Frugal Families: Making the Most of Your Hard-Earned Money

by Jonni McCoy

Looking for Ways to Cut Your Expenses and Budget Without Feeling Deprived? Jonni McCoy, author of Miserly Moms, offers proven money-saving strategies for you and your family that will save you thousands of dollars every year. Learn how to cut costs on big-budget items Cars
Insurance
Health care
Holidays
Vacations and family fun
Pets Now in its second edition, this book includes new and updated material.

Genres: Nonfiction, Finance

Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[pianogal]

I checked this one out last fall when I started couponing, but I didn't actually get to reading it until now. Sigh.
It's out of date. It was written approximately 20 years ago, so a lot of the advice is old. Also, it's very listy. It feels like each chapter is just a list of things this mom has done - a very comprehensive and long list. I don't need that. I want more, broader ideas. I can figure the rest out for myself.

You can skip this one.

[Laura]

I liked this the least of the three books of hers I read. The annoying things she does in her other books (like reference the books a lot, so you'll want to read all of them) are here too. I found her advice here to be too personal. Like she talks about camping as an inexpensive vacation, and spends a lot of that Chapter on that. But then she admits she hasn't done other things, so she really can't compare. The same is true with moving - she sort of encourages you to have the movers pack, but I've had the opposite experience - that having them pack you is not only more expensive, but things are more likely to break or be left behind.

This is a good book for people looking for resources - while I found the information in the chapters to be spotty, she does include a thorough bibliography at the end of each chapter, and several websites where you could go for additional information. She also does address many issues that people might forget when moving their family to a more frugal lifestyle.

I'd recommend her other two books first. The writing style here just didn't do anything for me.

[Cheryl]

Feb. 2021Skimmed carefully, but since (it becomes evident that) I am not the target audience, I won't rate. The target audience is someone who doesn't even know where to start looking for information, doesn't know what questions to ask. And yet somehow owns their own home! Dated, too.

Lots of competition is out there, even in paperbacks one can borrow from the library, so let your librarian help you choose something more valuable.

I recommend a focus - if you rent or don't have kids, you can probably skip a lot of books (or at least chapters). Cooking, grocery shopping, clothing repairs, choosing insurance policies, investing, buying a car... all of those warrant a book this size of their own.

Re' insurance - Yes get coverage for uninsured/underinsured motorists, esp. if you live in a poorer & dense city like OKC. Health insurance that fits your needs is important. Otherwise, seriously consider making sure you have a good savings account... put the money you'd spend on premiums in a specific account that you only touch for the designation, for example homeowner's or renter's insurance.

[Nyssa]

It's outdated and not that useful. Maybe it would have been better to read this in the 90's or very early 2000's, but in this day and age, not really.

[Denise]

Outdated information.

[Jana Kelsch]

I got more out of Miserly Moms. This book a sort of review of miserly moms. have a bit more info on pets, but the other book was much better

[Nina]

Thus far, this book is utterly offensive. Apparently, the only reason to be frugal is because women, in hetro families of course, need to give up their jobs and stay home in order to home school their kids and raise them "right". Moments of this book made me want to throw it against the wall. I'm debating whether or not to keep reading for the frugal tips. But it all seems to be about buying in bulk and eating utter shite. Oy.

[Stefany]

I love how she agrees that it is better to take care of your family yourself as a number one priority and not be selfish carrier women while someone else teaches and takes care of your children. No wonder our culture is morally falling apart. If more women would take an interest in their children the world would be a much better place and not the self fullfilling place it is becoming.

[Corie]

My goodness, this book is so dry and boring that I cannot even finish it! I know frugality isn't an exciting subject but this could've been a lot better. Jonni McCoy's other book, Miserly Moms was a little better, a little more interesting but this book just seems like a very boring, rehashing of the same material.

[Jen Mac]

In the portions I was most interested in, she kept referring the reader back to her previous book.

[Becky]

This one I ordered used on amazon because there was enough good stuff in it that I wanted to have it to refer to.

[Karen]

I didn't really think I learned anything super new... it wasn't that helpful.