Book Review – “Living Well, Spending Less” by Ruth Soukup

I was selected to be a launch team member for Ruth Soukup’s new book, “Living Well, Spending Less,” which is available to purchase today.  I was giving an advance Kindle copy to read.  I couldn’t believe how much Ruth’s experiences mirrored my own, right down to the depression.

Ruth  is very open, honest and real in this book.  If you struggle with clutter, budget issues, overspending, having too much stuff and wanting to downsize, wanting to find joy in less, wanting to save but not knowing where to start because there is not enough money at the end of the month, wanting to give more but, again, there is not enough money at the end of the month, then this book is for you!

Take a look at the trailer:

player.vimeo.com/vide

o/114516781

Ruth breaks the book downinto 12 Secrets (chapters).  My favorite – and what really hit home for me – is Secret #6 -Less Stuff Equals More Joy.  Tony and I are overwhelmed with all of our “STUFF.”  When we bought our house we wanted to use it for God.  We fostered for a number of years, but based on the boys’ needs and the last year, that door has been permanently closed.  So we have seriously been discussing minimalizing, selling our house and downsizing.  We just do not need a 2,400 sq. ft. home for the four of us.  My goal is to have the “excess” out by next summer!

I don’t want to be bogged down by stuff!  I want to be more organized and I get totally overwhelmed because of STUFF and I don’t know where to begin.  If we didn’t have so much STUFF, we would have so much more time to devote to more ministry things and not the overwhelmed things.

This Christmas we had to purchase a new Christmas tree because the one we had the Christmas lights went out.  I LOVE trees that are full and bushy.  However, when I went shopping, the only trees they had that were affordable were slim trees.  At first I felt like I settled, but after talking to Tony and after reading Ruth’s book, I realized that this was really my first step in minimalism, in that if we do downsize our home, we’re not goinig to be able to have a big bushy tree.  So, it was a blessing in disguise.  (I just really wished our tree would have kept the lights until after Christmas so I could have shopped the after Christmas sales!!!!)  And I really think our tree turned out to be the prettiest it has ever been!

Now, if you get the book and want to write about your #13secret and join a blog tour, you have the chance to win a Carnival cruise for your family.  You can find more information about the #13secret and the contest here.

And, if you would like to purchase the book, I have placed a link to amazon for your convenience right here.  Just to disclose, this is my amazon affiliate link.  If you do purchase through this link, I will receive a small commission, but that does not change your cost any.  If you decide to purchase, I thank you for using this link!