How to Raise a Family on Less Than Two Incomes
The Complete Guide to Managing Your Money Better So You Can Spend More Time with Your Kids
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
Many parents today believe that two steady incomes are not only desirable but absolutely necessary in order to raise a family. Yet most full-time working mothers say that if it weren't for the money, they would not work, and instead would stay at home with their children. After the birth of her second child, Denise Topolnicki faced this common dilemma: Continue working full-time, or spend more time with her family? As a former editor of Money, Denise used her financial expertise and discovered that she could work only part-time and be at home for her children--while not breaking her family's budget.
By combining her investment know-how with compassionate advice, Denise gives parents a clear-cut strategy for controlling their money--from saving on food, to creating a cash reserve, to learning how to retire on less than two incomes. Packed with worksheets, detailed plans, and inspiring case studies, Topolnicki's plan helps families set fun priorities while still balancing the checkbook. Whether you want to leave work altogether or continue part-time, this book is the key to freedom for millions of families trapped on the working-parent treadmill.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
After having her second child, Topolnicki, a former writer and editor for Money magazine, wanted to build a freelance writing career and spend more time with her children, though her financial savvy led her to wonder whether having only one full-time salary would dramatically alter her family's lifestyle. After taking a long, hard look at her expenses, savings and child-care bills, she quickly realized that making her own work hours and eliminating a lengthy commute would not mean that she'd have to penny-pinch. There were some cutbacks--more activities closer to home, fewer high-priced lattes--but Topolnicki has compiled her best strategies and advice to convince readers that most people would benefit from having one parent stay at home. In addition to detailing her own experience, Topolnicki offers insights from her interviews with other parents and includes their tips as well. She covers the basics of money management--budgeting, mortgages, retirement funds, insurance--in intelligible detail. Though solid, her conversational, friendly style is almost too simplistic. This book will best serve people who are intimidated by money matters and who haven't read other personal finance primers. There's lots of useful information here, along with some "thrifty" advice on price clubs, groceries and play groups that seems awfully familiar.
