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Avg. Rating: 4
Interesting Collection
This book is a collection of essays by well-known writers on frugality and simplicity. The editor, Larry Roth, cut his teeth on the subject with his book "Living Cheap", and newsletter "Living Cheap News", which he wrote in the 1980s as a way to help Americans deal with the fact that their incomes were not keeping up with inflation. Other authors included in the collection are Amy Dacyczyn, (The Tightwad Gazette), Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin (Your Money or Your Life), John Hoffman (The Art and Science of Dumpster Diving), Brian Boyer (The Slacker Handbook), and Lisa Carlson (Caring for Own Dead). As Roth notes in the introduction, the essays are varied in tone and philosophy. He doesn't espouse all the actions or political remarks contained in the volume, but the variety of material ensures that everyone will be able to find something of interest in at one least one article. In each article, the author looks back on life and describes the events or circumstances that led to adopting the precepts of simplicity or frugality (and led to publication as well). Most of the articles close with a short list of tips one can take to put the ideas into practice. They range from the super-cheap (use shoulder pads from women's clothes as pot holders) to practical (wear silk next to the skin for warmth) to big money savers (skip the embalming). Some of the articles address general topics of simplicity, while others focus on specific means of achieving frugality (dumpster diving), to frugal food gathering and preparation. There are also articles on specific topics such as frugal college life and frugal funerals.
Many of the life stories contained within this volume are fascinating. Each of the authors at one time made a decision to enjoy life more fully by opting out of the competitive spend-and-spend lifestyle. For each of them, this decision led to the discovery of a new way of life with new riches based on things that money can't buy. In their essays, they share some of the wisdom they learned along the way, such as "[Simplicity] isn't necessarily about escaping to the country to raise goats or subsisting on beans and rice...you'll know you're there when contentment takes the place of stress, when you can sleep soundly through the night, when you can spend as much time as you need to with people you care about, and when the term short fuse applies to an electrical problem and not to your problem-solving approach" (Edith Flowers Kilgo).
Too much talk, little adivice on how to be frugal
While this book does offer lots of tips on simple liveing and a few quotes in the book that I liked, this book didn't hold my interest very long. Another section in the book that I liked was in the end of the book, there is a helpful resource section to get more infomation about frugal living. I didn't like this book because I don't care to read about the author's and a few other people who discussed their personal experiences on frugal living which there was a lot of. There is a chapter devoted to "Dumpster Diving" which I feel is taking frugal living to the extreme .
Pretty disgusting book.
I am confused what people are finding good about this book. I know simplicity means different things for different people, but this book has lessons on: dumpster diving (a couple of chapters worth, including how to blackmail companies with important documents you find in their dumpsters - pg.91), eating road-kill (seriously - a whole chapter), capturing possums and keeping them in a pen so you can eat them later (pg. 159), and quotes from a total nut like "speaking as a foaming-at-the-mouth revolutionary who looks forward to the day these United States will disintegrate in a fashion similar to the Soviet Union" (pg.94). I returned my copy, as I prefer not to put money in the pockets of people like that. Some of the other articles are good, but not good enough to balance out the others.
Unfortunately not worth my time or money.
I assumed when I read that Amy Dacyczyn was going to be a contributor that ALL the contributors would have the same honest standards and that I would learn something about living a more frugal life. Instead I found myself reading about the unethical (you can be frugal and still have taste and class, unfortunately this man doesn't realize it) practices of "The Cheapest Man In America" and having to wade through the political ravings of a "let's overthrow the government" extremist. No thank you.
Great for different perspectives and references
As someone who recently decided to take a sabbatical from work, and focus on my personal life and marriage, this book spoke to me. I DEVOURED it in one evening: it confirmed that taking "time out" from work is the right thing for me at this time, and my husband and I won't starve or lose shelter in the process. In fact, I hope to catch up with close family and friends during this time, by hosting many pot luck dinners!! :-)This book has something for everybody contemplating simplifying, from the radical (e.g., picking through the dumpster) to the practical (e.g., using the video store or library vs. paying full price for a movie in the theater). I also liked the non-emphasis on "being cheap", but instead how you could do more with less, in a cost-effective fashion. Well done, and terrific references for more information. The entrepreneur section is most timely and interesting to me.
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