cover image Downsized But Not Defeated: The Family Guide to Living on Less

Downsized But Not Defeated: The Family Guide to Living on Less

Hope Stanley Quinn. Andrews McMeel Publishing, $10.95 (272pp) ISBN 978-0-8362-3659-0

This timely manual for surviving during periods of financial hardship is especially aimed at families who have been affected by corporate downsizing. After Quinn's husband was laid off from his well-paying job right before Christmas in 1995--we're not told what sort of work he does, only that the Quinns live in Albany, N.Y.--her family was forced to economize drastically. With the assistance of Miller-Lachman (Hiding Places), Quinn provides an exhaustive and useful guide for other families in the same situation, including advice on budgeting that will be helpful to everyone with limited resources. Although the authors focus on ways to lower expenditures across the board on household categories--housing, food, health, luxury items--they also recommend modest, nonessential spending to maintain family morale, and they suggest inventive, low-cost ideas for entertainment and travel. Quinn and Miller-Lachmann stress that it is essential you grieve after losing a job and suggest how, while providing information on resources that can help during hard times. (Oct.)