• About
    • Work With Me
    • Contact Me
    • Privacy Policy
  • New? Start here!
  • How To Budget
    • Ways to Save Money
    • Set Up A Budget
    • Stick To A Budget
    • Budget Printables
  • Easy Meals
    • 15 Minute Meals
    • Easy Lunch Ideas
    • Meal Planning
  • Home Organization
    • Home Management
    • Save Time
    • Home Routines
    • Home Management Binder
  • Make Money
    • Work From Home
    • Side Jobs
    • Money Making Apps
    • Hobbies That Make Money
  • Shop
↑

The Busy Budgeter

A balanced life for busy people!

  • Work with Me
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Shop
  • How to Budget
  • New? Start here!
  • Home Organization
  • Make Money
  • Easy Meals
    • 15 Minute Meals

The 2 Books that Changed My Life in a Month.

By The Busy Budgeter | 6 Comments | This post may contain affiliate links

1556 shares
  • Facebook64
  • Twitter
  • Yummly

2 Books That Changed My Life in a Month. hahah. This is awesome. I desperately need the book to reduce your expenses. We just became a one income family of 5. Waiting anxiously for it to be delivered. Those results are amazing! Hoping for the same!

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.

Books that changed my life

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! 

Books that changed my life

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?

 

FTC Disclosure of Material Connection: In order for us to maintain this website, some of the links in the post above may be affiliate links. Regardless, we only recommend products or services we use personally and/or believe will add value to readers.

FTC Disclosure of Material Connection: In order for us to maintain this website, some of the links in the post above may be affiliate links. Regardless, we only recommend products or services we use personally and/or believe will add value to readers

Filed Under: Cutting Costs

Comments

  1. Natalie @ Financegirl says

    April 11 at 7:33 am

    These are AMAZING books by AMAZING authors! I highly recommend them, too. 🙂

    Reply
  2. Christine @ The (mostly) Simple Life says

    April 11 at 7:48 am

    Unstuffed is on my reading list. The other one sounds great too! Time to get reading. I’m glad for your recommendation as I was curious about Unstuffed. Thanks!

    Reply
  3. Kristal says

    April 11 at 7:19 pm

    Unstuffed is on my list, I am going to add the other one as well. Can’t wait to read them both

    Reply
  4. Kalyn Brooke | Creative Savings says

    April 16 at 9:37 pm

    Thanks so much for the shoutout, Rosemarie! I am SUPER blessed to have in you my life, and honored that you put my book on your recommendations list! I have Unstuffed prepped and ready to read next. 🙂

    Reply
  5. Ann says

    April 17 at 5:58 pm

    I had the privilege of being on the launch team for Unstuffed, and I agree that it is SO helpful. I’m going to put the other one on my list now — since the hubby lost his job and had to take one with a drastically lower salary, the expenses which I thought I had cut to the bone need to get cut even further. If she can teach YOU some new tricks, then I’m sure I will benefit greatly!! 🙂

    Reply
  6. Lora says

    April 25 at 1:14 am

    I tried to find you on GoodReads, but I couldn’t find your name there. Could you share your Goodreads name? Unstuffed is on my short list right now as I prep for (another) cross country move.

    Reply

Tell me what you think!Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Recent Posts

Best Books On Home Organization (By Personality).

Best Books On Home Organization (By Personality).

February 21st, 2025

Free Printable ADHD Routine Charts for Busy Families

Free Printable ADHD Routine Charts for Busy Families

February 21st, 2025

How to Budget With ADHD, Depression, or Anxiety.

How to Budget With ADHD, Depression, or Anxiety.

September 10th, 2024

Cape Cod Chicken Salad Recipe: 15-Minute Picnic Meal

Cape Cod Chicken Salad Recipe: 15-Minute Picnic Meal

June 29th, 2024

Optimal Daily Schedule for Working Moms (In Every Situation)

Optimal Daily Schedule for Working Moms (In Every Situation)

April 9th, 2024

Busy Budgeter Inc. is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Ready to get started?

WHAT DO YOU NEED?

Start Here

If you’re new around here... and need step by step help for where you're at, start here.

Get Started

Save Money

Everything you need to budget, reduce your spending, find cheaper substitutions and curb impulse spending.

Start Saving Money

Make Money

Increase your income by making money on the side or find ways to work from home.

Start Making Money

Get Organized

Master the routines that matter and learn what you can let go to have an organized home and life.

Get Organized

Recommendations

These are the things I recommend over and over... all in one place.

View Recommendations

Start A Blog

Are you a blogger or want to be one? Everything you need to know is here.

Start A Blog

Ready to save a TON of money?

Get step by step budget help with the FREE 90 day budget bootcamp!

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

  • How To Budget
    • Ways to Save Money
    • Set Up A Budget
    • Stick To A Budget
    • Budget Printables
  • Easy Meals
    • 15 Minute Meals
    • Easy Lunch Ideas
    • Meal Planning
  • Home Organization
    • Home Management
    • Save Time
    • Home Routines
    • Home Management Binder
  • Make Money
    • Work From Home
    • Side Jobs
    • Money Making Apps
    • Hobbies That Make Money
Copyright ©2025, The Busy Budgeter. All Rights Reserved. Contact [email protected]. Privacy Policy
Design by Pixel Me Designs