The 2 Books that Changed My Life in a Month.

I read a lot of books (I mean A LOT- you should follow me on Goodreads!), both personally (Richelle Mead fan over here!) and financial books for the blog. I had my socks knocked off by not just one, but two books this month! And they were extraordinary enough that I had to tell you about them right away. These books changed my life and I suspect they’ll do the same for you. 

I haven’t had such a strong reaction to a book since Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover (many years ago!) and to have that reaction to two books in the same month was pretty nuts.

Both books changed my life for the better. I don’t just mean they were eye opening, I mean they changed the way that I lived and made my everyday life significantly better.

Let me explain how.

31 Days to Radically Reduce Your Expenses by Kalyn Brooke

Being able to reduce my expenses means the word to me. Because I was able to reduce my expenses by over $23,000 about 5 years ago, I was able to quit my job, start two successful businesses and completely transform our financial outlook.

Even now, reducing our basic expenses without sacrificing is a core element of our financial strategy. Once you get the hang of how to do it, it becomes ingrained in you to seek a better deal and find ways to get the same thing for less.

This my friends, is the secret to financial security. Knowing what’s important to you and what to splurge on, and not giving into the inner screams of “BUY RIGHT NOW!” Taking a step back and making smarter, more conscientious decisions will save you a boatload of money.

I read lots of money saving books and most of them are things that I already know or have done before. While I always get one or two new ideas from them, it’s rare for a money saving book to blow me out of the water.

So what makes this one different?

Perspective and a step by step guide.

First off, the author is extremely money smart. She understands the big picture and not just the day to day sacrifices of spending less. This book isn’t just for people that are scraping by every month trying to get ahead of their bills, it’s for people that are dedicated to living below their means and saving thousands without sacrificing.

It’s also written as a guide with step by step instructions and action steps.

Don’t you dare read this book quickly. You’re completely missing the point if you do. It’s training. Take it one chapter at a time, do the action step and then move on to the next step. Just to give you a quick example, we saved $432 on the medical expense section ALONE.

You can get your own copy of 31 Days to Radically Reduce Your Expenses here! 

Unstuffed by Ruth Soukup

I was already a huge fan of Ruth Soukup before this book. She made it so I can outearn by husband from home when she taught me how to blog. She teaches in a way that I understand easily.

I’m not what you would call a hoarder. My poor mother gives me gifts and then asks if I’m going to throw it out after she leaves. I really thought I rocked at decluttering. I had even gone through the 31 Days to a Clutter Free Life challenge and noticed a huge difference!

So when I got this book, I really thought it would be more about reinforcing what I already knew and practiced.

It was so much more.

In just a month, this book helped me turn my house into a home. That’s been a major goal of mine for the last year and this book gave me the formula to put it all together. It taught me how to figure out exactly what I wanted from my house, and each room individually. It taught me to prioritize what I wanted, make peace with what I don’t love and finally showed me the systems needed to stop the clutter before it starts instead of just managing to it.

I donated, sold, and threw out about 40 contractor bags full of “stuff” and I’ve never been happier. My house has never looked better. And I’ve never felt calmer.

Just like the other book though, don’t just read the book! Do the worksheets, do every single action step and take the book chapter by chapter. There’s even an app that comes with it that helps you on your journey. (You can also see photos of my organizing in the “snapshots section’- I’m Rosemarie Groner.)

You can grab a copy of Unstuffed for yourself here. 

It’s not often that a book changes my life in the way that these two have, and I dropped pretty much everything else to tell you about them. If you’ve read them, I want to hear your thoughts!

What book has changed your life?

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