The Year of Less

I got an email last week from the blog of Cait Flanders to tell me that this book had been reduced to £1.66 for the Kindle edition. I have a book budget of £3.50 a month to pay for bargains like that and library loan charges so decided to snap it up !

I've been reading Cait's blog since back when it was called ' A Blonde on a Budget' and so had wondered what would be in a book that wasn't on the blog. Well, this is divided into 12 chapters, one for each month of the year long shopping ban she undertook. It turns out that it is much more an autobiographical book than about saving money. If you are looking for ideas as to why people spend money, especially to meet emotional needs, well this is your book. However, if you are looking for ideas about how to pay off your student loan, this will only give you big picture ideas, rather than frugal tips.

I enjoyed the book because of the insights it gave into the author and how it shows that you can get through difficult times without resorting to retail therapy. It didn't take me long to read, a couple of hours at most and for that reason I'm really glad that I got it for a cheap price and for the Kindle. If I had paid full price I think that I would have been expecting a bit more for my money and would have been immediately thinking of selling it again as it does not contain any really new information for us. 

The other thing that was interesting for me about the book was that it gave me a good insight into how insecure some young people are and that makes them vulnerable to the advertising of products that always appear to promise a better lifestyle, more popularity etc. if you purchase them. The author also talks about her regrets in not learning all the skills her parents have, for instance basic car maintenance or sewing skills. That made me realise that before MissShoestring moves out we better check up on her basic DIY skills !