Review of "The Smart Spending Guide"
"The Smart Spending Guide" by Faye Prosser Magnolia Way,
December 2005 Paperback, 168 pages ISBN: 0977343642 Ordering
information: http://www.SmartSpendingResources.com/
Review by Sherri Allen:
Whether you need help stretching your paycheck from month to
month or you just want to build your retirement nest egg, the
advice and tips provided by Faye Prosser in her book, "The Smart
Spending Guide," will teach you how to get the most from your
hard-earned money. I know, because I learned Prosser's grocery
shopping techniques while editing the book and have been
experiencing big savings for the past few months. Note: I was
hired to edit the book and paid for my services. I have no stake
in the success of the book and am not receiving any compensation
based on book sales.
"The Smart Spending Guide" begins with a solid introduction to
debt-reduction and budgeting and even includes helpful
worksheets. Then, you get to my favorite part of the book, the
grocery system. Prosser gives you an easy-to-follow lesson in
combining several money-saving shopping techniques to maximize
your grocery savings, including where to find coupons (did you
know you can BUY coupons?), how to organize your coupons (the
bottom of your purse just doesn't work!), where to buy food
(it's not always the grocery store), planning your grocery
shopping trips, and much, much more. Next, there are several
chapters full of useful information about frugal living. The
frugal tips provided in "The Smart Spending Guide" cover a wide
range of topics, showing you how to save money on meals (adding
to the grocery shopping strategy), gifts, vacations, and your
health and well-being, as well as around the house and more.
Finally, the book provides some suggestions and resources for
making extra money and presents ideas and motivation for
continued saving.
Thanks to Prosser's conversational style of writing, "The Smart
Spending Guide" is very easy to read. As you go through the
book, if feels as if she's a friend imparting helpful advice.
The grocery system is well-explained and made to seem simple, so
you won't be too overwhelmed to give it a try. The frugal
sections are smart and mainstream; easily adopted by busy people
living in modern times. Prosser has avoided the more radical
ideas often found in frugal-living books which end up
intimidating beginners, such as 101 ways to recycle dryer lint
or goat farming to save money on milk.
"The Smart Spending Guide" is perfect for frugal beginners and
people who are already moderately frugal. People who don't know
anything about frugal living will be amazed. The moderately
frugal will pick up several extra good ideas and be motivated to
try more. I highly recommend "The Smart Spending Guide." After
all, I saved more than the book's purchase price on my first
grocery shopping trip!