Living With Less Giveaway with the Savages

I just returned from an exhaustingly wonderful weekend speaking at the Hearts at Home National conference. It is always a blast to connect with old friends there like her and her, meet new ones like her and her, go out to for a scrumptious Italian dinner with authors like her and her and then stay up late in the hotel laughing til my Depends needed to kick in with funny gal her.  And always, I get to spend time with Hearts founder Jill Savage. Jill and husband Mark’s newest book Living with Less so your Family has More just released and I’ve invited them to share a little bit about this great resource!

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.

We have been married for 27 years…17 of them happily. After finding ourselves in a marriage counselor’s office around year 8 or so, we realized that we really didn’t know how to be married. We worked hard to turn things around and now we like to share that hope with other couples.

We have five children ranging from 13 to 25. Our oldest three are married. Anne (25) and her husband, Matt, live in Zion, IL, and are expecting our first grandchild in April. (We are very excited!) Evan (22) and his wife, Julie, have been married a year and a half and they live just a few miles from us. Erica (19) married her husband Kendall last September. They live in Augusta, GA, and wherever else the Army takes them.

We have two teenagers still at home. Kolya just turned 16. He’s learning to drive and we’ve nearly worn a hole in the carpet on the floor in the passenger seat trying to find that non-existent brake pedal. Kolya is the newest member of the Savage family. We adopted him at the age of nine from Russia.

Austin is 13 and in the 8th grade. He wants us to make sure and tell the world that this “living with less” life is a real bummer because he’s the ONLY kid in 8th grade who doesn’t have a cell phone.

Tell us about your newest book Living With Less So Your Family Has More?

The world screams the message that bigger is always better, but we have found that is not often true. When it comes to raising a family, less materially can actually result in more relationally. Children don’t need the best houses, the best lessons, the best cars, or the best clothes. What they really need is the best home life and the best family relationships we can give them.

Why did you want to write this book?

We didn’t start out with the “less is more” mindset. We started as a double income family wanting to have the “best” of everything. Then Mark decided to pursue ministry. We went from the “high life” to the “frugal life” very quickly as we moved to another state for him to go to Bible College full-time.

That experience introduced us to the concept that less is more. We definitely had less money, but we had more time. We had less stress and more peace. We had less activities and more fun.

Since that experience, we’ve continued to live primarily on one income for the past twenty years. We’ve had to battle cultural peer pressure and make different decisions for our family than many other families in our neighborhood have made. But we’ve never felt that we were materially depriving ourselves or our kids…instead we’ve focused on what we’ve actually been able to provide for them emotionally and relationally.

What do you hope your readers will gain from this book?

We hope the reader is encouraged to evaluate how they are living their life, spending their money, and thinking about family matters. Our goal is to introduce families to the “less is more” concept and then equip them with the attitudes and actions to actually make that happen.

For families that are already committed to less is more, we hope to bolster their resolve and help them stay focused on the long-term goal of providing relationally for their kids.

In today’s economy, there are many families being forced to live with less. We want to help them see the opportunity they have with this unexpected downsizing they’ve been forced to do.

And for those who have just been a little discontent with their life and saying things like, “I’m tired of the rat race of life,” or “Is there more to life than drive-thru meals for dinner?” we hope to help them see other choices they have and how they can lead their family in a different direction.

What unique elements will the reader find in Living With Less So Your Family Has More?

For couples who want to read the book together, we’ve included discussion questions at the end of every chapter. This helps move the readers to discussion and eventually actions. Even a single parent can use the discussion questions for personal evaluation.

Readers will find this book a practical guide to changing your attitude and your actions to live a successful “less is more” life. They’ll find our writing style to be a warm, casual, honest discussion where we not only share our victories but our mistakes along the way. We are an average couple living successfully on an average income who want to help others to see the possibilities before them.

This is a Hearts at Home book. What is Hearts at Home?

Hearts at Home is an organization that encourages, educates, and equips women in the profession of motherhood. Hearts at Home encourages moms through annual conferences, our extensive website (www.hearts-at-home.org), a free electronic newsletter, a radio program, and an entire line of books designed to meet the needs of moms all over the world!

Any closing thoughts?

It’s healthy for parents to occasionally pause and evaluate their vision for their family and the choices they are making. We hope this resource will help them do that together and that it will lead them to live a life of little regret.

Now for the giveaway…..

The Savages are giving a copy of their book to one of you and I’m throwing in some gold chocolate coins for the kiddos. (okay…if mom doesn’t snatch them up first– your call!) Simply leave a comment on this post related to the topic of money. How do you save it? Where to you blow it? What questions do you have about budgetting? Why would you like this book? Or, if time is short, just leave a $$$$ and you’ll be entered! Seriously! The drawing is random :-) Winner announced Wednesday.

Well, I’m back to my wonderful, daily life with the kiddos and hubster. Check back in later this week for Weight Loss Wednesday and more. And if we just met at Hearts at Home, please let me know that in the comment section. I’d love it if you said “hi!”

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By the way—-Thanks for all the birthday wishes! The winners of my birthday cupcakes are as follows:

*Candle:  Susan; timestamp 3/10 at 10:46 am

*Homespun Memories book: Olivia; timestamp  3/10 at 10:43 am

*Chocolate: Gabriela; timestamp 3/10 at 4:25 pm

*Starbucks card: Debbie; timestamp 3/10 at 3:24 pm

*Herb tea and heart diffuser: Laurie; timestamp 3/10 at 12:189 pm

Congrats friends! Send me your mailing address at [email protected]

Budgetting Blessings,

55 Comments

  1. I think the key to being able to be a stay at home mom is living the less is more lifestyle. :) Unfortunately, sometimes our kids feel like Austin! I’d love to receive a copy of this book to pass on to my oldest daughter. Though we lived it, she is having a hard time implementing it in her young adult life! (I think that she saw the more part (like a family trip to Europe when she was in high school) but didn’t recognize the years of living on less to provide it. Wish I could have gone with you to Hearts, Karen. Miss you! Jeanne :)

  2. I’d love a copy of this book. Our biggest frivolous expense is restaurant meals. But getting on the same page financially is our biggest challenge. I’m a saver, he’s a spender and it can be hard to meet in the middle.

    Thanks,
    Sherry

  3. This past year my husband and I participated in the Financial Peace Class by Dave Ramsey. Let me tell you, that 13 week course really opened our eyes to how everything that we did financially was so worldly. We have started putting most of those lessons into practice and are continuing to strive to please God with our money instead of our neighbors or the way the world does things with money. We are finding that it is really ok to not drive a brand new car or to only eat out once a week (actually this is so much healthier for our family!). I would love to receive more advice and continue improving our family financially. I am thankful to Jill for sharing her story of finances to encourage others who are going through similar situations! Thank you and God bless!

  4. Thank you for this post. We have been living on a tighter budget for almost a year. My resolve has started to wane a little. I would love to read this book for a little boost.

  5. I’d love to hear their perspective on it! $$$$$ I’m a natural saver, but I also love giving gifts so not being able to shop for that is hard for me and my love tank!

  6. We definitely live frugally, although I probably wouldn’t say money is “tight” for us (and I praise God every day for His blessings in that area!). However, one area I’ve learned that “less is more” is the area of stuff: the less stuff (toys, papers, clutter, etc.!) we have in our house, the easier it is for us to keep up with things, and the more we can enjoy our family and our peaceful home.

  7. We are struggling with downsizing. Neither of us knows how to budget well, and we both need to do better and especially need to teach the kids that new isn’t always better.

  8. I can so relate to Crystal . Brain refusing to shut down , therefore I loose sleep . Always looking opprtunities for more work/money , therefore more stress . I have found ways to save money but still need more ideas . Two more to get through college and how do we save for retirement ? Yes , Help Please !

  9. Hey all, I’m so thankful to Karen for sharing our new book with all of you. I’m so inspired to read all of your wonderful living with less suggestions! Thanks for sharing!

  10. My daughter’s college tuition cries out for $$$$, second daughter’s orthodontia cries out for $$$, furnace fuel and gasoline cry out for $$$. Therefore, I work way too much. My doctor read me the riot act last Thursday to make changes in my stress level if I want to be around for the long haul. HELP!!

  11. Hearts at Home Conference was awesome. Thanks Karen – I really enjoyed your workshop on a Life that Says Welcome. And it ties in so well with the Living with Less, because it is not about your home looking catalog ready, but creating a space that makes your guests feel refreshed (not impressed) :). And it is so true with how many people who live humbly and have made me more welcome than those with fancy things.

    Living more simply is my goal, not just buying things we want or doing more because we can. And followed up with Growing Grateful Kids. A great trifecta of workshops to begin my Friday!

  12. Living on less…simplicity…all of these “kinds of things” have been becoming more and more a passion of mine as of late. I look for ways to do that more effectively! This book sounds like it’s right up my alley!

  13. I stay home with our three kids. It’s hard feeling like we live “pay check to pay check” but am thankful that I can be here for the kids and so is my husband. Even though I get discouraged at times because I don’t have_______ I can see how God takes care of our every need. I’d love to read this book at this wonderful budget price!

  14. My husband and I were a two income family until I was diagnosed with DVT. I am just glad that my parents always drilled into my head and that of my siblings to save save save. I haven’t really gone back to work as there are some physical limitations I have encountered.
    I do help with the finances of the household but things are a bit tighter since it is a one income family. We are the normal clip coupons and shop the grocery flyer sort of amily.

  15. This is so ON TIME! And confirms what I’ve always believed… that my children do not always have to be involved in some kind of sport/activity. My family and friends are always asking “are the boys playing baseball this year? soccer? anything?” and when I answer no they aren’t doing anything, they have this puzzled look on their face or tone in their voice that says “well why not?” or they even say “you need to get them involved in something”. Spending time with them, building their faith, teaching them the things of Christ… just being kids… SIMPLICITY!

  16. I am a SAHM to 5 children. We try to save $ with coupons, watching for sales, etc. Watching for upcoming sales helps to plan for the future (eg. a sale on ground beef might mean I purchase a few extra pounds and put those in my freezer to be used for a future meal).

  17. I was a stay at home mom for about 15 years. Now that my kids are high school and college age I have gone back to work part-time to help with the college bills. We are still trying to live on my husband’s income and put mine into savings. My two daughters have always shared a room (which I found is rather rare) and all 3 kids share one bathroom. We have 3 cars (2 adults and 3 kids need transportation), but all 3 have well over 100,000 miles on them and all were bought used. I would love to get more money saving tips from this book.

  18. We try to save money where we can. I rarely buy “new” clothes for myself. When I go shopping (which is rare) I go to Goodwill or garage sales. I think we blow more money on DVD’s and eating out.

  19. I find that consignment stores and yard sales are great for items that are “new to me”, I clip coupons and watch for the sales at the grocery store as much as possible. My husband works and I am a SAHM with 3 kids. It can be a challenge at times, but have learned the difference between needs and wants over the past 8 years.

  20. We currently drive two cars with over 200,000 miles each! No cable or dish, pay as you go cell phones, used “new” bikes for kids.

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