Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Thrifty: Living the Frugal Life with Style by Marjorie Harris - Book Review


She lost me at Organic. I'm sorry, but unless that "Organic" is followed by "that I grew in my garden" and not prefaced by "Certified" she has lost all credibility with me.

The only thing that stuck out for me from her book was her definition of a frugal house. I'm sorry, not Harris' definition, but she quotes her friend Margaret Atwood saying, "Keeping a frugal house is about keeping your home in order without having to pay other people to do it and without spending a lot of money. It's about doing things yourself."

What she said that I liked:
Know the difference between your needs and wants. To be thrifty you must be self-aware.
Get organized
Always have a budget for everything.
Get debt under control.
Do your research before large purchases.
Buy well and you buy once.
No shop therapy.
Make the most of what you have: Repurpose, repair, refit, reuse, recycle.
Don't throw good money after bad.
You don't need to spend a lot to create great experiences.
Quell the desire for acquisition. Just get what you need to be complete.

No comments: