The Recovering Spender: How to Live a Happy, Fulfilled, Debt-Free Life

by Lauren Greutman

After learning how to curb her spending habits, Lauren Greutman shares her hard-earned knowledge on how to get out of debt and live without the financial pressures that many people face today.

Millions of Americans today are near financial disaster-spending more money than they are bringing in, and losing control of their money. Lauren Greutman knows how that feels. For years, she struggled with too many bills to pay and not enough money to pay them. When Lauren found herself drowning in debt, she finally faced her extreme spending habits and took action.

In The Recovering Splender , Lauren shares her story and offers advice that is based on the many strategies she developed to change her own life and bring her family budget back to black. Lauren shows her readers, step-by-step, how to get rid of bad money habits, pay down debt, and stay within a budget.

Some of the action chapters in the book

Lauren exchanged the overrated, stressed-out American dream for a new one-a happier life filled with family, friends, and financial freedom-and now you can do the same!

Genres: Nonfiction, Finance, Self Help, Personal Finance, Business, Money, Audiobook

256 pages, Paperback

Published September 13, 2016

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is not what someone would think what they are getting - when you read the description you think that you are getting a book that teaches you how to curb your spending and how to get out of debt. This book talks about how she got into debt. She eventually gets into somewhat how to control debt but not much. I was disappointed, I didn't want to read about how she got into debt shoplifting as a teen etc. This went on for chapters. I could understand for one chapter but this kept on for chapters. She is an engaging writer. I enjoyed her writing but I was very disappointed in not getting what I thought I was.

[Jennifer Cole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh boy. Couldn’t even finish this one. Privileged christian narrative with some generalized ideas about financial repair. Not a good read and poor financial advice.

[J.H. Moncrieff · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm so glad I'm getting all these books from the library! However, even the worst ones thankfully have some worthwhile insight, so it's never a waste of time to read them.

The Good: This book was easy to read, and Lauren has a relatable voice, like getting advice from a friend. Her advice on where to sell belongings you don't need was helpful, and included some suggestions I hadn't thought of.

There are many degrees of recovering spenders, and Lauren's story made me very sad and incredulous at first. She got caught up in a midlevel marketing scheme, determined to "win" a fancy car by amassing a certain amount of sales by a certain time. Unable to find any other way to do this, she asked family and friends to place $200 orders each, which she then paid for them with a credit card. She amassed $12,000 of debt in that one evening, and when she received her "free" car, she found out it came with a catch--if she didn't reach her sales targets each month, she had to "co pay" the company $900 a month. What a prize!

Though I've been ashamed of my past tendencies to spend too much on stuff I didn't need, I ended up feeling grateful I've never been in Lauren's situation: bouncing checks, lying to her partner, shoplifting when she was younger, and needing to unscrew lightbulbs to save money on utility bills.

The Bad: This is another book where God swoops in to help a person get out of debt. And, perhaps because I'm not religious, I just don't get the sense of spending over $400 a month in "tithing" when you are $40,000 in debt, can't pay your bills, don't have an emergency fund, and aren't saving for your kids' education. I also don't understand having three more children while you're in such dire financial straits, but I get that there's never a perfect time to have kids.

One of my biggest problems with this book is Lauren never seems to truly get that you don't need to spend money to have "fun." Near the end, she talks about how she experimented with having a credit card and no budget again, just to test her resolve. She quickly learns that she'll revert to her old spendy habits, so she resolves to never use credit cards and stay on her budget for life. To me, this proves she never realized that her goals and dreams are more important than buying random crap at Target and Walmart. And she still buys crap--she just buys less of it. The way I got over my issue with shopping was realizing that being financially independent, being a better steward of the earth, and working towards my other big life goals was WAY more important and desirable that getting another seasonal wreath for my front door or another pair of shoes. Because I'm clear on that, I can have credit cards. I'm fine without a budget, because I'm of the mindset that budgets can just equal spending more money, especially with that "miscellaneous" category that Lauren is fond of. You could give me $1000 to spend on anything I want, and I'd invest it. Buying "stuff" has completely lost its appeal. Lauren needs to watch The Minimalists' documentary.

The Ugly: Helping people get out of debt and save money is Lauren's business now, and also her husband's. They sell notebooks and courses and consulting, etc. Which is fine--plenty of people do this, and at least her courses aren't ridiculously expensive, like Ramit Sethi's. (He will make himself rich, never mind the title of his book.) BUT I've never been comfortable with people charging the desperate for financial advice. "Spenders" will buy these courses, justifying that they're "necessary," and a lot of the time, they won't even use them--certainly not soon enough to take advantage of the money-back guarantees. I've also never seen the sense in spending money to have someone else tell you how to stop spending money. I respect Mr. Money Mustache so much for not trying to make a cottage industry of this. But the biggest problem I had with this book is that at least 50% of it is an advertisement for her website and courses. Her "success stories" were testimonials for her course. If I'd paid money for this book, I'd be returning it to Amazon with a scathing review right about now. I'm really disappointed Hachette published a 214-page ad.

All this said, if you're a Christian woman with a spouse and kids and a shopping addiction, this might be the self-help book you need. If you don't have a partner ready to help you solve this issue, or a God who's ready to be your financial guru, you may find it a bit harder to relate to. Kudos to her, though, for being so open about her past struggles. That definitely takes courage.

[Caitlin Grant · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was sooo disappointed. I was drawn by the title, but right away I saw it was obviously written for conservative married women.

But THEN for some reason she starts talking about class. The author gives this example of a lower-class guy who marries this middle-class girl. And of course it’s a disaster cause he’s lower class so he’s a hopeless spender and can’t control himself and racks up all this debt. So the author talks about how his wife has to be patient until her husband “understands the ways of the middle class” and begins to grow in financial understanding. She needs to teach him. Wait what??? Suddenly the middle class is here to save the lower class from their financial stupidity? I was floored. What kind of editor would let someone so uneducated on social matters write a book containing this disinformation?

On top of that, she goes on for pages and pages about her own situation. I mean, a chapter or two, fine. But 100 pages?? Yeah def don’t care.

So mad I wasted my money on this book!!

[Mir · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another blogger telling her life story ad nauseam. The remainder of the book is as if Dave Ramsey’s books fused with a twelve step program. As usually, it is targeting married, conservative, Christian women with 2.5 children.

What I took away from this book is that I should follow my husband’s budget and allow him to teach me his better, money managing, middle class ways. That and I should pay the author for her online course and did she mention she made TV appearances? (She lists the networks multiple times.)

Is it really fair that a person who has someone else budget for her and earned money from blogs and courses is claiming she has the debt free answer? Is step three start my own blog and become a media personality?

[Derek · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is essentially a Dave Ramsey book. Nearly identical.

[Sarah Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skimmed it

[Desiree Bernesque · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to the book & while I liked some of the ideas on how to cut back costs for the home and I found her story relatable, it felt like the book was really a sales pitch for her program. Not only that, her ideas and principles are very closely aligned to Dave Ramsey and almost felt like they were taken from him. Also, please learn how to pronounce important.

[Debra Stagias · Rating 3 out of 5]

REVIEW OF THE RECOVERING SPENDER

This book contained some good concepts for turning your debt around and learning to live a life where you realise that buying more and more does not make you happy. This idea was put forth thoughtfully and convincingly. However, there are several problems I have with the book. First of all, the author instructs you to get rid of every one of your credit cards and cancel each account. It is just not practical to not have one credit card and to put all of your money in cash in envelopes each month to pay all of your expenses. There are a lot of emergency scenarios I can think of where you do need to have one credit card. Your little envelopes are stolen on a cross country trip and you have no way to feed your family and get them home. You become very sick and are hospitalised without a way to go pay your bills. And how are you supposed to pay the multitude of bills each month that come with out of town addresses, such as your mortgage, etc.? These days in many cases if you NEED to buy something that is not in your immediate surroundings you must buy it online. I personally have a chronic illness that keeps me home sick or in the hospital much of the time and in order to survive I do all my shopping and pay all my bills online. You pay your credit card off at the end of the month.

In addition, every time you cancel a credit card it reduces your credit and FICO scores. Try getting a mortgage or a car loan then.

The other objections I have to this book is first the couponing section. I don't know where the author lives, but I have not seen a store give triple coupons for thirty years. Lastly, but not leastly, it was totally unnecessary for the author to bring her Christian beliefs into the book and model it on the AA principles. If those are her beliefs that is fine, but they do not belong in this book. It's not why I bought it.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased and honest review. Lauren Greutman really spoke to me when she discussed her spending issues. I was surprised by just how much I could see myself in her personal experiences. Its not simply spending too much money or not earning enough money to pay your bills (although those are relevant too), its about wanting more and feeling a compulsion for material things. Greutman talked about how she not only hurt her credit score but also her marriage and her children. This book is so important because I think financial health is an area that is still not talked about enough. Its just too easy to rack up thousands of dollars of debt and its extremely hard to change your behaviours to pay it off.

Greutman’s book spoke to me far more than other financial experts because unlike those individuals, she has faced the real life problems we all have with kids, bills, mortgages etc and she found a way to make it work. What I found most helpful from her step-by-step process , is that you can do all the steps but you have to change your thoughts and attitudes towards spending or you will not have long term success. I give this book 5 starts out of 5 because it truly impressed me with how authentic the author’s experiences were and how useful her plan is.

[Leilani · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is for those in Greutman's situation: middle to upper middle class who can afford homes in the first place, have children, and Christian. I picked it up because in my ongoing quest to quit smoking, I enjoy reading about struggles on other addictions - in this case, spending. Her advice is not useful for working or low-income families, but for those in similar situations to hers, it's actually a fairly light-hearted read. I liked her friendly tone, honesty, and steps to stay in the upper classes she was born into.

[MaryAnne Stear · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, excellent advice that reads like a good friend who's not afraid to open up and share her own emotions and shortcomings. I skipped the chapters about God and sections that talked about staying home with the kids, or even just buying a house (doesn't really work for a single mom in poverty who is not religious) Tithing $400 a month!! Sheesh. Explains the rise of megachurches and the increased need for food pantries!

[Carrie O'Maley Voliva · Rating 1 out of 5]

I assume she has a good blog since it got her a book deal, but I haven't visited. I can only say the book was fairly worthless. I was hoping for more concrete examples on how to save money, but there aren't any. She also comes from a high income family so I would think that would bother most people looking for personal finance tips. (Not as hard to save money on a 6 figure income.)

[Chris Dodgen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book reads like a sales pitch, which it is. It’s 150 pages of fluff, about 30 or so of backstory, and maybe 4 1/2 pages of actual information. “Are you ready to learn the great secret to success? Because in just a few pages I’m going to tell you how I turned my life around, but first...” repeat ad nauseam.

I couldn’t finish it. It’s just damned awful.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

She told how she got into and out of $40k in debt. She has good ideas, but I felt that it was a constant ad to go to her website and sign up for her debt reduction course. She has worked hard and she deserves her success. She still uses coupons and lives "frugally" on $6000 a month.

[Maggi · Rating 1 out of 5]

awful. she is an unreliable author.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm just going to start this review on the mention that I have mixed feelings about this book. The root of how I ended up picking this up? I started combing through a number of narratives on personal finance, savings, debt-free living, and managing income - this ended up being one of the recommended reads from my library. (And I'll admit, I loved reading Money Girl's Smart Moves to Grow Rich - that had everything I needed for information and then some. But you know, the more information you can gather from multiple sources on any topic, the better. Consider it being a part of my research-oriented mind.)

I fully expected this to be a combination of a personal story blended with self-improvement tips on how not to make the same mistakes the author did in terms of personal finances. It was - to say the least - fascinating hearing about Lauren Greutman's life and how her upbringing and life experiences played a role in her spending habits, which grew to excess and put financial strain on herself as well as her family. There were some broad strokes for debt assumption and statement that I didn't like (i.e. notations about social class, labels attributed to people who aren't "Spenders" - which made me side-eye the book more than once. Couldn't there have been a better term to use than "tightwads?" Oy vey.), but at the very least I could appreciate that Greutman seemed honest about how she came to realize she had a problem and what she had to do to get back on track (though some explanations didn't feel as helpful as others).

It takes about half the book to get into the meat and potatoes of factors that go into overspending (emotional states, triggers, 12-steps to recovery). Greutman's text is easy to read and fly through the narrative, as it's conversational and leaning towards a quirky tone. She continues to interweave parts of her own narrative through the 12-steps of the second part of the book. It was a decent read and worth the time spent, though I feel there are other narratives that have presented the same topics in a more accurate, concrete, and inclusive way.

Overall score: 2.5/5 stars.

[Zoffix Znet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book.

I've read it over the course of 2 weeks and it already saved me $9,000. It was money earmarked for my hobby and the book made me realize I was splurging with zero mind paid to the price of the stuff. With a bit of planning, I was able to save that money, while still going to all the events I planned to go originally, with almost no sacrifice.

I was already doing some of the things the book asks you to do, such as track your transactions and create a budget. My flaw was I tried to stick to a rigid one-size-fits-every-month budget and I've not used my tracked info for planning.

The author describes her experience of going through being deep in debt and how she managed to pay it off. Reading that and realizing my situation wasn't "that bad" made me feel less stressed and thankful I found this book sooner and have a good chance of turning things around.

The book does ape off AA's 12-step program, including the religious stuff. (Do you have a "god-sized hole in your heart?" No?). The god stuff, the insistence that "you can never fully recover", and multiple places where the author shills her online course were fairly off-putting, but thankfully it covers only about a dozen or so pages that are quick to skim.

I feel like a changed spender now and have a solid spending plan for the next two months that will see me pay off a car loan. I think the book is very useful for anyone who feels they're spending a bit more than they should.

Read this book.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the first part of the book is a personal account of how she ended up in debt, the second half offers a 12-step guide for getting oneself out of debt, including appendices with documents the reader can fill in. Even though our type of debt was different, my perspective toward money and budgeting changed after reading this book. My favorite concept learned from the book is that it’s extremely important to clearly define what you value in life/with money and ensure that your spending habits align with those values. The short term discomfort of giving up something you want (but do not need) becomes easier when considering it from this perspective. Some of her steps truly are helpful, too! I personally choose to use Excel for my budget, but in the end, it’s important to see where your money is going and learn to adjust along the way.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been on a kick of personal finance books lately, but I wasn't really sure of what to expect from this one. It's sort of a Dave Ramsay approach specifically tailored toward women, and I appreciated that angle. As far as faith-based reading goes, I tend to be incredibly choosy-- but I like Greutman's limited references to involving one's prayer/faith/bigger-picture thinking when it comes to finances. For me, this works-- for other readers, maybe not so much.

Would recommend for fans of Jean Chatzky who wouldn't mind a dash of Christianity in their financial advice. Would also recommend as a Dave Ramsay read-alike. Greutman's personal experiences really make this book special: her own struggles with debt (and even getting sucked into a multi-level marketing scheme) make her extra relatable, and as a reader I felt a connection with the advice she dispensed.

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Recovering Spender was a helpful read. Reading about someone's journey in the debt free journey, and how it is on going. It really helped me understand spending and what she went through, and how I have similarities. I learned a little about myself along the way, and I'm not coming up with a new plan to become debt free, but also know that a spender will always spend, and I have to be able to combat that. I think her steps for a recovering spender will be helpful along the way.

I recommend anyone in debt, or if you know that you are a spender and want to get out of debt, read this and it may help to motivate you, teach you about yourself, and give you advice on how to "stay within your fence" when it comes to your spending.

[Niki Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of the book was all storytelling fluff to set up the second half of the book where she gets into her 12 step approach. I had a hard time connecting with the author since I am unmarried, don’t have kids and did not succumb to the illusions of success portrayed by most MLM companies, at least not to the extent the author did. I got the most value from this book in the last chapter when she talks about getting over embarrassment and shame of being “that” lady. She really hit the pain points there. Overall, the book was decent, and I learned that I can choose “looking good” over “saving money” but I can’t always do both! I would definitely recommend it to anyone knew to the MLM world to help them avoid the pitfalls of overspending just to get promoted within the ranks.

[Renee K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this was worth reading. It will not give you anything that cannot be found online with her blog, but I wanted to know her whole story and plan to see what might be helpful. I learn well from others’ stories. I will say her blog and extra materials, if needed, are good quality as far as practicality. If home finances are an interest and sometimes a struggle, this is a good read; if you are a mom trying to figure out what else you can do to help your family’s finances, this is a good read. If you are $100,000 dollars in debt or more, you might want other plans like Dave Ramsey first, then read this for extra ideas.

[Liz Omvig · Rating 1 out of 5]

There were a few good tidbits of advice for cutting back spending, but otherwise not a very worthwhile read. The author's personal story was not described chronologically and was quite repetitive. The layout of the first part just didn't make sense to me. Pitches to go to her website and reviews of her course were thrown in randomly. The second half is her steps to become a recovering spender, which are essentially the 12 step program (alcoholics anonymous, etc). Finally, the book references Christian beliefs fairly often. This isn't advertised on the back at all, so I was surprised to see it come up.

While this book may have been helpful to some, it wasn't for me.

[Francesca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books I wish I would have found much sooner in my adult life. I loved how she broke things down in a budgeting aspect and made it easy to relate to her as a fellow spender. Some lessons I've learned the hard way and other things were definitely explained from a new perspective. I would absolutely recommend to anyone trying to get their money journey together and get on a steady financial track. Definitely worth the read. From one book nerd to another, happy reading!

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated her take on spending and forming a budget because she talks about her own struggles more than other authors who got out of debt and talk/write about it. I relate better to those who admit the thinking and feeling behind the struggles because they truly seem 'like me' and not just an on paper list of 'pay it off', 'stop spending', etc.

[Julian Pecenco · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am far from the target audience for this book, which is Christian women with spending addictions, and it is a very targeted book. If you fall into that category, be might be valuable. Avoid the audio book, however. The author is overly excitable in her narration, and it was painful to listen to at times.

[Michelle Tremblay Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot easier and honest to read than most money books. Down to earth and full of heart. Easy steps to take and her honest stories of what happened when she fell down and had to try again. Would recommend this to anyone trying to get on top of their finances.

[Patricia Hastings · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a good book!

This is my second time reading through this book! Lauren is so inspiring and encouraging! I am actually going to have a debt free Christmas this year! Now to get my kids to read this book!!

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book.