I started reading MoneySavingMom.com early in 2008 when my frugal journey began.

Crystal Paine is the woman behind the site, and she is a Christian homeschooling mama of three kiddos. She grew up in a large family, and her parents did a splendid job of teaching her sound financial principles. Her husband grew up similarly, and when they were married, they agreed to stay out of debt.

Smart people.

Through law school and the births of their three children, they kept their promise by being extremely frugal. (I.e. they were content with what they had. Novel idea, no?) They both have entrepreneurial spirits, and Crystal began teaching others her frugal tips. I would call her the godmother of the frugal bloggers.

So, I came on the scene just as she was becoming uber-popular. And I’ve stuck with her site for the past almost-four years. Which is why you can imagine that, even though I’ve never met her, I’m excited that she had the opportunity to publish a book!

And I might have let out a little teenager-ish squeal when I discovered that Dave Ramsey endorsed the book! Dave Ramsey! {SQUEAL!}

Many of you know the financial journey that Luke and I have been on. (Definitely not as cool as Crystal’s story – in which they bought a beautiful home with 100% down. Not kidding.) We married with about $40,000 in school loans, $5,000 in car loans, and a little bit of credit card debt. We also then built a house and put more on credit cards, bought a van when we became preggo with our second baby, and pretty much felt like we were completely drowning.

Crown Financial Ministries was a helpful beginning for us, to give us the right perspective that everything we have belongs to God. And Dave Ramsey’s principles gave us the practical advice for how to get ourselves out of the mess we’d made. All praise to God – we paid off about $75,000 in debt in three years! And the freedom we feel being debt free is part of the reason we’re passionate about financial stewardship.

As for the content of the book…It’s a great summary of all the principles Crystal teaches on her site, and it would be a great supplement to Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University curriculum.

If you’re an FPU graduate, you’ll easily see Ramsey’s influence on Crystal’s words. Many of the principles she teaches are right up Dave’s alley (budgeting, using cash instead of credit, etc). I see this as a real selling point! (You might not agree.)

She starts at the very beginning…If you’ve never written a budget, don’t be intimidated! This book is for you! She gives you very practical instructions for where to begin and encouraging stories of people who have been in your shoes.

If you’ve gone through FPU, or read frugal blogs, or feel financially sound…I’d still recommend it! Even if you know every single principle in this book, it’s simply a great reminder and encouragement to keep on keeping on. Staying focused on financial responsibility is not always easy, and Crystal’s book gives a little extra motivation.

Subjects covered include getting a handle on your financial situation, budgeting, couponing (including advanced techniques), and loads of other frugal tips from going out on the town without breaking the bank to lowering your grocery bill without clipping coupons.

My conclusion: Whether you’re rich or poor, this book is for you. I wholeheartedly recommend it!

Order now for the January 10 release!

(I received this book from the publisher, without compensation. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. This post also contains affiliate links.)