Living on One Income: A Simple Guide to Making it Work

by Kate Singh

I've been a homemaker for seven years and through the plentiful times and the not so plentiful times, I have never returned to work in the mainstream. I'd like to avoid it, to be honest. Currently, we are a little above the poverty line in our salary. And life has never been better. We purchased our first home with a paltry loan and even more meager savings during this housing market boom...in Northern California! My dreams of starting a homestead in town have been actualized and we eat like royalty. Well, maybe upper class. We are thriving and having so much fun with our life even with the paychecks getting smaller. How is that? I have learned and so many tools, tips, and wise advice over the years from friends and homemakers living on a thread. Although we go in and out of being frugal, nowadays I practice all I've ever learned to stretch the funds; making tubs of laundry soap, baking my bread, having a kitchen garden and hens in my backyard, throwing parties with little cost, buying organics and other groceries on a small allotment, and much more. This book was written to support all of you on small allowances or sudden life changes that leave you stressed and fearful about how to make it all work. I will show you step by step. Let's brew some coffee and learn how to live frugally and fabulously.

Genres: Nonfiction

97 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 6, 2018

Reviews

[Reba · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a mixed review on this. She gives some really good tips on livimg frugally, but at the same time this woman is ridiculous. It's almost as if she is pretending to be poor. $2,382 is a lot to live off of a month, even for a family of four and what kind of snob calls a 150K home "pitiful"?
Also, do not like how she preaches about non-GMO's and organic foods. They are expensive! I don't care if they came from Costco or Walmart.
She also lost pointa from me by giving her dogs chicken carcasses, that's horrible for them. Chicken bones splinter off and can cause serious issues if swallowed. Her advise on section 8 housing also makes me extreamly nervous.
I do like that she encourages people to go to libraries, cafes, and thrift shops, and her suggestions for free or cheap fun are wonderful.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings on this book. For starters I've read a couple other of her books and quite frankly they all read the same and are redundant. Two, some of the info is concerning. She tells readers at one point that they shouldn't bother with renters insurance. Most of the time it's a requirement, it's also cheap, and yes it is necessary as the landlord's insurance does not cover the tenant' s personal property.
Overall I wasn't impressed with this book. It's nothing new in the realm of frugality.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fast read with some helpful tips. One problem is that the author takes for granted that she lives in California and that not everybody can plant all year round or be outside all year round. Chickens are also not allowed within my city limits. This would be a great book for someone who lives in California, in particular. I did highlight some things that I plan to implement, though.

[GAL · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh...

Nothing new here. Some good tips, but mostly a lot things I have heard a thousand times. Slightly unrealistic as well

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

If You Want Tips

If you're a person looking to dramatically reduce your spending habits and live economically, this book offers many tips under various categories (entertainment, groceries, education, gardening, travel etc) for doing just that! The author, Kate Singh is a married mother of two, blogger, author etc who once along with her family lived in a rather large home with a matching mortgage, used credit cards, went to the theater to see movies, ate out with her family, traveled etc. They had amassed a large amount of credit card debt, both worked full time and they each had new cars. When Kate became pregnant with their first child, she knew she didn't want to go back to the working world. By that time, they'd paid down much of their debt and felt willing and able to change their lifestyle to support her goal of being home to raise her babies and write.
For some reason, this was the first book I ever ordered that wouldn't stay open. It kept abruptly shutting the book down as I was reading from maybe about halfway through onward to the end which was frustrating but not anyone's fault so I did not consider that when rating the book but I do think readers should be aware in case it's the book itself rather then my Kindle!
One thing that was a bit annoying is there was definitely some repetition and, although the author had her husband edit the book, I found multiple mistakes that weren't caught. Spelling errors mostly like instead of the intended "cloth," the author used "clothe."
Aside from the repetition and errors, I just felt it was a little too extreme for my taste and seemed like it made life rather boring for the kids although the author loved it and things like homeschooling, making your own soap, catching "gray water" in buckets to water the lawn, buying thrift shop toys and clothes for the kids, making everything homemade and using little meat etc just sounds like a great deal of work for a lot of deprivation.

[Debra Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable & Informative

Very informative with alo t of good tips on saving money on food, housing, clothes, entertainment. Kate also writes about getting through very hard times always having a positive attitude. Highly recommend this book for anyone struggling in this economy

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyable read.

I took away alot of tips from this book. Kate Singh is a wonderful writer with a enthusiastic inner voice and a way of brightening anybody up. I definitely recommend this as a book to read, maybe even reread again and again.

[Londa Baca · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great read

This book was a great read. Even if you have been practicing frugal living for a while you can still walk away from this book with some new creative ideas. This is a must read for everyone that wants hints on how to live with less and be happy about it.

[Vicky A. Cradit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Very educational loved it and planning to read more of her books. Its helped alot with figuring out how to get by.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with some useful tips. Can’t wait to try the puppy chow recipe.

[Kathy Gossen · Rating 3 out of 5]

practical and helpful although not perfect

[Crypt · Rating 3 out of 5]

It might be good for a beginner, but if you're farther along in the process of cutting bills, living simply, and saving money then you'll probably find that most of the tips and tricks are things you have been doing for years.

The author has what I'd consider to be a very liveable budget, and mentions having had a housekeeper at one point. That's certainly not relatable for me.

I'd definitely recommend for someone just starting out, but not for a seasoned homemaker who's never had a housekeeper and has been farming since, well, birth.

Also, chicken bones are incredibly dangerous for your dogs. Don't do that.

[TaKaylla L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good information for anyone trying to save a buck

I learned a few things I did not know. Looking forward to reading more of f her books. Thank you!