America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money: Your Guide to Living Better, Spending Less, and Cashing in on Your Dreams (Paperback)

~ Steve Economides (Author), (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

There's no doubt that today's families can use some help in balancing the household finances, and the Economides family, headed by a former ad sales exec and his homemaker wife, deliver the goods here. To an extreme. As founders of the HomeEconomiser newsletter, the couple offers plenty of helpful tips on shopping and menu planning, saving, reducing debt, and cutting back on utilities. Most of Middle America, however, will probably find their habits overly harsh. Take, for instance, their shopping routine: they make one monthly trip to the grocery store, which takes up to five hours but costs them only $350. By freezing such items as milk, bread, and cheese for later in the month and using the more perishable fruits and veggies early in the month (saving such things as apples and carrots for the latter weeks), the Economideses feed themselves and their five children based on this one trip. Even though some tips advocate what others might consider garbage picking and mooching, any family with money issues will find useful information here. Especially helpful are their household budgeting techniques, adaptable to any home. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

“Of all the how-to-do-it books ever written, the best and most constructively useful are the Bible, Voltaire’s Candide- and this one. The time is right, right now, for somebody to give us all a top sergeant lesson in practical economics: ‘There is no free lunch.’ Congratulations, Annette and Steve Economides: I pray your readers will practice what you teach.”
- PAUL HARVEY, legendary American radio broadcaster and host of The Rest of the Story on the ABC Radio Network

“If your family is struggling with debt or you find yourself spending more money than you can legitimately afford, pick up and READ this book today! Implement the strategies you find and enjoy a lifetime free of financial anxiety!”
- Glinda Bridgforth, financial coach, Oprah Debt Diet consultant, and bestselling author of Girl, Make Your Money Grow! and Girl, Get Your Credit Straight!


From the Trade Paperback edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (January 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307339459
• ISBN-13: 978-0307339454
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #34,320 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

141 of 141 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Recently featured on a major news show, this is what you need to know, August 31, 2007

By	K. Corn "reviewer" (Indianapolis,, IN United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

I saw the show. I already had the book. I bought another copy to give to my son. I use the tips in the book and, yes, we DO save money.
Here is the REALITY you have to face before you even buy this book:
To get the full benefit of this book, you do need to be willing to buck certain attitudes that are part of our society. The Economides family is willing to get clothing from the thrift shop. When your child comes to you and asks to have those designer jeans, will you have the courage to say "No" or will you cave in? Can you put off impulse buying? Are you willing to take the steps necessary to stay out of debt? Read the chapter on Attitude and if you think you don't have the guts to commit to a new attitude (and don't fool yourself, it does take guts), the this may not be the time for you to buy this book....just don't wait till you are drowning in debt to see the light. I personally think that one chapter is the MOST valuable one right there.

One MAJOR advantage of this book is that it offers options, depending on your comfort level with saving money. You can opt to be a bit frugal or save every spare penny. If you need to take some baby steps before moving to the next level - or just stick with a certain level of savings - each chapter offers options. Clearly, this family understands that not everyone can commit to their value system and they give a nod to those people. I found that refreshing and different.

It is not an "all or nothing" book, although the family themselves describe how far they'll go to save money. They get by on about 35K a year and have 7 children, so it doesn't take a lot of imagination to figure out that they have to be cutting back in a MAJOR way.

We don't save quite as drastically as they do. Even so, we have learned a lot from this book. One of the most important facets of a longterm savings plan is maintaining the right attitude and not giving in to peer pressure or temptation. When I feel like I'm weakening, I turn to this book and am inspired again.

112 of 117 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Be prepared to save real money using these tips!, July 5, 2007

By	Annette Keenberg (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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What takes courage, commitment, creativity, idealism, faith, and the help of others? And isn't homeschooling? Choosing to live a frugal lifestyle, especially during the good economic times.
The biggest negative about this book - use it and you'll soon realize that not everyone cares to be smart about how they spend their money. It could be an elderly parent on a fixed income who says, "I'm not /that/ desperate," when you tell them how to save $20 a month on their AOL bill. A sibling who thinks coupon clipping is only for lonely housewives who need something to do while watching soap operas between loads of laundry. Or maybe a good friend who swears their current method for teaching their children responsible money habits works perfectly fine, but admits they rarely remember to actually use it with their kids. When faced with these people, its best to avoid asking for the $240 per year in AOL savings, fast food coupons, and money their kids may very well waste themselves "forgetting" to pay their own bills, as they learned from mom and dad forgetting to pay them during their childhoods.
Don't panic - this is not an all or nothing book that will force you to live on ramon and peanut butter just to pay off bills as early as possible. Every helpful chapter ends with three options: Timid Mouse for those wishing to start slowly, Wise Owl for those ready to make more of a commitment to frugality, and Amazing Ant for those eager to stop wasting their money needlessly and wanting to change now. Nor do you have to read this as a start to finish system with each chapter requiring you've read and implemented the previous chapters. Instead, you can start where you wish to dive in and bounce around as your interests and needs dictate.
Our family has enjoyed many benefits already from the tips given to the reader by Steve and Annette Economides. Yes, that is their real last name. The day after my copy arrived, it paid for itself in a single grocery tip regarding lunchmeat. We used the money we saved the first month on medical expenses to buy new bedroom furniture. Think clipping coupons is a waste of time for just a few pennies? We didn't change our eating habits or purchases a bit, yet with coupon savings, we financed not one but two vacations to San Diego, complete with annual passes to Sea World, the Wild Animal Park, and the Zoo for the whole family.
Throughout the book, the Economides' children chime in with their thoughts on the ideas and, more importantly, their implementation is a real homeschooling household. With that in mind, here is what our son thinks of our new lifestyle.
I like the kid's paycheck. I get money for doing stuff like cleaning animal cages, feeding the cats, and even exercise. It's helping me save up to buy a used X-Box.

Living a frugal lifestyle isn't about depriving yourself, it's about keeping as much of your money in your hands as possible. This book is full of tips to help you do just that as painlessly as possible.

55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Frugal "Primer", March 18, 2007

By	Thrifte1 (Southwest Suburbs of Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

I really enjoyed reading what the Economides shared about living a "thrifty" life. This is full of basic advice for living a frugal life, but even those who have been practicing thrifty living can learn a few things. I especially enjoyed their section on how to save on groceries (although I haven't yet tried to do all my shopping for the month in one day) and their chapter on children's allowances. For those who are trying to get out of debt, I'd recommend starting with the chapter on budgeting.

The book is very well-written and fun to read. If you're inspired and want to read more, I'd recommend the Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn and Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence. by Joe Dominguez