One-Income Household: How to Do a Lot with a Little

by Susan Reynolds, Lauren Bakken

Layoffs, health problems, divorce, staying home with the kids-there are many reasons why families may find themselves living on only one income. For some, going from two incomes to one is a matter of tightening their belts; for others, it can mean complete financial hardship. Either way, there are ways to minimize the impact. Unlike other books of its kind, this book addresses families who plan for economic change as well as those who are forced into a new income bracket.Practical and easy to apply, this book offers families advice they can tailor to their personal situation, including how for essential costsSell, rent, or take a loan out on your houseCommute and get around town affordablySecure health insurancePay down debt With this book, families have the financial planner they need to prosper and succeed during tough financial times.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Susan Reynolds's most recent book is "Fire Up Your Writing Brain: How to Use Proven Neuroscience to Become a More Creative, Productive, and Successful Writer." She previously co-authored "Train Your Brain to Get Happy" and "Train Your Brain to Get Rich." Other recent books are "Healthiest You Ever" and "Meditation for Moms." She has also authored "Everything Enneagram, Change Your Shoes, Change Your Life, and co-authored Everything Personal Finance for Single Mothers," and "One-Income Household." Ms. Reynolds is the creator and editor of Adams Media¹s My Hero series, which includes "My Teacher Is My Hero" (2008), "My Mom Is My Hero" (2009), "My Dad Is My Hero" (2009), and "My Dog Is My Hero" (2010). She also edited "Woodstock Revisited, 50 far out, groovy, peace-inducing, flashback-inducing stories from those who were there" (2009). Ms. Reynolds has a B.A. in Psychology and has often written about psychological concepts, as well as edited a plethora of nonfiction books about multiple and varied subjects. In 2002, Ms. Reynolds uprooted her life and spent a year in Paris, reinventing herself, and her career trajectory. Upon return, she founded Literary Cottage, a literary consulting firm based in Boston, through which she coaches writers. Ms. Reynolds currently writes two blogs for mega-trafficked Psychologytoday.com.

Reviews

[Agnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some Good pointers, not what I expected but I skipped tru it and read some chapters
Its little outdated could use an update

[Camille · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that this book was very informative and put together in a way that was easy to follow and comprehend. I really did not learn that much from it. I do not think that the book lacked good information I just think I was already very aware of all the concerns and stresses of a one income household because I live in one. The book did go into depth on some mortgage and short sale options and since my husband is in real estate all those things were not news to me either. I was hoping for new insights or secrets on how to make things work in a one income household, but there were really no new bits of knowledge that I had never heard before.

[AnandaTashie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dry, jumbled, sometimes-inconsistent Eeyore of a book. I'm not really in a down and out place financially, just looking for interesting / helpful advice, so it didn't resonate. Also, there were chunks of the book that I ended up mostly skipping. For example, I don't need to read all about insurances (we have them already), or foreclosure (we're not at risk), or taxes (honestly? willing to pay H&R Block online for my rather simple return, and the tax issues listed were very basic anyway).

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as a part of my general review of personal finance lit, not necessarily due to an interest in becoming a one-income household. I shouldn't have been surprised then, I guess, that it was a very general book. I don't feel like it added much to knowledge base that I haven't gotten from any other personal finance books. It also lacked the kind of personal voice that can make a book with average info a good read. Overall...meh.

[Britt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could be helpful for those who have never struggled financially, or have come in to unexpected hard times money wise. For anyone who has made a habit of being thrifty out of necessity, this book is not worth bothering with and the chapter about insurance is so outdated it was laughable.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK book

[Feistync · Rating 1 out of 5]

This would only be useful if you have NEVER done a budget before. Or done your taxes. Or basically any financial chores ever. Otherwise it's totally useless.

[Jordan Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very dry material, and the title is misleading. It should be called A Random Assortment of Basic Financial Information.