WHY read my book?

1)  “I’m so glad I read your book and DID the steps!  During COVID-19 we didn’t run out of toilet paper because of your warning, and my pantry was fully stocked by using your grocery buying methods.  We didn’t run out of anything!  Thank you!”

2)  “Thank you for the admonition to have an emergency stock of everything non-perishable in case my husband was out of work for a time.  I built up just how you suggested to do and when corona virus hit and my husband was laid off we were fine until we received his unemployment check.  He should not have any trouble getting rehired when his company reopens so we are not worried since we’ve been working your plan and had paid off all of our small debts already.  Thank you!”

3)  In my chapter, “Praying Over Your Budget,”  I mention the danger of becoming a landlord and how when the economy fails and renters lose their income there is often a domino effect where landlords end up losing their debt-ridden mini-empires.  I saw it happen to many people during the housing crash of 2005 and 2008. Right now, during this pandemic, it is happening to over-extended landlords, especially those whose rentals were Air bnbs.

But it didn’t happen to my reader Anne!  She shares, “When I read in your book ‘…the majority of people never ask the Lord if it is His will to become a landlord…’ I felt a check in my spirit.  That was exactly what we were doing.  We had sold our home and were in the process of buying two homes – ours and one to rent.  We had not sought the Lord’s will in this.  We began praying about it that night.  Our home loan was already going through and we felt we had to complete it.  But buying the rental – NO.  We pulled out of the deal.  We bought our home, paid off all our debts, and put the rest towards our mortgage.  We will be debt free within three years now.  Had we bought the rental, we may have lost it and our home during this pandemic, because we were in major debt and mortgaged to the hilt.  Our friends who went through with buying their rental are in deep trouble at the moment, and we have had peace, because we sought the Lord and we felt He said, ‘No.’”   (By the way, this does not mean they can never be landlords, but they are experiencing the blessings of being almost debt-free, and they know to seek the Lord before they begin future financial investments.)

4)  While writing my book I had a similar conversation with my friend, and she listened and took to heart what I shared about the security of having a paid off home versus having two mortgaged homes, and how I’ve seen landlords lose everything when an economic down turn comes.  They had a manageable mortgage on their home, but had wanted an investment.  Later she told me they decided to downsize their desires and focus on financial security.  They ended up buying a 600 sq. ft. home outright, and when the pandemic occurred and they weren’t allowed to rent it on Air bnb, they were fine, because they have no mortgage on it.

5)  “Thank you for providing this information.  Getting my credit cleaned up without having to pay someone to do it is the step I am working on right now.” (And this step is free for subscribers to my website. When you sign up, you will receive an e-mail with the password to the library section, which contains the first 5 chapters of my book, including the chapter on cleaning up your credit file.)

6)  I received a letter from a family friend in his 80s, whose wife stayed home to raise their children:  “Dear Janine, Congratulations to you!  I am so impressed by your book.  Your writing style and choice of words are great.  “How to thrive,” not just “get along” is very meaningful.  I found it to be thorough, complete, and easy to read and understand.  You included good applicable Biblical references – but it does not sound “preachy.”  You included good references for further reading.  Your personal experiences were very inspiring and your references to your family were complimentary.  Our love to you and may you continue to “thrive” with God’s blessings!”

7) From LoveMyLittleCottage: My last book suggestion is How to Thrive on One Income by fellow blogger, Janine. Being home is great, but there is a financial side to consider. If you want to read how my husband and I did things the dumbest way possible, read my post, Becoming a Stay-at-Home-Mom, the Hard Way. Janine is not dumb. She came home the smart way. She has great tips on everything. One of my favorite things was the idea that you can tithe faithfully, beginning with 1% of your income, then increase it incrementally as you pay off debt and adjust to life on a single income.

Click here to order

People who succeed have goals and follow plans.

My book, How to Thrive on One Income, walks you through the practical every-day living steps that I did while learning to thrive on my husband’s income.  I also highlight how married, Christian women can rely on biblical truths to help them remain at home, while they are becoming debt-free.

My book shows you what I did, one small step at a time.  I have all the information in one place, with boxes for you to check off as you complete each step or mini-goal.  You can easily flip through the pages to see what else you need to be working on to help you accomplish your goals.

For over 20 years I’ve been encouraging women, who want to come home, on how to proceed.  God places these women in my life.  Many of the same questions are asked, and this book is the result of my notes and journals of what I did, and what I’ve told these many women who have crossed my path. 

Blog posts are much too short and the information is scattered.  Would you really like a 150 page blog post?  Would you keep coming back to the page to check off what you’ve accomplished and see what else you can implement?  I can’t imagine anyone doing that.  But books have a beginning, a middle, and an end – something that blogs do not. 

I think that most women jump from blog to blog searching for the miraculous moment of epiphany that will solve their financial problems.  They rarely find it though, because short blog posts simply aren’t enough.  To move forward you must have goals and a plan.  Reading my book can help you end your search for information and motivate you to IMPLEMENT ACTUAL CHANGES. 

I also give full credit to the authors that helped me in my search, and list their books for you to read during or after implementation of certain steps.  I don’t parrot what these authors say — you can read their books for their guidance — what I have done is given you the basics of what guided me, my lessons learned, what the Bible says about this subject, and what I DID to help our family thrive on one income and get debt-free at the same time!

After countless conversations and e-mails, I felt the Lord leading me to gather up all my information and put it in one place.  The result was How to Thrive on One Income:

•  Is the desire of your heart to be at home with your children?
• Are you on the fence about coming home because you don’t see how it could possibly work? 
• Do you not have children, but desire to be a homemaker just the same?
• Are you already at home but need help in making ends meet?

Every woman has financial concerns about coming home and surviving on only her husband’s income.  It is scary to contemplate…your heart will begin to pound as you prepare your budget and realize that there is absolutely no way to make ends meet on only one income…but you WANT to be at home!

A book full of encouragement, I have given you straight-forward guidelines, and financial principles found in the Holy Bible. 

I share my action plan of over 240 little steps to help you gather your courage, step out in faith, and successfully thrive on one income!

  Take delight in the Lord,and He will give you your heart’s desires. Psalm 37:4

It was because of readers of my prior blog, women with whom I correspond on e-mail, and those who I’ve coached in person, who encouraged me to put my story in print for the world to see.  

At each step in the process I asked God, “Is what I’m writing TRUE?  Does it align with Scripture?” and He would put a scripture or a book title in my head.  I would read it and say, “Yes, it does align.  It is true.  These people are saying the same thing.  It worked for me, and it worked for them.  It will work for others.”  

Whenever I got cold feet and prayed, “Am I really to do this?” all publishing obstacles would be overcome, usually within hours.  “Should I really say this, Lord?  How am I coming across?”  I would re-read what I wrote, and would either edit or feel a sense of peace — yes, I should say THAT.  Someone needs to hear it. 

So I kept plodding along, day by day.  I would think I was done, and every day God would show me more!  I thought I’d never finish!  But it is finally complete.

“Do you have a higher calling and purpose for your life? The need to live on one income?  This book is for you!  Whether it’s raising children, doing charity work, or fulfilling God’s calling… the practical tips and encouragement you need to make it possible, are found in the pages of this book.  Janine is an inspiration.  She shows what courage, diligence and persistence can bring:  a simple life with priorities, contentment, and joy.” ~Dawn Segawa, champion for God, and At-Home Mom 

I’m so thankful for the sweet comments of my blog readers who encouraged me, such as:

• Rebecca – I just found your blog through the Women Living Well link-up. I have already read almost all your posts. I currently work full-time and am completely overwhelmed but I am longing to be home caring for my husband, children, and home. This post in particular was very helpful. I cannot way (sic) to try your suggestions. Thanks for the help! 🙂
• Judith – Coming home from work is so worth it!! I quit my job over 25+ years ago and never looked back. That is a wonderful list of ideas and worth lots of people reading it. Thanks for sharing this over at WholeHearted Wednesdays. Have a great week!!
• Tiffiney – Hey Janine, I just love this post! Like I said in my comment to you on my blog – we are kindred spirits. You have my heart with this post. I live in a little house on the freeway and I’ve been busy making it a beautiful place to live these days with my fall harvest decor. I just love this and I’m sharing on welcomehomeministry.com’s fb page!
• Elizabeth – Hi, Janine…I’m going to echo my girl Tiffiney, whom I have to thank for leading me to you, and say that we are kindred spirits. You had me with this: “I am a Keeper at Home, the one who watches, guards and maintains our home…the vital center of our life. My intent is to have our home be a sanctuary of love, peace, warmth and order.” YES! Me, too! Looking forward to following you from now on! 🙂
• Kelli – Wow, this is such a great post. You have no idea how much I needed to hear some of this. I couldn’t agree more with you, especially in regards to the daycare reality. Thank you so much for sharing this.  Praise God!

Praise God, indeed!  I so hope my book will be a huge blessing in helping to bring more mothers home to raise their children, and other women who would also prefer to be homemakers.  May God bless you, too.

Janine

Do you want to come home but don’t see how it could possibly work?

 

Here’s a plan to help you make the leap!

Table of Contents

Introduction – I May Not Be Rich, But I Am Wealthy
1)  Accumulating Choices, The List Illusion, and Making Home Happy
2)  Planning My New Life
3)  I Held the Key to My Own Happiness
4)  How to Clean Up Your Own Credit File
5)  Buying a House
6)  A Mortgage
7)  Empty Houses
8)  How Did We Get Here?
9)  Having A Vision for Home
10) Another Type of Empty House
11) What You Do With Your Income
12) A Bills Calendar
13) Praying Over Your Budget
14) How I Paid Off Our Car Six Months Early
15) My Top 27 Steps for Grocery Shopping
16) Finding My Way Home
17) What I No Longer Use and Other Thrifty Steps
18) 80 Steps Towards Living on His Income
19) You Are So Lucky!
20) On Being and Staying Debt-Free
21) What if I’m Not Making Ends Meet Now?
22) What If…
23) Working Towards Contentment
24) “Mama…Work?”
25) An Overheard Conversation
26) Consider BEFORE
27) The Prequel to Living on His Income
28) God’s Provision
29) Sparrow Math
Appendixes For Further Reading
The Most Important Decision of Your Life

Comments:

1. Mary November 3, 2018 at 5:10 AM  Oh my goodness! I just found YOUR blog, Janine!! : ) My congratulations to you on your book – it sounds wonderful and good for you in taking the steps to accomplish it. You are an inspiration. And I’m loving your posts as well! Looking forward to reading more. Mary S.

Thank you!