Miserly Moms: Living on One Income in a Two-Income Economy

by Jonni McCoy

Jonni McCoy and her family are proof that you live on one income. The McCoys made a successful transition from two incomes to one while living in one of the most expensive parts of America: the San Francisco Bay Area. Her Miserly Guidelines will help you save thousands of dollars a year on everything from groceries to electricity to insurance and household cleaners--as well as reveal the hidden costs of holding a job and common money wasters. Her practical, proven cost-saving techniques, strategies, tips, and recipes will help you live frugally without feeling deprived.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Finance, Money, Parenting, Reference, Frugal

247 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another extremely influential book in helping us "get by" on one/no income.

I could relate a little more to this authors out look on frugality/thriftiness. She is more concerned with health than a lot of the other "thrifty mom books" I had read. Also, she starts off the book saying how she's not one of those people who thoroughly enjoys penny pinching. She does it because she has to. I could relate more to this than the ones who are looking to pinch a penny for the fun of it.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found her personal experience to be interesting, and she raises some interesting points about coupons and processed food. I didn't find her tips to be earth-shattering, but the book is thorough and worth checking out. She offers an extensive bibliography and suggestions for additional reading at the end of each chapter, which I did find very helpful if you wanted to pursue one of her tips further.

There wasn't a ton of new information here, though that may not be the author's fault entirely. The one thing I found irritating was that she referred you to her other books a lot. I plan to read them, but thought she could have included a little more information in some of the chapters.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has some great ideas for ways to cut costs and shop on a budget. The only reason I didn't give it four stars is because a few of the ideas are impractical. For example, the author recommends shopping at several different grocery stores in order to save money. How many of us (especially if you have kids) have the time or the inclination to drive all over town from store to store? I doubt the savings would be worth it, in terms of sanity and gasoline costs! Also, the book is outdated--most of the grocery prices she mentions just don't exist anymore.

[Corey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's the thing, this book has some great ideas...and some that would probably save you a LOT of money, but, I'm thinkin, I'm not gonna start making my own baby wipes anytime soon. If you need to get a serious handle on your spending and you aren't a thrifty person to begin with, I would whole heartedly recommend this book. If you consider yourself to be a bargain hunter already, you might still find some of the recipes in here helpful, but much of the advice might be old hat to you. If you're gonna check it out, which might be worthwhile, I'd suggest getting it from the library first.

[Leigh Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has some really great tips for saving money. I think if you have to take what you feel you can incorporate into your lifestyle and leave what you don't think will work for you. This book shows the importance of not using convenience foods when trying to save money and really, while this may be an inconvenience, it really is a much healthier approach to food. Overall, I think a lot of the tips given in this book are useful while some are extreme. You just need to pick and choose what will work best for you and your family.

[Lupine · Rating 3 out of 5]

My copy was somewhat outdated so maybe that has an impact on my review. Also, I was searching for miracles and didn't get any... It DOES have some really good tips but it also has some questionable advice like that using do-it-yourself cloth diapers doesn't save a significant amount of money compared to using off brand disposable because of the start-up costs. ANYway -- it's worth reading just for the recipes and to get inspiration for ways to cut costs.

[Lisa]

What a great book about saving money! Here are some of the things we are going to try to do:
Plan meals around sale items
Don't buy everything at the same store
Make our own when possible
Avoid pre-packaged meals
Use dried beans to stretch meals
Have a homemade soup and bread night each week
Budget for gifts, buy them in advance and only when on sale

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent general ways to save! Specifics are more applicable for the U.S. as prices and companies are based there but the book still has plenty of tricks to apply. Easy and engaging writing and a very healthy perspective on the important things in life.

[polly · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a great book for evaluating whether or not one parent (not necessarily the mom! :)) can afford to stay home with children. It is also useful just in general, w/ good tips on saving money on groceries in particular.

However--some of the recipes are just not for me (there are only a few, but I don't do casseroles) and if you are a kind-of food snob, you won't be able to get prices AS low as the author does (i.e., I only eat high protein pasta, we try to buy organic produce, and so on). BUT one awesome tip that has saved me oodles of money is the 'price book' idea--I have a great little price book I made a few years ago and now I can easily see where I can buy the least expensive x y or z food item.

I take a balance b/w finding the cheapest food items and voting with my dollar, so I refuse to shop some places and tend to pay a little more just to make a statement. But the price book is still useful and so are the other tips in this nifty little book. I'd recommend getting it at the library or half.com; don't pay full price...it's a good book but not 'that' good, if you are on a book budget!!

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book encourages the reader to find ways to reduce their cost of living. I consider myself to be pretty frugal, but boy! The author of this book has definitely got me beat! She went from a life of luxury as a child (including in-house servants) to scraping by as a wife who decided to quit working so she could stay at home with her children. She addresses ways to reduce all regular (and irregular) expenses, and challenges us to look at the actual cost of the actions we perform: everything from buying junk food to how much it costs to run a toaster long enough to toast a piece of bread! It's pretty amazing to see the way she breaks things down into every single penny, and how much you can save if you just pay attention. Her best tips are how to save on grocery shopping.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've actually reaad and referred to this book several times, but that was the last time I sat down and read it. I've been able to cut a lot of our household expenses, especially groceries, by implementing several of the tips from this book. It's been especially helpful as we're trying to follow a gluten-free diet right now, which is a lot more expensive than the typical food and snacks we used to eat. Now that I'm home full-time and I'm not really bringing in money and paychecks like I used to, I figure the best way I can contribute to our budget is by keeping money from going out. I'd recommend this book to anyone looking to be more frugal (without having to be extreme).

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was just okay for me. I didn't really see any new ideas at all. Maybe everything is just starting to sound the same. One thing I found a little irritating was that McCoy makes a lot of questionable claims that she backs up with "informal" research she did herself (like cheap disposables are less expensive than using cloth diapers--what kind of cloth diapers was she pricing?). So basically, you should take all of this info with a grain of salt. I did, however, find a lot of her recipes helpful. I suppose those make the book worth the read.

[mRose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. She deals a lot with food and cooking which is a HUGE expense for most homes. I liked that about this book, it wasn't just use coupons and get junk at the cheapest store available. She has a real concern with eating nutritiously and even for special food needs like my family's! That's amazing for this type of book. It wasn't all food though, she talked of reasonable ways to cut costs with holidays, utilities, even activities and toys for kids. Really enjoyed this book.

[Alissa Faust · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciated all the practical advice offered in this book. There were so many different ideas of how to save money. I liked the break down at the very end of how to save around $10,000. She adds up the total savings from the entire book and lists them at the end. The thing I liked best was this was a book that you could start any of these things today. They were not too far fetched and it was not about buying a house or car, but rather things that people do every day.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I don't apply all of her suggestions, I have learned a lot from this book about how to cut our spending and use our money more wisely. There are also some good recipes in the book, like a mix for cream soups and making your own granola, that I like and use. It is a great resource book for those on a tight budget.

[Holly Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Has really become a manual for frugal living that I re-read for encouragement and to try other ideas. I highly recommend to any stay-at-home moms or women who would like to or plan to stay-at-home. I appreciate that she stresses frugal does not mean "cheap" and she strives to enable women to save money, yet maintain their since of classiness.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good quick read book about ways to cut back on costs. The majority of the book is about cutting back on food prices but also went into clothing, utilities, the cost it is to work outside your home and lots of other stuff. It also has some good cheap recipes and ideas for cheap but good gift ideas.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a little outdated and I didn't agree with everything she said but it did help me start to look at some things differently. I got a few new ideas as well. I'd recommend it if you are looking to cut back on finances, especially adjusting your food (what you eat, how you prepare, etc). I am learning a lot as I try to be even more thrifty!

[Alisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall interesting book. Many of the ideas I had heard before, but I liked her approach of that she used to be a two income household and what she did to move to a one income household. Most of it is how to save on making things from scratch (especially food dishes) an budgeting items. Overall, had some good ideas for homemade remedies and some fun recipes I want to try.

[Laura Stiller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great resource for more resources, including lists of kids crafts and homemade cleaners that I want to reference later.

A fabulous overview of ALL ways to save money. She doesn't live anything out - from household appliances, to grocery shopping, to automobiles, to traveling, to raising kids.

[Amber Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had many great ideas and some that were so-so. While I won't use all of the ideas, it's good to remember to use things a little more wisely - not just money, but reuse things in our home, too. Lots of good ideas for anyone.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned sevearl valuable money-saving tips from this book, mostly focused on reducing a grocery bill. The book is from the early 90's, in the US, so the absolute values are obviously no longer relevent, but the principles still apply.

[Ellie Bean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Observed probably most of these ideas in my amazingly frugal mother--so it was a quick read. But helpful none-the-less. I was reminded of a few things and came away with several new ideas.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back when our daughter was born (almost fourteen years ago), I knew I wanted to stay home with her, and it was my biblical conviction and maternal desire to do so, however, my husband and I took a huge leap of faith in doing so, and we prayerfully asked the Lord to provide our needs. Shortly after my decision to quit my job, I discovered this book. What a godsend it was and what gem it is!
It definitely helped us learn how to pare down our budget and stretch our resources. I really love the author’s Miserly Meals book, which I discovered around the same time. It’s amazing how much tastier (and cheaper) it is to make your own sauces, marinades, dressings, salsa, etc. Cooking frequently out of this book even inspired me to create my own copycat recipes from my favorite restaurants- prior to that becoming “the rage” online. My grandmothers had always been tremendous cooks, and one of them was diagnosed with ALS around the time I discovered Miserly Meals. I discussed a lot of the recipes from Miserly Moms and Miserly Meals with her as I sat by her bedside in the nursing home. She was the matriarch of the family, and it was painful for her to be physically unable to host elaborate family gatherings anymore, but she still enjoyed me going through cookbooks with her. I was a young mother at the time and hadn’t hosted a lot of meals in my own home yet. How I wish she could be here now to see the way her influence and McCoy’s Miserly books have helped me grow into the woman I am today. The cinnamon rolls, chocolate syrup, granola, and pancake syrup were my favorite edible recipes in Miserly Moms. The two rules that helped me most were: “eliminate convenience foods” and “make your own whenever possible.” Learning how to make our own cleaners and even how to make homemade (disposable) baby wipes saved us a TON! The love of making things from scratch that I acquired after reading this book has evolved over the years, and I now enjoy competing in specialty foods cooking contests at our local fair: it pays winners REALLY well. The Lord really blessed our family’s efforts last fall: I earned over $1600 in just over a week, and my teen daughter beat me in one competition last year, taking home the 1st place ribbon and $500 in one of the contests! So, yes, experiment, make your own versions of your favorite store-bought foods and restaurant foods, and it may lead to literally paying off in time to come! The fair is on the horizon in just a couple of weeks: I can’t wait!
I can’t close without proclaiming God is faithful. Almost fourteen years after reading this book (and finding babysitting and other ways to make and save money along the way), I am still blessed to be at home with my daughter as a homeschooling mother. “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him” (Psalm 34:8).

[Laurie · Rating 1 out of 5]

No real new information, and I had problem with some of her figures for savings. I finished reading this book, thinking I don't want her life, running to multiple stores, cooking from scratch every single thing she eats (making pancake syrup!?!?), and storing cans of food that was on sale under my bed.

[Rachel Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this on a whim at a book sale and wasn’t sure about it. Most of the pricing is out of date today, but her tips are actually really helpful for saving money on groceries, utilities, and cleaning products! I’ve already cut back on my grocery budget by applying principles, and I’ll be consulting this for simple, natural cleaning methods.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would love to see this book updated to today’s prices/cost of living.

[Regina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book on saving money- lots of good advice that doesn't age or trend out. Read and completed it a few years ago so adding back to 2018 - still a good book I keep on the shelf.

[Shirelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the recipe section in this one. For a general guide on frugality, "The Tightwad Gazette" is much more comprehensive and has more creative ideas. This is definitely written with the bias that mothers should stay at home with their children. I think she over estimates the amount a mother spends to have a career because of her bias.

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was waiting for some really life changing suggestions but this is full of pretty basic ways to cut back. Also, the edition I read (which was from the library, so probably that is what's to blame) was very outdated. Lots of suggestions that are no longer relevant, etc. I was hoping for something a little more groundbreaking.