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Living Well on Practically Nothing: Revised and Updated Edition (Paperback)

~ Edward H. Romney (Author), Ed Romney (Author) "The hardest part of losing your wealth may be when you also lose the respect of friends and relatives..." (more)
Key Phrases: New Hampshire, New Mexico, South Carolina (more...)
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Product Description

Living Well on Practically Nothing: Revised and Updated Edition is for people who need to live on a lot less money. If you have been fired, demoted, retired, divorced, widowed, bankrupted or swindled - or you just want to quit your job and remain financially self-reliant - this book is for you. In it are hundreds of tips, secrets and necessary skills for living well on little money. Chapters include: Save Up to $37,000 a Year and Live on $12,000 a Year; Low-Cost Computers for Fun, Profit, and Education; Some Ways to Live on No Money at All; A Day of Cheap Living; A New Career or Business for You; Fix Things and Make Them Last; and Protect Your Investments and Make Them Grow. From cover to cover, this book is stocked with proven methods for saving money on shelter, food, clothing, transportation, entertainment, health care and more. The author left the "system" in 1969 and has worked for himself ever since. Let him show you how you, too, can live happily, comfortably and with complete financial freedom.

About the Author

The late Edward H. Romney, the author and publisher of a popular series of books on repairing cameras, grew up in the 1930s, part of an old New England family that lost their money in the Great Depression. Before leaving his job in 1969 to live as a self-employed entrepreneur, he taught electronics, psychology, sociology and education at the college level.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 200 pages
  • Publisher: Paladin Press; Revised edition (November 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1581602820
  • ISBN-13: 978-1581602821
  • Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #202,281 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Ed Romney
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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The hardest part of losing your wealth may be when you also lose the respect of friends and relatives. Read the first page
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New Hampshire, New Mexico, South Carolina, West Virginia, North Carolina, New England, New York, United States, Rust Belt, Uncle John, Cape Cod, Great Depression, Country Ham, Dow Jones, New Jersey, Salvation Army, Lining Well, Social Security
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Customer Reviews

27 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.0 out of 5 stars (27 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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112 of 118 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but maybe not Practical, January 15, 2005
By Kelly "kelly-lcce" (Kennesaw, GA United States) - See all my reviews
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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.
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67 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars redneck vs millionaire econonics, July 28, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Living Well On Practically Nothing (Paperback)
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.

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235 of 260 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Shows a practical alternative to the American affluence scam, January 18, 2002
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.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars It wasn't all that ...
It's not like me to write a negative review about a book because, after all, we can find good in anything if we look, right? Read more
Published 1 month ago by R. Harris

4.0 out of 5 stars Good HOW TO Guide
I read this book in about two nights. It's very interesting.

Allthough, most of the information is dated*, the principles** remain the same. Read more
Published 2 months ago by W. Lord

3.0 out of 5 stars Important Lesson for All You Busy-Bodies
He gets a bit extreme at times, and its mainly for people heading out into the country (he also talks about how to hide undetected on government lands). Read more
Published 11 months ago by ancientexplorer

4.0 out of 5 stars Not so practical, but very inspirational
Edward H. Romney advocates (advocated?) a lifestyle based on voluntary simplicity and self-reliance, and here he gives a whole lot of ideas for achieving this. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Curmudgeon

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your money
I found Mr. Romney's self-satisfied ode to living the life of a small-town scrooge/tight-wad to be arrogant, self-righteous and bordering on out-right offensive in places... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Spartan5000

2.0 out of 5 stars kind of bizarre
I'm a sucker for any book that tells me how to live a more frugal life. I think we're much too consumer oriented, so I like the idea of living a more simple life. Read more
Published 24 months ago by J. Coulthurst

1.0 out of 5 stars Living like a pauper.
The author was older. He had lived during the depression. If you hate hearing your parents and/or grand-parents belittling you because you did not survive the depression you will... Read more
Published on February 8, 2008 by G. C. Picchetti

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Good
This Book has helped me to save a lot of money and learn to be smarter with my time and money Great Book I Highly Recommend it.
Published on October 13, 2007 by Leonardn O. Norris

1.0 out of 5 stars living well on practically nothing
this book was terrible
i am embarrassed to even have it in my house
Published on June 11, 2007 by K. Fritch

2.0 out of 5 stars There's no reason to pay for common sense
If you are interested in learning about frugal living, start by passing up this book. While Romney's effort has some interesting sections, the material is a little dated... Read more
Published on May 6, 2007 by Mo

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