Customer Reviews

Living Well on Practically Nothing: Revised and Updated Edition

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I've enjoyed this book and found it an interesting read. The author does offer some good "thrifty living" advice throughout the book as well.

However, some of this book is more radical than most people might be willing to follow. We are a family with several young children - we aren't really up for moving away from all family, Church, and friends to live in a remote rural location. Nor would we be willing to convert an old bus into a home for our family. We aren't willing to give up basic utilities either. And as far as squatting on someone else's land and hiding our camp... well, let's just say that's not very practical with toddlers. :)

So, I think this book may be somewhat useful to families who are trying to live a thrifty existence and avoid the consumer trap. But at the same time, much of the advice may be too extreme for most people.

Its worth reading though, and I found the author's wry, conversational style writing entertaining and easy to read.

+++++

"If you have lost your job or expect to, or had to take a much lower-paying job, or if you have ever wondered how you would survive if you were [without much money then] this book is for you. It is based upon the experiences of real people known to the author--and do very well at it. Teachers, preachers, retired members of the military, people on small inheritances, country people, old people who survived the Great Depression, farmers, writers, artists--all have contributed their know-how on economical living...the author comes from a whole family of [money-concious] New Englanders whose unique...lifestyle is detailed in this book. He remembers the 1930's Depression as a small boy. In later years his father never let him forget it...he has learned to [watch his money] with the best of them--and enjoy doing it. He has used [many of] the methods described in this book and been successful enough so that he is no longer [without money]...This book will help you if you have been fired, demoted, retired, divorced, widowed, bankrupted, or swindled."

The above is from the introduction to this book by Ed Romney. It pretty well sums up this book succintly. I should also mention one more thing that the author says:

"[This book] is not puffed up and padded like many [other] books. I have digested and condensed it to save paper and save your time reading it."

As a person who has thoroughly read this book, I can validate what Romney says in the above quotations. What he does not mention is that this book is, above all, practical.

Readers of this book might get the impression that they have to do everything that Romney suggests. NO. This book is for a wide spectrum of people even for people in extreme circumstances. The idea is to pick and choose. Even Romney admits that he hasn't done everything he suggests but mentions them only because he knows other people who have done them.

There is no index included with this book. Why? Because it doesn't need one. The chapter titles cut straight to the point of each chapter. My favorite chapters have the following titles:

(1) Save money on food
(2) Save on clothing
(3) Save on shelter
(4) Save on transportation
(5) Save on education, entertainment, and vacations
(6) Save on health and medical care
(7) Save up to $37,500 a year and live on $12,000 a year.

Each chapter is divided into sub-sections with a sub-title. This makes the book very easy to read. Here are some of the sub-titles for the first chapter:

(1) How to stay out of debt
(2) Credit cards are addictive
(3) Make things last
(4) There is no real status in spending
(5) Fighting consumer mentality
(6) The anti-spendthrift checklist
(7) Why do people work so hard for nothing?
(8) Don't be one of the apparently wealthy.

There are other good books on this same subject that I recommend:

(1) Your Money or Your Life (by Dominguez and Robin)
(2) How to Survive Without a Salary (by C. Long)
(3) The Joy of Not Working (by E. Zelinski)

I also recommend any movie version of "Death of a Salesman."

Finally, I found that some sections of this book had the author's opinions on various matters (such as on politics and education) that may offend some readers. (Personally I was not offended.) I felt the author could have made his point without these opinions.

In conclusion, this is a book for people who need to live on a lot less money. If this describes you, then you must read this book!!

(first published 1992; revised edition published 2001; introduction; 17 chapters; conclusion; main narrative 190 pages)

+++++

I love this book. The author just died this year 2003, the day after Easter. I wish I could have met him.

Every page is filled with neat ideas. I especially love his "redneck vs millionaire economics."

He describes how his son started a business recycling used pallets and built it into a million dollar business.

One chapter is "How to save $37,500 and live on $12,000 a year."

This book does not have the typical frugal ideas of turning down the thermostat and collecting coupons. There are plenty of other books to describe those ideas.

Thanks in part to Ed Romney, I've come to the realization in my 40's that the "affluence" model of life in this country is a scam perpetuated by our socio-economic institutions to keep us servile, docile and dependent on our bosses' good will for our continued subsistence. Competing amongst ourselves for a per capita GDP of only $35,000 or so a year (not a lot of money, if you think about it), most Americans really can't afford the lifestyle presented to us as normative by advertising, movies and television shows, regardless of how much in wages we might earn. Many try to compensate for a nonexistent wealth base by running up consumer debts, with predictably disastrous results when you fall behind on your payments or suffer a loss of income. The only way to escape from this trap is to adopt the sort of obsessively thrifty lifestyle advocated by Romney, save and invest every available penny, and hope that your health holds out until you can become financially independent.

I have reservations about some of Romney's advice, however. A cheap diet based on potatoes, grains and beans might save you money in the short run, but unless you engage in manual labor for a living, eating foods with such high glycemic indices may eventually cause the sorts of metabolic problems leading to obesity, heart disease and Type II diabetes -- the constellation of health problems you most certainly want to avoid. An approximation to a hunter-gatherer diet would be better, but also more expensive.

I could also have done without Romney's gratuitous swipes at "liberals" and "liberalism" as the source of Americans' financial problems. Recent events demonstrate that conservative businessmen are just as willing to swindle investors as liberal politicians are willing to raise taxes, so there is plenty of blame to go around for the systematic destitution underway in this country.

Nonetheless, Romney offers some practical advice for living a financially realistic life, and I'm glad he's been able to update his book.

Should you buy a book based on its title in hopes that it will magically solve all your problems? Probably not, although I did. Upon receiving this book in the mail, I immedeatly read it from cover to cover the first night. At first I was somewhat disappointed out of my own desperation (first lesson: never wait so long that you are in desperate need to make a change). After all, I had just exchanged the very thing I couldn't afford to lose for-well, the very thing I was hoping to get out of this transaction.

I soon relaxed, however, sinking into the book realizing how knowledgeable this author was on this subject. He talks in-depth about all the different places he and his family have lived, for example; how each state and/or town differ socially, politically, and economically. He also tells the story of how his son turned used, wooden pallets into a full-fledged company complete with a fleet of trucks and a huge warehouse! The book really began showing much more promise than I had originally given it credit for. But it also gives practical methoods to all the madness as well such as eating cheap (the one thing I disagree with), and ways to make money in desperation (just what I wanted-and it's all legal, or most of it).

So this book is worth the-well, exchange. (This was the best price too!) It's a very smart book that will get your practical and creative juices flowing without telling you which slug fits into the parking meter and that you shouldn't give-in to the establishment. So, give the author his due and BUY THIS BOOK. After all, he's earned it!

I really enjoyed this book, mainly because of the narrative of the author.

That's not to say I agree with his views (and he does have them), but I actually find a value in the fact that he speaks from the bitter experience of poverty.

Whereas The Tightwad Gazette comes from the perspective of penny-pinching being clever and fun, this book comes from an angle of someone whose family fell on hard times and saw their position of privilege evaporate.

Anyone who has had a financial or positional knock in life, such as being fired, demoted, divorced or finding that they have to be the sole breadwinner because their spouse is seriously ill, should be able to relate to that.

I actually find it quite touching that he includes advice that tells readers not to vent the stress of poverty on their families, to stick together.

This may sound like commonsense, but in truth money problems have got to be a huge cause of domestic conflicts.

Having said that, although I found the book entertaining, it is most likely practical to someone who has just been sacked or has nothing, rather than someone who wants to cut a few costs.

I find that this book almost fills a gap between the penny-pinching genre (as in Tightwad Gazette) and survival manuals.

I can't say that I have picked up anything that I have yet incorporated into my daily life, but I really did enjoy chapters such as "A Day of Cheap Living" where the author describes his cheapness in delightful detail.

I think if you are up against really hard times, this book could give you some ideas. Could be a bit cheaper, though.

This is one of my all time favorite books, and I have adopted much of it to my own life. However, I do not live in an abandoned school bus, I live in a house. I do not trap and hunt game, I buy food at the market. And I am not a survivalist or a right wing nut job either.

I say this because some of the past reviews have focused on certain parts of this book and ignored others. Romney wrote this book originally in the early 1990's (although it was revised about 10 years later). It was intended primarily for people dealing with the "downsizing" trend during the Bush, Sr. years, who had to learn how to "downsize" their own lives without starving or going postal.

His advice is widely varied depending on one's personal situation. For example, he describes how to spot good, quality homes that won't break your budget with a huge mortgage. He does the same for autos, food, even entertainment and education. This advice would serve the vast majority of people who need to live simpler lives. He also discusses how to deprogram yourself from a consumerist, materialist mindset, and how to value what's really important in life.

He also discusses more radical alternatives for those who are REALLY down and out. For these people he talks about setting up camp in the woods, converting old school busses into homes, learning to hunt and fish, etc. Unless you are really, really broke you'll probably not apply these sections to your own life, though they do make interesting and fun reading.

The point is that this book has something for everyone. It is also written in a down to earth style that makes it a fun book as well. Chances are anyone will find something in it that makes it worth its cost. This one is very highly recommended.

Now in a newly revised and updated edition, Living Well On Practically Nothing by Edward Romney is a straightforward and highly utilitarian guide for anyone who needs to learn to live on a lot less money. Chapters cover how to save money on food, clothing, shelter, utilities, transportation, health and medical care and much more. An ideal guide for anyone who must accustom themselves to a thriftier standard of living, Living Well On Practically Nothing is strongly recommended for personal and community library money management and economical life-style reading lists and reference collections.

Written for those who seek to live frugally, either by choice or necessity, the book has some important tips, yet is marred by it's rather "folksy" manner of writing. It often seems like one is reading a series of letters rather than a book. Some of the information may be dated, but it does have a very strong theme. Doing well with less, spending and saving wisely, buying used instead of new, making do with what is around you, eating healthy foods instead of fast food & pre-packaged snacks, and doing without the "bells and whistles" of products promoted by media saturation. Not a perfect book, but a good start.

Ed Romney is a no-nonsense kind of guy who understands clearly what is needed to live a happy, fulfilled life and to avoid debt slavery. It's down-to-earth writing style is friendly and engaging, and its numerous tips and suggestions for living simply are both practical and inspiring. Read this book!