Books "Small Change" (2010) Sheila Roberts

From Goodreads ~ Rachel, Jessica and Tiffany have money problems - major money problems. Tiffany’s whipped out the plastic one too many times, and now a mountain of debt is about to come crashing down on her. Jessica’s husband lost his job - thrusting this longtime stay-at-home mom out into the cold, cruel workforce. And Rachel’s divorce has transformed her from an upper-middle-class mom to a strapped-for-cash divorcee. What are three best friends to do?

Get financially fit, that’s what! Together, Rachel, Jessica and Tiffany start a financial support group called The Small Change Club - challenging each other to bring balance back to their checkbooks, and their lives. Even though frugality is a lot harder than they ever imagined, these women are about to learn some very important lessons: that small changes can make a big difference … and that some things in life, like good friends, are truly priceless.

This is the story of three friends/neighbours who are having financial difficulties (their ages range from mid-20s to mid-40s).

Tiffany and Brian have been trying to have a baby but have had no luck.  To console herself, she shops ... and shops and shops and shops.  She has even maxed out a couple credits cards that Brian doesn't even know about.  To make things worse, Brian may be losing his job and they need to cut back.

Rachel is a divorced teacher who was filling in on a maternity leave.  Unfortunately, the teacher is coming back to work and Rachel is now out of work.  Her ex-husband is a dentist who showers their two kids with gifts.  Rachel feels guilty and tries to keep up even though she financially can't and shouldn't.

Jess is a stay-at-home mom and wife of a bank executive, Michael.  When Michael loses his job and with their adult son, Mikey, unemployed and living at home, Jess has to figure out what skills she has so she can enter the job market.

They start meeting once a week so they can work on how to live more frugally and doing what they have to do ... picking berries to make jams for gifts, shopping at secondhand stores for clothes, etc.  Rachel starts a blog to share their experiences and recipes to readers on the Internet (but also to us who are reading the book).

I've read a few books by this author.  I liked the writing style of this one and thought it flowed well.  It's a nice story of a friendship between three women ... I liked how they were always there for each other emotionally and financially.  Except for a couple instances of "sh$t", the language isn't offensive to readers and there is no "adult activity".

I had a hard time relating to Tiffany.  Even though Tiffany knows the dire financial situation she and Brian are in, she continues to shop and even gets mad at Brian for getting mad at her.  She's been bailed out in the past by her husband and parents yet continues with this behaviour.  I didn't have a lot of sympathy for her and felt bad for Brian.  I thought her fear of bears was silly.

At first, I wasn't a fan of Jess.  She had had a nice life as a pampered wife.  I started liking her more as she got more resourceful and got more grounded to her situation.

I found Rachel the most realistic ... until towards the end.  I thought her assumptions about Chad, her struggling new neighbour, strange ... I figured out right away what his deal was so wasn't surprised when the truth came out.  Their relationship seemed really rushed and I found it hard to believe that she was expecting a ring so quickly.

I'd recommend this book, especially if you are looking a story about friendship.