The Little Book of Thrift

The Little Book of Thrift

Save Money, Spend Less, Live Better!

It's not about being cheap, its about being smarter.

Forget sack cloth undies, doing your own haircuts and reusing the tea bag. The Little Book of Thrift doesn't mean you have to learn knitting, make your own jam or eat fried rice for dinner every night.

When times are tough, the tough can still go shopping. We'll just sho you how to do it better!

* Be more organised
* Save hundreds on Christmas
* Spend less on groceries
* Give the kids more money, but spend less on them
* DVD's for free
* Eat out for less

Would you like to do the same milage for 30% less? Save thousands on family holidays, drink better wine for less money and get more out of your clothing allowance? How about reducing the interest you pay the bank, wasting less in the kitchen and getting more out of the garden? We'll show you how to pay less for technology, shop smarter for appliances and get your money's worth from everything you buy.

Embrace your inner hippie! Live well and be proud on a lot less.

Get 'The Little Book of Thrift' and get a life, a cheaper one without really changing it. Now that's life with style!

None of the tips are particularly difficult. Many might be called common sense (but how common is that these days?). But nowhere else will you find such an easy compendium of cheap ways to do everything you can think of in your family life.Saving money is a hugely invigorating experience. Letting go of the Jones grip on your finances will take a massive weight off your shoulders. Enjoy your family, let go of the tensions about finances and relax, safe in the knowledge that every purchase you make is worth it!

The Little Book of Thrift contains over 700 hints and tips on how to make your bucks give more bang. From reducing the money you spend on the weekly shop to paying less bank fees, from thrifty, tasty recipes to cheaper entertainment, technology and holidays, The Little Book of Thrift will help you save ten, twenty, a hundred or even more dollars every month. Part tip book, part change-your-thinking, the book is all about keeping your lifestyle but reducing how much you pay for it. Do I really need that? Can I do the same for less?Can I make that last a little bit more?

1 What's Thrift All About?
2 Him
3 Her
4 The Family
5 The Kids

6 In the Garden
7 Grocery Shopping
8 Cooking
9 Around the House
10 Get Organised
11 Entertainment
12 Buying a Car
13 Driving
14 Buying and Selling a House
15 Buying Big Items
16 Travel and Holidays
17 Technology
18 Reducing Credit Card Use
19 Pets
20 Christmas
21 Quick and Thrifty Recipes
22 Handy Links

The Little Book of Thrift is not about being cheap or sticking to a strict budget, (because let's face it, we rarely keep to them). The answer lies in thinking differently; in making simple changes that become habits for a lifetime. By thinking about what and why you're buying, you can save 20, 30, even 40% of what you currently spend. And the really good news? After a while, you won't even notice the difference.

Author Paul Lonergan's goal for the next year or so is to live the same lifestyle on far less money. His wife calls him the tightwad, the children have a far ruder description but his friends don't notice the difference. In truth, he's proud to wear all the titles anyone wants to give him because with just a little effort, he's saving hundreds, even thousands of dollars every year by just thinking about where, when and what he spends money on.

Some of Paul's 708 ways to save money without changing your lifestyle include:

A penny for your thoughts: Every night, take a dollar out of your pocket and put it in a jar. 365 days later you have enough to buy a little treat for the family without breaking the bank.

Play the $100/next day game: If an item costs more than $100, then leave it until tomorrow to buy it. The nuisance of going back will cause you to really think about whether you actually need it. (9/10 you won't!)
Your suburb may be costing a fortune: Supermaket prices are not uniform- they'll often price goods on what the market will bear. So do your supermaket shopping in a cheaper suburb where the lower prices will amaze you! Same applies to things like vet services- the vet next suburb over could save you a plenty!
Smarter appliance usage: Did you know your clothes dryer is the second highest user of energy per hour in the household? While your clothes line or drying rack is free!

Good old fashioned remedies: Use baking soda and vinegar for a sparkling clean. Use tea bags and cucumber for a facial, (see pages 41-43 for more natural remedies).

Feed me now!: Kids love snack food. Buy packets of popping corn (not the microwave packet). It's as quick and as enjoyable and you can regulate the salt and butter, (see pages 55-56 for other tips for kids food.)

The Little Book of Thrift is packed with hints and tips that will change your life in hundreds of little ways, and no one, not even you, will notice the difference in lifestyle.

What's thrift all about?
Being thrifty is all about thoughtful buying rather than impulse buying. The thrift buyer is organised. They think about their needs throughout the coming week, month and year. They know the family holiday schedule so book ahead of time, they know the birthday and Christmas buying they need to do and plan for it. It not about large sums on one or two things. It's a ton of little things that add up a lot.

Save Money, Spend Less and Live Better

Paul Lonergan is the eldest of five children in a family where a dollar was always well spent, Paul Lonergan spent his early career writing radio advertising- in between playing the drums and working behind the bar in music pubs and clubs. The usual jump to Europe with no money and less experience was fundamental to his growing awareness of how the world worked. Backpacking trips through S.E Asia, Africa and Europe on just dollars a day showed him how to get more for less. He met his wife in London and settled back in Australia where he worked as a creative director for a multi-national publishing company. Now a fulltime writer with three children ranging in age from 15-6, Paul looked at the growing expenses, a shrinking economy and a super fund going backwards and decided to shave some fat out of the family budget. The answers lay in family history, a grandmother who'd seen out the depression and a mother-in-law who knew the value of a dollar. He started thinking carefully about every aspect of family life and started looking at the natural wastage in a busy family. The light bulb moment came when he realised they saved over $900 in one month, without really trying. How much could he save? And maybe other families would like to know how it was done! The result was The Little Book of Thrift.

The Little Book of Thrift
Three Blind Mice Publishing
Authro: Paul Lonergan
ISBN: 9780646506562
RRP: $19.99

www.thelittlebookofthrift.com.au