When my husband and I first got married, we had a two-person income. When the kids came along, I tried balancing work and home like most American families - at times I worked "outside" the home, and I also went through periods of working from home. Working from home would seem to be the ideal, but it is neither as glamorous or easy as it sounds - especially with toddlers running around. ;)
When we began homeschooling, we made the difficult decision for me to quit work completely. This has required a lot of sacrifice of niceties (like "real" vacations and shopping), but has been well worth it. So, I like to read everything I can on money management for "real" people. I have a hard time listening to "inspiring" people who have gotten themselves out of mounds of debt - just buy their book to find out how! - only to discover they got into debt because they ran up mountains of credit card debt from shopping too much or from going on marvelous treks to Europe.
As an average American, whose husband is grossly underemployed due to the economy, I want to know practical ways to save money. I don't want to know how to have a swank dinner party for less than seventy-five bucks. I don't want to know how someone "saved" money by going to Hawaii for one week instead of Europe for two. I want to know about personal finance for real people.
A personal finance blog that I read is The Simple Dollar. Not only does Trent give practical advice on how to cook frugally, but he also tells how to make things like your own inexpensive laundry soap. His most recent post is about business card wisdom. He also highlights his most famous post: Everything You Ever Really Needed to Know about Personal Finance on the Back of Five Business Cards. If you check out his web site, you really need to check out his recipes - you might find something you like!
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