Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle Reading App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Apple
Android
Windows Phone
Android
To get the free app, enter your email address or mobile phone number.
See the Best Books of 2014
Looking for something great to read? Browse our editors' picks for 2014's Best Books of the Year in fiction, nonfiction, mysteries, children's books, and much more.
"More than just a financial guide. Packed with doable tips and infused with warmth, honesty, & humility, this fabulous title will touch the hearts--and lives--of women of all ages." --CHRISTY PITNEY, CBA Retailers Resources
"Living Well, Spending Less is about more than planning a better budget or maintaining an organized home; it offers tips for easing stress and improving time management. Here Ruth gifts us with a simple yet powerful blueprint for realizing true, deep contentment with all of the good things that this life has to offer." --KASEY KNIGHT TRENUM, blogger at time2saveworkshops.com
"Living Well, Spending Less is an incredible book that will teach you how to spend smart without compromising a great life. Ruth's stories and practical advice will make you want to be a better mother, wife, sister, and friend." --RACHEL CRUZE, coauthor with Dave Ramsey of Smart Money, Smart Kids
"Living Well, Spending Less is an inspiring book full of step-by-step instructions and spiritual wisdom. I love how Ruth is transparent about her mistakes as she leads us to reevaluate our priorities. This book is a great biblical guide to living well and finding joy!" --COURTNEY JOSEPH, author of Women Living Well and WomenLivingWell.org
"It doesn't take more than a trip to Target or a glance at People magazine for me to come face-to-face with my own insatiable desire for more. More beauty. More designer clothes. More gadgets. More happy. But, as Ruth Soukup discloses through her signature honest and down-to-earth style, "more" will never make you and me "full." But here's the good news: The life you crave is far closer than you can imagine. Ruth will show you how to get there." --MICHELE CUSHATT, speaker and author of Undone
Review
Ruth’s book inspires, motivates, and comforts at the same time. Her book is about far more than saving money; it’s about learning how to be content and satisfied, regardless of your financial situation. It made me wish Ruth lived down the street so I could meet her for coffee and a chat. -- Stephanie Nelson, , founder of CouponMom.com
Looking for the Audiobook Edition? Tell us that you'd like this title to be produced as an audiobook, and we'll alert our colleagues at Audible.com. If you are the author or rights holder, let Audible help you produce the audiobook: Learn more at ACX.com.
Ruth Soukup is a writer, speaker, wife, and mom, and founder of LivingWellSpendingLess.com. Begun simply as a way to hold herself accountable as she attempted to replace her overspending with a sustainable budget, LivingWellSpendingLess.com has since grown to be one of the top personal finance blogs on the web, averaging over 1.5 million visitors per month. She is also the founder of EliteBlogAcademy.com, an online course for professional bloggers and communicators.
She has contributed to articles in Woman's Day magazine, Redbook Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, and ALL YOU Magazine, has appeared on The Daily Buzz, and has been a regular contributor to TheBetterMom.com, Proctor & Gamble's HomeMadeSimple.com, and P&GEveryday.com.; She also writes a feature column for Harbor Style Magazine and appears regularly on WINK News in SW Florida as a Money Saving Expert.
Ruth lives in Florida with her husband and two daughters. Her mission is to create a home filled with joy and purpose, and she firmly believes that a life well lived is not so much about what we have, but who we are.
LIVING WELL, SPENDING LESS is a well-written, practical guide on escaping from the constant "Must have more" lifestyle that is so prevalent today. The author, Ruth Soukup, comes across as a modest person--not so much lecturing you on what you should do, but instead, sharing lessons that she had to learn the hard way. The author clearly states that she is a Christian, and that this book is based on "what the Bible has taught me about the Good Life."
The "secrets" in this book grew out of the author's experience as a young girl. Ruth became enamored with building the perfect dream home; she would find photos of wonderful houses and dream of her life in these wonderful mansions. As an adult, she continued that habit, constantly buying more and more unnecessary things: "I'd spend hours drooling over magazines and catalogs, tearing out pictures of all the things I liked, all the things I knew I wouldn't be able to live without, all the things I knew would make me happy."
Of course, Ruth finally realized the trap she had sprung on herself. She discovered that having fewer things actually translated into greater happiness: "The love of things can so easily consume us. The pursuit of it all--more toys, cuter clothes, a prettier house, a nicer car, a newer computer, a fancier phone--makes us forget all the things that actually matter. Not until I observed firsthand the real and immediate changes in my kids after getting rid of their toys did I truly begin to understand. My lesson to them was really their lesson to me: less stuff equals more joy."
I think the greatest "secret" in this book is right at the beginning of the book--contentment, or the lack of it. We tend to not be content with what we have, in spite of massive material accumulations.Read more ›
Comment
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes No
Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
41 of 43 people found the following review helpful
As a writer for several parenting publications, a blogger and a mom, I am constantly reading books by supposed "experts" who swear they have the answer to help others achieve a better, happier, more fulfilled, less chaotic, (insert your own adjective here) life. However, their suggestions are often so complicated and out of touch with the audience they hope to help that all they actually achieve in creating is more stress for the reader. This is why I found Ruth Soukup's book, Living Well, Spending Less: 12 Secrets of the Good Life, so surprising and refreshing. Her writing style is straightforward and heartfelt. She talks to the readers as if you are simply having a chat over coffee. She doesn't pretend to have all the answers and very humbly reveals many of her own challenges and failings. Yet, through her own life experiences she is able to provide very practical and common sense advice to help others find what the "good life" means to them. Anyone who reads this book, no matter their circumstances, will be inspired to look inside themselves and discover that they have far more power to change the quality of their own lives then they may realize. The topics are universal to the struggles so many of us face and yet that we often think are our issues alone. As you read Ruth's words and her stories, you'll feel as if they are your own and through the wisdom and insights she has gained during her experiences, she'll lead you towards the "good life" that is meant for you.
Comment
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes No
Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
104 of 119 people found the following review helpful
As a stay-at-home mom of two and the bill-payer of my household, I could not relate to this book at all. The author is all over the place with stories and Bible verses, that don't even match up to each other or to the topic of each chapter. I am an easy sell on a book - I liked this one because of the title and the cover. The title of this book should be: "Long-winded stories about the mistakes I made in my quest a designer lifestyle." I can't relate to the author's life at all. She has some social anxiety issues that had her moving her family to new cities frequently, and then the kicker was when she said her husband became a stay-at-home dad so she could BLOG. DO WHAT? And I am to take FINANCIAL advice from this woman? She also babbles on and on about her lack of confidence as a writer - which seems strange in a PUBLISHED book on the topic of saving money. She's all over the place - the chapters start on one topic and veer so far off course with gossipy stories about her life - dropping names, businesses, designer labels. So strange that gossipy stories are followed by these "deep" Bible verses that confuse the entire message. This was a waste of $12.
4 Comments
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes No
Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
LIVING WELL, SPENDING LESS is a well-meaning guide to living beyond the lackluster, complacent lifestyle so many find themselves living in today. Author, Ruth Soukup, presents the texts narrative in a modest, easy-to-follow perspective; this book does not seek to lecturing, but rather presents practical, hard knocks testimony on how to live the type of existence the author refers to as "what the Bible has taught me about the Good Life."
This book does not approach budgeting as a smoke and veils symphony, rags-to-riches type self-help book, which is so often written by many of the authors contemporaries. This book stems from the author's experience as a young girl. Soukup, like so many newlyweds, became enamored with building a dream; a dream home, dream vehicle, dream wardrobe, and ultimately a dream lifestyle. As time went on, this dream became a nightmare, as all of these trappings began to weight heavily on all aspects of her young life.
Over time, Soukup discovered that a life of rustic simplicity, mixed with a few well placed, affordable bells and whistles, translated into both a greater sense of happiness, but also a steadfast, maintainable frame of mind. The author describes this situation as, "The love of things can so easily consume us. The pursuit of it all--more toys, cuter clothes, a prettier house, a nicer car, a newer computer, a fancier phone--makes us forget all the things that actually matter. Not until I observed firsthand the real and immediate changes in my kids after getting rid of their toys did I truly begin to understand. My lesson to them was really their lesson to me: less stuff equals more joy.Read more ›
Comment
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes No
Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more
This item: Living Well, Spending Less: 12 Secrets of the Good Life
{"currencyCode":"USD","itemData":[{"priceBreaksMAP":null,"buyingPrice":9.59,"ASIN":"0310337674","isPreorder":0},{"priceBreaksMAP":null,"buyingPrice":8.9,"ASIN":"0692252711","isPreorder":0},{"priceBreaksMAP":null,"buyingPrice":10.19,"ASIN":"1607747308","isPreorder":0}],"shippingId":"0310337674::d2w%2Bd07IjMHip1oxYai1EtnNbVnNU2daXXchkdj%2Bp7BiGSv2GYK9atmsy6p7hies7KwwBoLo0cKFC8GwNXBevAleTXgXTt37eLEmhGfQLWx1ESknh%2FdE7w%3D%3D,0692252711::wEX53krtvTqZohLaKxDJ0VcYsv1ayngw7%2Bg6bnocJZc1DF1vnePY4TF%2Fj1kGgmFwxu92UN6MXttoEE%2F%2F8AR9PLs6pHT0m%2Fq2M67TaG6RAaNIYjeUApYnwA%3D%3D,1607747308::5r1HlkD4XuVqbUUGKZF85VE0BSBEOAUe0mv3Ab7T%2BaQOsRD130ZKqAPr8y3GM7%2BjwgU9XccrG15b5Iaid%2F95uo7722kKNVCMPxgec%2FSZYjSQlBg%2FOiWwOQ%3D%3D","sprites":{"addToWishlist":["wl_one","wl_two","wl_three"],"addToCart":["s_addToCart","s_addBothToCart","s_add3ToCart"],"preorder":["s_preorderThis","s_preorderBoth","s_preorderAll3"]},"shippingDetails":{"xz":"same","xy":"same","yz":"same","xyz":"same"},"tags":["x","y","z","w"],"strings":{"addToWishlist":["Add to Wish List","Add both to Wish List","Add all three to Wish List","Add all four to Wish List"],"addToCart":["Add to Cart","Add both to Cart","Add all three to Cart","Add all four to Cart"],"showDetailsDefault":"Show availability and shipping details","shippingError":"An error occurred, please try again","hideDetailsDefault":"Hide availability and shipping details","priceLabel":["Price:","Price for both:","Price for all three:","Price For All Four:"],"preorder":["Pre-order this item","Pre-order both items","Pre-order all three items","Pre-order all four items"]}}