Book Review: 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget

The writers of WiseBread.com recently published 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget. I’m a huge fan of Wise Bread so I was eager to read to this book and hoped I would enjoy it every bit as much as the posts they write each week.

The book is broken down into two main sections. The first section highlights Frugal Living in the areas of Food & Drink, Travel, Health & Beauty, Fun & Entertainment, Shopping & Bargain Hunting, Green Living, and Education & Self Improvement. The second section focuses on Personal Finance in the areas of Financial Planning & Budgeting, Credit Cards & Debt, Investing Your Money, Housing & Home Improvement, and Career & Money-Making Ideas.

Personally I thought the book read in much the same way as Amy Dacyczyn’s book, The Complete Tightwad Gazette. Most topics span only a page or two, which means the book can be read all at once or picked up time and again and read at different sittings.

It actually turned out to be quite a good beach book. I read a couple of pages, went for a walk, read a couple more, got in the water, read a couple more, went in for lunch… you get the picture. It would also make a great bathroom book, if you live in a house where the library and the bathroom sometimes appear to be interchangeable.

Because the book focuses on so many different topics it’s quite enjoyable to read cover to cover, though you could also pick and choose to read only the topics you are interested in. I kept a notebook alongside and jotted down notes as I read valuable sections like How to Complain and Get a Good Result and 10 Frugal Ways to Care for Your Allergies.

In my opinion the most valuable section of the book comes under Resources and is labeled 142 Resources that will Save You Cash. In this section Wise Bread writers provide 142 tools and websites, which include money management tools, rate comparison and search tools, deals, coupons & freebies, job & career resources and best personal finance blogs, as well as a whole host of other resources.

I think this book would be a great choice for someone who is trying to get a handle on their finances or someone who is new to frugal living. It would also make a great graduation gift.