Customer Reviews

The Little Book of Big Savings: 351 Practical Ways to Save Money Now

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Perhaps the most helpful part of the book is the back page (198) with an actual 10/10/80 spending plan budget form. The form gave me the power to see what areas I am overspending and where I am underspending in having a balanced financial life and financial plan. The good news is that I am pretty much in check with a realistic financial plan but showed me that I do have room for charitable contributions (also tax savings ones) and can probably up my savings plan after I tackle the existing debt that I have. Kay's book tackles alot of common sense ways to earn/save more money but I've found that common sense isn't always common. The book is worth the price, especially bought used (and then imagine donating for more tax savings?). You don't have to live like the Amish in order to save a few bucks here and there and Ellie Kay outlines some product endorsements but backs them up with testimonials of the quality. Sometimes quality brands are worthwhile while other times they are not. It makes more sense to pay 25 cents more for a certain spaghetti sauce than to worry about that coupon for a brand you hate (btw resources in the book show how to donate expired coupons to military bases to help families get more for their money... gonna look into that). I can't say that I learn a whole lot of new things but the book does reenforce good spending/saving habits. I think it's a 5 star book because I have wasted my time reading others with less information to share. Books, like movies or brands of cars, are subject to your opinions, not mine. If you do like this kind of practical information make your own decision and post your reviews. I got my time and money (library = free) out of this book. You probably won't adopt all 351 practical ways to save money in your budget/life but even 10-12 may make a difference to your family. Check out the 10/10/80 plan to put yourself in charge instead of putting yourself in debt. The book, published in 2009, is contemporary enough that it addresses the current recession. It's time to write a check to my credit card company to pay just a few bucks more than my minimum!!!

THE LITTLE BOOK OF BIG SAVINGS: 351 pRACTICAL WAYS TO SAVE MONEY NOW, by Ellie Kay, is an excellent little primer that one can easily hold in one hand. Larger than most mass-market paperbacks, yet smaller than the average trade paperback, it has nice large print, and all 351 tips arranged under logical chapter headings,
and in a paragraph or so each -- which is great for people like me, whose attention-span has been blasted to smithereens by decades of watching TV with commercials interrupting the programs every 15 minutes!
This book is fast, easy, and very informative reading!

The main reason I bought this book was that a preview of it was offered here on Amazon. I not only saw the nice little bite-size "bits" into which this book was organized, but I actually found TWO toll-free information numbers! That's right -- no more paying for "Directory Assistance" when using these 800 numbers. (Or, that is, one of them. Sadly, one of the 800 numbers is no longer active. But the thought comes to me that maybe new ones have spung up? At any rate, an updae, and/or a volume 2 would be very welcome, although 90% of the hints in this volume are timeless!

In the back of this book, is an ad for another of Ms. Kay's books, this one entitled "Living Rich For Less", and featuring a picture of a smiling, "glammed-up" Ms.
Kay. It's definitely worth a look, and I'm going to see what others say about it on Amazon. If it's as good as this book is, I definitely will get it. And I think that a set of both books might make a wonderful present -- especially a wedding present!

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

There are only two things with which I find fault in this book. 1) There is NO INDEX, so it's harder to get to EXACTLY what you want to read, as the Chapter Headings are only very general in nature, and 2) The paper-type used for this book seems to be only medium-quality sulphite paper. And sulphite paper of ANY kind, has a "built-in destruction" factor -- it will slowly disintegrate over the years. (See the PBS DVD "Slow Fires", which explains the process, and/or look up "sulphite paper" on the internet.) The sad thing is that archival paper -- the white, white paper seen in some books, is no more expensive to produce than sulphite paper! It is only the EQUIPMENT to produce it that must be all new, because the same equipment will not produce both sulphite and archival paper. It's a ONE-TIME expense! But too few publishers are buying the new equipment. : ( In the meantime, I use the stop-gap method of coating the edges of my sulphite paper books with "Magic" and other markers...which, like the amber-coloured, transparent plastic that is put protectively inside some store windows, keeps the damaging rays of the sun off my books....a bit, anyway.

Books are precious. Money-saving books like this are perhaps moe precious than most. PLEASE, publishers -- buy that archival-paper making equipement!

My wife loves the book. I bought it for a financial class I'm leading and the students like it too

Easy to read, and filled with practical ways to save money. Many I never thought of.

I noticed almost little "mini ads" throughout the book extolling various items (Bounty paper towels, Dawn dishwashing soap, Progressive insurance, Qdoba, Wal-Mart). I believe Bounty and Dawn are both owned by Proctor & Gamble and I see that the author is/was a product spokesperson for P&G and Wal-Mart. I didn't find the bulk of the suggestions useful (and don't know how she "calculated" her "savings" - such as saving $125 per year by cooking multiples dishes in the oven at the same time).
Overall, not a good purchase (and, if you want to save money either pass on this book or get it from the library) and miss the ads for items she's paid to hawk.