Reviewed by: BigAl
Genre: Non-Fiction/Finance/Self-Help
Approximate word count: 20-25,000 words
Availability
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on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or
Smashwords store
Author:
Information
on this author is skimpy. From the book, he has some kids and a spouse and I
believe he lives in Washington state.
Description:
“What would
you do with an extra $10, $100, or $200 a month?
We all have
different reasons to want to save money. For some it is to pay off debts. For
others, it’s a better car, clothes, or new toys. For another group, it is a
desire to build up a nest egg to start working for them and break out of the
cycle of working to spend.
Whatever
your reason to cut expenses and save money, we can all use ideas on where to
get started. Save Your Money, Save Your
Life offers 110 suggestions on fun and practical ways to reduce your
spending and keep more money in your wallet.”
Appraisal:
I’m going
to guess that almost everyone wishes they had more money, whether to be able to
buy more or save more for the future. The concept of this book is summed up by
the old Ben Franklin quote that has reached the point of cliché, “a penny saved
is a penny earned.” If you spend less on something (or don’t spend it at all),
you’ll have more money for something else.
Another
cliché is saying someone “squeezes a penny until Lincoln screams,” and some of
these ideas abuse Lincoln worse than a third-world sweatshop. Others, only the
most extreme spendthrift won’t have already considered. You’ll find a few that
won’t apply to you. (For example, how many people go to movie theaters? There
must be some, because the theaters are still open, but personally I don’t
remember the last time I did and I’m sure a lot of you are the same.)
Since this
review is already cliché ridden, I’ll point out that time is money. Some of the
ideas suggested trade time for money (for example, preparing certain food and
cleaning staples from scratch, rather than buying them already made at a higher
cost). How the tradeoff between time and money works for you will determine
which, if any, of some ideas make sense for you. It depends on how much of each
you have.
However,
for this book to be a worthwhile purchase, you only need to find one idea that
makes sense to implement. Many of the ideas take little to no effort on your
part, only a minor change in habit. (For example, the choice in light bulbs you
use.) Several savings ideas have positive effects in other ways, either on your
health or the environment, which might be an additional reason to consider
them. At its core, Save Your Money, Save
Your Life, aims to get you to take a hard look at some of your spending
habits and question them. That’s beneficial to anyone.
Format/Typo Issues:
No
significant issues
Rating: **** Four Stars
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