I commend you for the sacrifices that you make in order to allow your wife the joy of being at home with your children. I wish you God’s blessings in all you do.

Leah Starr Baker
author of “The Bunko Babes”
http://www.thebunkobabes.biz

Since you asked, I’ve not been to a bar in around three years, give or take, and I have never “frequented” bars (much less a specific one). I’ve not seen a movie in the theatre since Cars came out just over two years ago. I am the oddball at work who passes invitations out to lunch most of the time and eats the leftovers I bring in. My wife and I do most of our splurging on our children by making the active choice to sacrifice some creature comforts and have her stay home with them at least until they’re both in school full time. A family of four on an income of one these days is a bit tough, but we get compliments on our kids when we do go places and although the youngest does have a definite “monster streak” they really are turning out to be smart, well-adjusted kids. I would say we eat out too much, but that’s more than once or twice a month in my book.

We do have our spending faults; when we do get things, we tend to get the “better” things. When we were first married, we didn’t get just any washer and dryer, we got the Maytag Neptune washer and dryer, for example, believing that it would give us the best long term value between operational costs (water usage) and endurance. We’re generally “thrifty” though, trying to make the most of each buck as we can. Again, I wouldn’t say cheap, because as with the last example sometimes the best value is in the top dollar item… but to go back to what caught my eye in the first place, Starbucks is *not* the best dollar value in caffeine consumption. If your aim is to sit with your friends and chat, perhaps a cup of coffee is the best vehicle to do that around; it’s certainly less expensive than a dinner. However, a cup of coffee in someone’s living room or even someone’s jug of iced tea as you sit at a picnic table with friends at a park… well… food for thought.

And I want to state again, I’ve not read your book so I am in no way trying to comment on it. I could easily see people who would stop at Starbucks every day; I work with someone who doesn’t come to work without his Dunkin Donuts coffee, which I can’t imagine being much cheaper. I see some of my co-workers eating out every day. There are really people out there like that. There are levels I don’t relate to them either, though, so I can see what “Mom” is saying in that regard too. I don’t think she thought it was a bad book based on her review, just one that didn’t click for her. That’s just my two bits as a regular reader though.

Finally, I do want to commend you on trying to “wrap your brain around” the reviews you receive. It seems you’re trying to make sure you understand your feedback, which can only improve your skills as a writer the more you understand different perspectives. That in itself makes me think perhaps I will look for some of your books at some point. Kudos to you for that.