The writers of Wise Bread have put out an important resource for weathering the recession in style with their new book: 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget. There's something for everybody: from someone just getting acquainted with the frugal lifestyle to someone who was born with a coupon in their mouth.
The book itself is printed on high-quality paper, and the text is easy to read. The main content of the book covers two broad categories, frugality and personal finance, which are broken down further in the table of contents:
- Frugality
- Food and Drink
- Travel
- Health & Beauty
- Fun & Entertainment
- Shopping & Bargain Hunting
- Green Living
- Education & Self-Improvement
- Personal Finance
- Financial Planning & Budgeting
- Credit Cards & Debt
- Investing your Money
- Housing & Home Improvement
- Career & Money-Making Ideas
I found that skimming through the book was easy. In many cases, the subheadings were a good summary of the tip itself, so I could see quickly whether I needed to read the rest of that tip. (I passed on the beauty tips. Asking the book to work miracles would be unfair.)
Some of the tips I had heard before — I'd better heard of at least a few frugality tips after blogging for four years! — but others were new to me. I didn't know that vinegar was a good thing to add to drinking water. Or cucumbers. I didn't know that I could polish my wedding band in beer. And I never would have thought to hang a ping-pong ball from a string in my garage so that I would know when to stop moving. (Not that I can actually move in my garage at the moment, but if I ever can, I'll know what to do!)
I know that there will be at least a few that you haven't heard of, too. The few tips you haven't heard of will make 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget pay for itself easily. Then you get the rest for free!
Hats off to the folks at Wise Bread for putting together this great reference.
Here’s a tip to save money and help the environment – take a serious look at the amount of plastic your home is consuming for things like bottled water, Gatorade, etc and figure out how you can reduce it by carrying a Nalgene for your water, mix your own drinks using the powder in a reusable container etc.
I just got done taking all the recyclables to the curb after the holiday weekend and am appalled at the amount of plastic we consume as a family and as a society for things like water. Do your part and cut back!
RateNerd: Good one. Thanks!
This sounds right up my ally. I am very frugal and look for deals all the time. I know what my next purchase will be. Thanks for putting this review out there for consumers to take a look at.