Clark's Big Book of Bargains [Paperback]

Clark Howard (Author), Mark Meltzer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 23, 2003

lark Howard, the bestselling author of Get Clark Smart and host of the nationally syndicated radio program The Clark Howard Show, wants to show you how to get the best bang for your buck-whether you are at the supermarket, buying new clothes, renovating your home, or going to the movies. Learn how to pay $12.95 for a CD that costs $19.95. Find out why a $90 VCR just may work better than a $300 VCR.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Clark Howard teaches you how to get the best deals." -- USA Today

About the Author

Clark Howard is the host of The Clark Howard Show, a featured commentator on CNN and WSB-TV in Atlanta, and a columnist with the Atlanta Journal Constitution and Budget Living magazine. Mark Meltzer is an editor at the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Both authors reside in Atlanta.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1 edition (April 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786887788
• ISBN-13: 978-0786887781
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #129,435 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

87 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mostly common sense. Why buy common sense?, February 17, 2004

By 

K. Morris (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Clark's Big Book of Bargains (Paperback)

I'm a big fan of Clark Howard and his other books and radio show. They contain oodles of great money saving info. Clark's radio show and books have saved me well over $900 this year with useful info I did not know about. However, this book was a letdown.

Most everything in this book was common knowledge or common sense. Example: Want cheap clothes, then buy them from a thrift store or discount store like TJ Maxx. Want cheap books, borrow them from the library, or buy them used on the internet. Too often the answer is buy used, or buy at a warehouse club.

I can't recommend this book unless you are a novice at saving money. You are better off saving your money and buying Clark's far superior book, "Get Clark Smart: The Ultimate Guide to Getting Rich in America", which despite its title is not a get rich quick book. That book has all sorts of useful and less known money saving ideas, and a lot of information on how to avoid getting ripped off.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars not satisified, November 19, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Clark's Big Book of Bargains (Paperback)

I have to agree with the other reviewer. I listen to clark Howard as often as I can so I was very disappointed by this book. If you listen to the show and consider yourself relatively frugal anyways, you probably will not learn anything from this book. A lot of it seems like common sense to me.

106 of 138 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I love Clark, but this book is thin..., May 11, 2003

By 

Mad Max (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Clark's Big Book of Bargains (Paperback)

If you've heard Clark Howard's show more than 5 or 6 times, the information in this book is going to be very redundant for you.

I love Clark Howard - I honestly listen every chance I get. His syndicated talk show is one of the most empowering consumer programs on the radio today, second only to Bruce Williams. But I would recommend passing on this book, and perhaps read another of his books instead.

The topics and advice in this book are not very creative. The book is organized by subject heading: best deals on medicine, clothes, cars and car parts, furniture, etc. Roughly half of the book is simply a pitch for Costco (if Clark isn't getting royalties from Costco, he should be!). This is not an exaggeration - he goes on and on and on about how he found great prices for shoes, clothes, books, music, hardwood floors, food, etc., at Costcos.

There are several problems with this recommendation. First, I think these wholesale clubs are way too expensive! If you're looking for creative ways to save money, there are MUCH cheaper ways about it (i.e., the internet, garage sales, flea markets, salvage yards, etc.). In the past, he's talked about saving a dime per stick of deoderant at Costcos, when one can buy a box of 100 sticks of deoderant on eBay for about $10 (I know - I did it last week!). Second, places like Costco & Walmart's Sams Club are destructive to the environment and exploit third-world and domestic labor...and many people (myself included) cannot support organizations like these with a clear conscience. Third, this recommendation doesn't really get radical about saving or conserving.

Instead of shopping at cheaper stores, how about shopping less? Our little country consumes nearly 2/3 the world's resources - we don't need more stuff! Instead of buying a new "energy-efficient" fridge, how about fixing the old one? Or finding a radical alternative (like my inexpensive solar fridge) that requires no electicity at all? These big corporations exploit workers and consumers, then convince us there aren't any real alternatives to mainstream consumption habits. Unfortunately, Clark's book doesn't question this model at all. If you want one that does, try: "Your Money Or Your Life", "Voluntary Simplicity", & "The Solar Living Sourcebook", just to name a few.

There are a few useful tid-bits in the book - like his recommendation for buying tires online at tirerack.com - but it sucks up about 4 pages (nearly an entire chapter) to make this one recommendation! And to make it worse, each chapter has a lengthy summary at the end, which simply restates (in bullet format) exactly what was said in the previous pages. This is extremely repetitive - I got through the entire book in less than 30 minutes, and didn't learn much at all.

Sorry Clark! Keep up the good work on the radio.