Living Well Spending Less - Review

Living Well Spending Less: 12 Secrets of the Good Life by Ruth Soukup

Rating: 4 Stars
Source: NetGalley

Description:  Based of her blog by the same name, Soukup gives us the 12 secrets to leaving a life with less stress, less spending and more happiness.  She talks about everything from daily routines to budgeting and gives ideas and her own personal stories to illustrate what works and what doesn't.

Genre: Non-fiction

Why I Picked This Book:  By the time Christmas rolls around I always feel a little bit out of control both in my schedule and my spending.  I thought this would be a good way to get a better grip on things and be ready for the new year.
My Impression:
Pro: I liked the way Soukup didn't present herself as an expert but more of a "this is what worked for us".  There were a number of fairly simple ideas that I hadn't really thought of - especially in establishing routines and budgeting - that I'm really excited about implementing.  She also provides a number of printables from her site to help organize, budget, or just have life running more smoothly.  While Soukup is married and has small children this advice is pretty universal.  No matter if you live with 8 people or alone budgeting is still important as is having routines to feel productive.

Con:  I felt the way the bible verses were inserted made the reading a bit choppy.  I'd be reading along and then would get a whole chunk of bible verses kind of thrown in the middle of a chapter.  I thought it would flow better if they were put at the end of the chapter or the beginning so as to keep the flow going a bit better.  There's some repetition, particularly in the first couple of secrets as several weren't that different.

Overall:  It's challenging to review self-help books because just because something didn't work for me didn't mean the advice of the ideas were bad it just means it didn't fit my particular set of issues.  While this book wasn't perfect and not everything applied to me I did get a lot of ideas to use going forward and I'm now motivated to clean out a couple of closets I've been ignoring.  I call that a win!

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: I plan on following her blog Living Well Spending Less from now on and will definitely keep my eyes open for any new books though she wouldn't necessarily be an autobuy.

Would I Recommend this Book?:  Definitely!  Despite the choppiness I think there's a lot here for those feeling overwhelmed or just wanting to get a better handle on things.