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Money Secrets of the Amish: Finding True Abundance in Simplicity, Sharing, and Saving
Take one thoroughly modern gal with a recessionary income problem, mix with the practices of a culture that has proved to be recession-proof, and what have you got?
A financial planner in a straw hat.
When writer Lorilee Craker learned that the Amish are not just surviving but thriving in the economic downturn, she decided to find out why. What she found was about a dozen tr...more
A financial planner in a straw hat.
When writer Lorilee Craker learned that the Amish are not just surviving but thriving in the economic downturn, she decided to find out why. What she found was about a dozen tr...more
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
June 14th 2011
by Thomas Nelson Publishers
(first published January 1st 2011)
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Money Secrets of the Amish: Finding True Abundance in Simplicity, Sharing, and Saving by Lorilee Craker takes a look into living a simpler, “greener” (as in saving money) lifestyle.
Money Secrets of the Amish: Finding True Abundance in Simplicity, Sharing, and Saving offers 14 chapters of practical hints and tips on managing money that reminds one of our grandparents’ principles. Each chapter not only lays out the thoughts of the Amish but also has several “English” friends who are willing to sh...more
Money Secrets of the Amish: Finding True Abundance in Simplicity, Sharing, and Saving offers 14 chapters of practical hints and tips on managing money that reminds one of our grandparents’ principles. Each chapter not only lays out the thoughts of the Amish but also has several “English” friends who are willing to sh...more
I have to admit, I was only half serious when I requested Money Secrets of the Amish from Netgalley, I am not one to read self-help or advice books but as a huge Amish Fiction fan I figured it would be a bit of a fun read with a few “Jahs” and “Denki’s” thrown in. What surprised me was that I found an incredible amount of useful information in this book. Perhaps it was the time of year that I was reading this book, but it truly helped me to keep a handle on holiday spending and return the focus...more
“Money Saving Secrets from the Amish” by Lorilee Craker
This is a great book to learn how to scale down and start saving some money, based upon Amish principles. It covers all kinds of things from Birthday to Christmas presents and even wrapping them! Clothing even includes some websites you can go to to purchase items at a lower cost. Even how to save money! This book shows us how the Amish carry NO debt! That is what we ALL strive to do, but somehow don’t seem to manage that as well as the Ami...more
This is a great book to learn how to scale down and start saving some money, based upon Amish principles. It covers all kinds of things from Birthday to Christmas presents and even wrapping them! Clothing even includes some websites you can go to to purchase items at a lower cost. Even how to save money! This book shows us how the Amish carry NO debt! That is what we ALL strive to do, but somehow don’t seem to manage that as well as the Ami...more
There are those who might say that I’m a bit of an Amish person. I like simplicity. And I’m always careful with money.
So I guess it is not surprising that I loved this book. It’s chockfull of great ideas about how to have a happy life without spending a lot of money. These are the ideas I was taught by my frugal parents. These are the ideas I have lived all fifty-four years of my life. These are ideas that large groups of Amish people have lived all their lives. We know these ideas work. I deli...more
So I guess it is not surprising that I loved this book. It’s chockfull of great ideas about how to have a happy life without spending a lot of money. These are the ideas I was taught by my frugal parents. These are the ideas I have lived all fifty-four years of my life. These are ideas that large groups of Amish people have lived all their lives. We know these ideas work. I deli...more
Most of us realize that money can't buy happiness, but we often do try to buy our way to contentment. The Amish do not, according to the author, and in this book Lorilee Craker tries to find out how they manage to live well on little. Besides the obvious savings gained from not having electricity (and therefore all the electric toys we take for granted) or automobiles, she explains how the Amish re-use, make at home or buy used from others. She speaks of simple game nights with friends rather th...more
Jun 20, 2011
K. L.
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone trying to save money
Recommended to K. by:
a friend
Shelves:
non-fiction,
christian
Thrifty can be fun!
The more hurried and crazy our culture becomes, the more it seems we are intrigued by people who have chosen a simpler way. Inwardly, we long for what they have—a life less frantic. Ironically, we run faster and buy more stuff in efforts to simplify and find that allusive simplicity. In this book, Lorilee Craker takes us on a visit to the homes of several Amish families, who share with her their secrets for saving money. (She decided to write the book after seeing a news progr...more
The more hurried and crazy our culture becomes, the more it seems we are intrigued by people who have chosen a simpler way. Inwardly, we long for what they have—a life less frantic. Ironically, we run faster and buy more stuff in efforts to simplify and find that allusive simplicity. In this book, Lorilee Craker takes us on a visit to the homes of several Amish families, who share with her their secrets for saving money. (She decided to write the book after seeing a news progr...more
I recieved this ebook from BookSneeze.com to read and post my review.
I have always been interested in saving money, although I have never been good at following the tips I have read about to make them work for me. Being recently out on medical disability, our household income has considerably decreased and it is more important for me, more than ever, to follow money-saving tips and really buckle down on the spending. I have many times wondered, when passing through Amish farm country, how the Am...more
I have always been interested in saving money, although I have never been good at following the tips I have read about to make them work for me. Being recently out on medical disability, our household income has considerably decreased and it is more important for me, more than ever, to follow money-saving tips and really buckle down on the spending. I have many times wondered, when passing through Amish farm country, how the Am...more
I'm Amish. Or at least my shopping habits are, at least to a large degree.
In Money Secrets of the Amish: Finding True Abundance in Simplicity, Sharing, and Saving, Lorilee Cracker examines why even during economic downturns the Amish still are thriving financially.
There's no real secrets in this book, but I still enjoyed most of it. She talks about bartering, paying off debt, not getting into debt using credit cards, buying in bulk, buying second hand, not spoiling children, waiting until you ha...more
In Money Secrets of the Amish: Finding True Abundance in Simplicity, Sharing, and Saving, Lorilee Cracker examines why even during economic downturns the Amish still are thriving financially.
There's no real secrets in this book, but I still enjoyed most of it. She talks about bartering, paying off debt, not getting into debt using credit cards, buying in bulk, buying second hand, not spoiling children, waiting until you ha...more
According to www.economywatch.com, the total amount of consumer debt in the US was nearly $2.4 trillion in 2010. (That’s $7,800 debt per person.)
Other sources say 98% of that debt is credit card debt. Over 70% of Americans are using credit cards to meet their needs, yet there is one community of Americans who seem completely untouched by the current recession. The Amish.
The Amish are literally laughing all the way to the bank. One Amish resident managed to save over $400,000 while renting a far...more
Other sources say 98% of that debt is credit card debt. Over 70% of Americans are using credit cards to meet their needs, yet there is one community of Americans who seem completely untouched by the current recession. The Amish.
The Amish are literally laughing all the way to the bank. One Amish resident managed to save over $400,000 while renting a far...more
Title: MONEY SECRETS OF THE AMISH
Author: Lorilee Craker
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
June 2011
ISBN: 978-1-5955-5341-6
Genre: Inspirational/business and economics/personal finance
Take one thoroughly modern gal with a recessionary income problem, mix with the practices of a culture that has proven to be recession-proof, and what have you got?
A financial planner in a straw hat. (from the back cover)
MONEY SECRETS OF THE AMISH is written in the same tongue-in-cheek attitude as the above. Ms. Craker has in...more
Author: Lorilee Craker
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
June 2011
ISBN: 978-1-5955-5341-6
Genre: Inspirational/business and economics/personal finance
Take one thoroughly modern gal with a recessionary income problem, mix with the practices of a culture that has proven to be recession-proof, and what have you got?
A financial planner in a straw hat. (from the back cover)
MONEY SECRETS OF THE AMISH is written in the same tongue-in-cheek attitude as the above. Ms. Craker has in...more
I'm trying to be generous by giving this book 2 stars, because I'm sure there are people out there who will like this book... just not me! I wanted so badly for this book to be awesome but I was disappointed in every way. I couldn't relate to this big city, career woman and her 3 over-stimulated and spoiled children. Every "secret" of the Amish she chose to write about was a common sense, elementary level money management principle. Let's just say, if you find paying your bills on-time such a no...more
I don't know where I heard about this originally, but I found it and downloaded it from Netgalley. What a charming little book! I've taken a real interest lately about my finances and where my money is going, for a variety of reasons, so these kinds of books appeal to me. I do a couple of things she mentions in the book already--try to buy local food when i can, and I love consignment shopping (some of my favorite clothes are from little consignment shops), but I learned some useful tips from Am...more
Money Secrets of the Amish takes Lorilee Craker on a mission to find the secrets to the Amish surviving the economic crisis in a way us ‘Englishers’ were unable to. “Thrift, common sense, wise money management, delayed gratification, etc. are taught from the time (they) are knee-high to a grasshopper”, Lorilee writes. She has a difficult time getting definite answers from those she interviews on the ways that they save money. Being humble, they are not boastful of their ways, or maybe as aware s...more
Finally, a finance book for fancy girls!
Fun and sassy Lorilee Craker lives out my secret fantasy: spend time with those lovely people, the Amish, who observe their faith in Christ in an idyllic agrarian lifestyle that resembles the set of The Shire in Lord of the Rings, and then get paid to write about it. These wonderful hobbits, er, Plain People, have not been tempted by the lure of bigger, better, faster, mostly because they don’t have TVs or radios to constantly barrage them with commercials...more
Fun and sassy Lorilee Craker lives out my secret fantasy: spend time with those lovely people, the Amish, who observe their faith in Christ in an idyllic agrarian lifestyle that resembles the set of The Shire in Lord of the Rings, and then get paid to write about it. These wonderful hobbits, er, Plain People, have not been tempted by the lure of bigger, better, faster, mostly because they don’t have TVs or radios to constantly barrage them with commercials...more
just into the second chapter, I hope this gets better. It seems to me like a person who lives a frugal life would already know most of what I have read so far. Also, So far, it seems to me she has interviewed just a few Amish and the book is mostly what she has done in her life. I was hoping for better examples. But, I am not done with the book yet, so I hope it gets better.
Well this proves it, never judge a book by it's cover, or the first few chapters. By the time I got to the chapter on savin...more
Well this proves it, never judge a book by it's cover, or the first few chapters. By the time I got to the chapter on savin...more
This book could have been much better. Reportedly Amish people have fared very well during the recent recession. The author decided to research how they do it. Many of their money handling principles are simply old-fashioned common sense (don't go into debt, save, use it up, reuse or go without). The Amish also do a lot of bartering, which works very well in their close-knit community. Bulk shopping is another thing they do, but this is not what most of us think of as bulk shopping (buying the e...more
I enjoyed this book so much, it was a quick read, with funny antecdotes all through out, and was full of information that anyone can use. You don't have to be Amish to apply these principals to your life. From buying in bulk, to shopping at second hand and thrift stores, you will find something that you will latch onto, knowing it will save you money. Their mindset of saving and doing the best with what you have is a mindset we all need!
The funny side stories were what made the book so enjoyabl...more
This book lists common sense tactics, spending and saving practices, wise and passed down advice used by the Amish. Ways of recycling, living a green lifestyle as well as the authors own way of saving more while putting Amish practices "to the test" to find out if their lifestyle will work within her family. This book would be wonderful for anyone looking for additional ways to save in their household. Some of the advice I have known about while other advice was new to me that I can put to use m...more
Craker's writing style is fun as well as informative, and what I particularly appreciated was that she is not preachy. In fact, she admits freely that she gives in to temptation from time to time, or that she's not ready to take on certain aspects of Amish living. She talks about what she does and doesn't do, the great ideas her friends come up with, what she wants to try, and how something worked out for her in a "hey, this is pretty cool!" sort of way rather than a "look at how much better tha...more
I liked the premise of the book and the stories of the Amish people were interesting. Unfortunately, much of the advice is simple common sense that our grandparents tried to tell us about and we didn't listen. Growing up in a heavily Mormon area, much of the spiritual ideals about money seem incredibly familiar, just remove Amish and replace with Mormon. Maybe if I was a little more "Fancy" like the author and her expensive tastes (Talbots, the Gap, Starbucks, etc) this ideas would indeed be rev...more
If you're feeling the pinch of the economy, like my family is, this book is just what you need. We may not be able to fix the recession, but we can take steps to make our own finances healthier. In this book, Lorilee shares practical money-saving advice she learned from the Amish. These tips are so easy and common sense, everyone can put them into practice, even in our hectic, modern world.
Loriles’s lively and humorous style makes this "money book" easy to read. I loved the stories she shared o...more
Loriles’s lively and humorous style makes this "money book" easy to read. I loved the stories she shared o...more
I enjoy all things Amish and the only reason besides my husband that I won’t convert is I need my air conditioning in the summers, so when I saw Money Secrets of the Amish up for review I took full advantage of that. This book isn’t really anything earth shattering, in that most of it we’ve heard before, but it’s done in a much more fun and lively manner than some save your money books.
The sub title “finding true abundance in simplicity, sharing and saving” really sums up this book, in that it g...more
The sub title “finding true abundance in simplicity, sharing and saving” really sums up this book, in that it g...more
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. It was a quick, informative read. The author is funny and comes from a Mennonite background so she had a little personal perspective on the Amish. She was really good at taking Amish principles and applying them to modern life. Some advice sounded like Dave Ramsey whose principles she is familiar with. At the end of the book, she writes about a Trivial Pursuit get-together with the Amish families which emphasized the joy of community, one of the t...more
I had hoped for some new-ish savings tidbits but these tips are just common sense. If you live extravagantly and you suddenly go from a lot of income to a 'minimal' income, this book could be helpful. However if you are already someone on a very limited budget, the book comes across more as one woman's kevetching about her falling into middle class financial status. The stories from the Amish are a very entertaining look into their everyday life which kept the book from being all about a woman w...more
The author, Lorilee Craker wanted to sell her house and move to a bigger one. The problem was her house was appraised at $27,000 less than what she and her husband paid for it. She decided it was time for become more thrifty to be able buy another house. She heard about the Amish surviving the recent economic crisis without losing their properties. She went straight to the source and interviewed several people in the Amish community to see how they dealt with finances.
Lorilee learned many things...more
Lorilee learned many things...more
I tried reading this book last year and gave up after about 25%. I put it back on my to-read shelf, but after thinking about it, I'm not feeling terribly inspired to give this book another go. Here are some of my thoughts from when I was reading the book. It's not a full review, but hopefully it'll be helpful to someone. I might attempt to format this into a "real" review at some point, but I don't have time for that right now:
19/05/11: So far I'm not finding this book particularly innovative or...more
19/05/11: So far I'm not finding this book particularly innovative or...more
I really enjoyed this book about how the Amish community save and spend their money. I am going to start applying some of the things I learned to see how much money I can save. They never buy new when used will do, they pay all their bills on time, they pay themselves first. Lots or really good advise.
Ms. Craker gave some additional advise from blogs and other resources also.
I highly recommend this book for those of us who are struggling during these tough financial times.
Ms. Craker gave some additional advise from blogs and other resources also.
I highly recommend this book for those of us who are struggling during these tough financial times.
While I was familiar with many of the tactics presented in this book, I loved the way that the author encouraged the reader to begin using money more wisely. It used examples of Amish money management, but did not leave you with the perspective that you had to be Amish to be successful. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in managing personal finances, especially young adults who are dealing with living on their own for the first time.
I enjoyed this book. I really liked the focus on paring down the number of gifts given to kids for birthdays and holidays. I do feel like it really inspired me to make thrift and consignment stores a part of my shopping habits. It really focuses on the "waste not, want not" aspect of personal finance. Obviously, in today's world, you aren't going to get rich by only focusing on the spending part of financial habits, but it is a great place to start. This book really inspired me to take another l...more
Discover the money-saving and wealth-building secrets of America’s thriftiest people, the Amish. I really enjoyed reading this book by orilee Craker. On sale for $10.19 at MTL Christian Bookstore www.mtlbookstore.com
The book had some good insights and ideas in how the Amish live, work, save, and spend. I think readers of finance books, personal finance, and Amish fiction would enjoy reading this book.
The book had some good insights and ideas in how the Amish live, work, save, and spend. I think readers of finance books, personal finance, and Amish fiction would enjoy reading this book.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Simplicity, Sharing, Saving | 1 | 6 | Jun 22, 2011 07:42am |
Jun 20, 2011 11:07am