The Book Buzz : saving

Review of The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches by Jeff Yeager

Beatriz — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:20:00 GMT

The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches: A Practical (and Fun) Guide to Enjoying Life More by Spending Less by Jeff Yeager

I almost missed the funniest part of this book, and you will too, unless you pay attention to the publisher’s credits page. You know, the page where the author, in the case of a novel, claims “this is work of fiction and is not intended to represent, etc, etc.” Yeager puts his own humorous spin on this disclaimer—a must-read! I think these few paragraphs alone justify the purchase price of the book, but you may disagree! (In which case, check out the book from your local library! I’m sure Jeff would approve of your thriftiness!)

Yeager’s irrepressible personality is inseparable from his advice; it’s hard to ignore his presence in the book, so if you don’t like him, you may not like reading about his ideas. This is a risky choice to make as a personal finance writer; sometimes the reader has a hard time separating the good ideas from the author’s voice. But it certainly pays off in Yeager’s case because his light-hearted approach to thriftiness is such an irresistible breath of fresh air.

Although other personal finance/frugality gurus also rely heavily on their personalities to put forward their messages, Yeager will probably not like lumped in with other “gurus” because he’s obviously a very independent-minded person and he advocates that contrariness in others as well.

I guess he’s best described as a frugal anti-guru. Yeager’s unique perspective on personal finance is to try to teach us how to be happy making less money, which he thinks we can achieve by “making choices, not…sacrifices.” He states “I believe that thrift can be learned, but it involves a process, a philosophy, a way of life, not just a checklist of ways to save money.”

This book is full of useful strategies, suggestions and points to ponder about everything from price bargaining to prepaying mortgages, from car shopping to traveling, from investing to philanthropy.   Yeager uses his many years of experience as nonprofit agency manager and his inborn miserliness to help us learn how to make more from less in every aspect of our lives, with the ultimate goal of a better life for everyone on the planet.

Yeager may have said his piece here, but I think he has many more books in him yet. I look forward to seeing what he comes up with next!

Note:

Other Stretcher readers’ reviews of this book are available in the Forums section of the DS community under “Site, Product and Book Reviews:” http://community.stretcher.com/forums/23.aspx .

Yeager has also written about some of his ideas in the Dollar Stretcher. If you missed them, you can find his articles in the author index:

http://www.stretcher.com/menu/author.htm#Y

Make sure and visit the author’s website for more Yeagerisms:

www.ultimatecheapskate.com

Review by Beatriz Fernandez

Book information:

The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to True Riches:A Practical (and Fun) Guide to Enjoying Life More by Spending Less

By Jeff Yeager

Broadway Books

2008

ISBN: 978-0-7679-2695-9

Review of Confessions of a Butcher by John Smith

Beatriz — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:13:00 GMT

No, dear DS readers, these are not the confessions of a frugal serial killer! Despite the catchy title, it is an accurate one—this is insider information straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak: tips for purchasing meat from a former career butcher. Better yet, advice from a tightwad butcher who is willing to impart his knowledge!

Even if you don’t know one side of the cow from another, in fact, especially if you don’t know, this useful guide will help you choose cheaper cuts of meat and still dine like a queen/king! If you always suspected that all those different labels for meat were meant to confuse the consumer, you were right, as it turns out. Using his 31 years of experience as a butcher, Smith blows away those misleading merchandising tricks and reveals the truth behind meat-marketing.

With food prices going up through the roof with no relief in sight, this book will prove especially valuable to the frugal consumer. The author divides the book into sections for beef, chicken, pork, lamb and veal, with saving alternatives suggested for each cut. Even savvy meat shoppers will find some new ideas here.

Smith also includes a much-needed glossary for us newbies, an index, and an appendix with recipes, turkey purchasing tips and advice for leftovers, a lesson on butcher etiquette (how to treat your butcher so he/she will treat you!) and “Tools of the Trade” a section on how to purchase and maintain knives and other equipment.

A good book always leaves you wanting more and in this case it proves true; for those of us starting from scratch, our meat education could use even more details. We await a possible second volume; perhaps the “Further Confessions of a Butcher?”

Make sure and visit the author’s website, www.all-about-meat.com, for even more tips or to ask a question.

Book Information:

Confessions of a Butcher:

Eat Steak on a Hamburger Budget and Save $$$

John Smith

2006 (Revised ed.)

Ark Essentials Publishing

www.arkessessentials.com

www.all-about-meat.com

ISBN 13: 978-0-9669280-1-3

Review of Living Fiscally Fit: 1000 Ways to Get Out of Debt & Build Financial Wealth

Beatriz — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:59:00 GMT

The editors of Woman’s Day (of which Mary Hunt is a contributing editor) have compiled an impressive list of tips in this easy to use, handy volume. Mary Hunt, known to all frugal readers as the author of Debt-Proof Living, Tiptionary, The Complete Cheapskate, and many others, contributes a foreword and material throughout; her likeable style is very much in evidence here.

The tips are organized in three comprehensive sections:

Assessing Your Financial Picture

This section helps you evaluate your current money profile, your money personality (by comparing your financial style with the Desperate Housewives’ characters) and examines excuses we all use to avoid dealing with our money issues. There’s a good chapter on “Money and Marriage” and all the issues thereof, and advice on transitioning into a saving mentality.

Save More, Spend Less

Once your mind is made up to change, this section contains the nuts and bolts on how to effect that change by getting out of debt and beginning to save; it contains a “Five-Step Plan to Take Charge of Your Money” and advice on how to avoid common money blunders, including the “Biggest Financial Mistakes Women Make.” The rest of this section is just jam-packed with tip after tip on saving money in every category you can imagine. Lots of useful and specific suggestions here!

Building Wealth

After all the saving begins, this section advises you on how to increase your new-found wealth and how to bring in additional income. Investing tips, financial education for children, part-time jobs and yard sales are all covered here.

The book ends with a list of online resources and an extensive bibliography of print sources. Living Fiscally Fit is very obviously geared toward the female reader but any reader can benefit from most of its advice. The book’s simple, straightforward style is very appealing and makes it a valuable addition to your financial library, though the lack of an index does have some impact on its usefulness. Better break out the highlighter for this one, as Mary Hunt suggests in the foreword!

Book Information:

Living Fiscally Fit:

1000 Ways to Get Out of Debt & Build Financial Wealth

with a foreword by Mary Hunt

2008

Filipacchi Publishing

ISBN: 1-933231-28-9