I skimmed through the raising a family on less than two incomes book yesterday. One of the messages I took from it is something that I believe Jeffrey has written an article on - namely, find ways to save on things like insurance and other expenses that won't leave you feeling any pinch whatsoever. Most of the book seemed to talk about things I've read online when it comes to going from two incomes to one, like calculating all of the costs you incur *because* you are working, and figuring out how much you're really bringing home when you take those costs into account. I think it would be a helpful book for anyone who is considering going from two incomes to one but hasn't given it a lot of thought yet and feels like there is just no way it could be done.

I've started reading Your Money or Your Life and so far, the idea that has hit home with me is calculating how much you really earn per hour, taking into account expenses related to your job (parking fees, wardrobe expenses, etc) and the hours spent preparing for work, getting to and from work, etc. Once you know your true hourly wage, you can use that to help you gauge how many hours you are working to pay for the newest *thing* that is vying for your attention.

More to come as I read more...

I just got these today, but I thought I'd pass along the titles in case anyone else was interested:

Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence, by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin.

Retire Early - and Live the Life You Want Now (John F. Wasik)

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 (Denise Topolnicki).

I saw the first title while surfing for sites related to voluntary simplicity. I'm glad my library had a copy of it. I was ready to go to Barnes and Noble and take a look at it, but now I get to read it for free. :-)

Yesterday we decided to refinish our front door. While we were at Lowe's buying supplies, we priced new front doors. While it would be nice to pick out a new door that was more to our style and liking, our current door is turning out pretty well. Dh is doing a good job. We also bought a closet shelf/rod for DD's closet. It works well, and now DD can reach all of her own clothes in her closet. It also looks more organized, with clothes hanging and sweaters folded up, and shoes all lined up on the bottom. I hope it will help her feel less cluttered where her closet is concerned. Sometimes I think we need to help her develop systems that make it easy to clean up and stay less cluttered. If something is easy to put away, we're more likely to do it, right?

Actually, decluttering and finding ways to clean quickly are a couple of things I've been working on over the past several months. I am surrounded by too much stuff, and it gets to be overwhelming sometimes. Our neighbors across the street are having a garage sale next weekend, so I have been gathering up things to put out as well. Slowly I am decluttering my own possessions, but there are still areas of the house that seem to become messy too easily, too quickly. It's not a matter of needing more space - it's a matter of needing a place for everything, and to not have so many *things* in the first place!!