteen. Sure, most kids would want those things; kids have a neat way of testing limits and boundaries, theirs and ours. All too often, it is the parents who are trying to compensate by giving their sons and daughters what they never had as children. But, at what cost?
This is an excellent book and highly recommended. It will make you think twice, not only about where you are spending your money, but how much quality time you actually spend with the greatest investment of your life – your children.
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|Real-Life Strategies for Cutting Back One Income,
I’ve been doing a lot of research on whether or not it will be feasible for me to either quit my job or cut back to part-time. And while I truly appreciate all the books out there about how to clip coupons and make my own granola, this book is different. Ms. Topolnicki gives financial advice on cutting back from two incomes, starting with tax savings and going all the way through to saving on groceries and entertainment. This is serious, real-life stuff. Her chapter on investing alone is worth the price of the book. Taxes, investments, savings, insurance, groceries, vacations, entertainment — they’re all covered and MORE! This is the first book I’ve read on the subject that gives me REAL hope that I can plan a budget on less than the two incomes we’ve gotten used to in the past ten years. I can’t say enough about this book and the strategies that are outlined therein. Buy it, or borrow it from the library today.
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|Great perspective and good tips,
Denise Topolnicki gives practical advice on how to save money and live better at the same time.
The book is well-structured in that you can use its chapters separately as references, without having to go in cover-to-cover order to make use of its suggestions.
In my case, I mostly skimmed the preparatory suggestions on how to transition from a two-income to a one-income family, as we’re already one income. The practical tips that followed were great. You get perspective on how much you should be spending on groceries, which kinds of cost-cutting measures aren’t worth the effort and what how various saving and wealth-building techniques work.
Topolnicki’s book also was a great springboard toward greater financial awareness. Now I find it easier to spot and understand information that’s out there to help boost my family’s finances.
I give credit to Topolnicki, a fellow business journalist, and her book for getting my family onto a plan that gets us squarely on our feet financially in just a matter of a few months.
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