Frugal Living For Dummies

by Deborah Taylor-Hough

Overview

Feel like you’re trying to dig out from under a mountain of debt without a shovel? Tired of working your tail off just to break even? Is the high cost of living taking all the joy out of life? Unless you’re one of the top two percent of wealthiest Americans, all of the above should sound painfully familiar. While they’re trying to decide between the ski lodge in Telluride and the Tuscan villa, for the rest of us, it’s an endless litany of corporate lay-offs, stagnant wages, crushing credit card debt, skyrocketing medical costs, exorbitant utility bills, the high cost of higher education.... And they call this “the good life.” Is there a better way to live? Can you get what you need and what you want without killing yourself to get it? “Absolutely,” says frugal-living guru Deborah Taylor-Hough, and in Frugal Living For Dummies, she shows you how.

In this warmhearted guide to living the good life on less, Deborah shows you how to live within your means and enjoy doing it. Among other things, she shows you how to:

• Eat like a king on a peasant’s budget
• Take the sting out of gift-giving
• Dress well on a shoestring
• Save big bucks on family expenses
• Slash household expenses
• Save on medical expenses
• Involve the whole family in saving money
• Save more for the things you want

From basement to attic, cradle to grave, Frugal Living For Dummies covers all areas of life with common sense advice and guidance on:

• Working with your partner to achieve financial goals
• Going to the grocery without being taken to the cleaners
• Quick and thrifty cooking techniques
• Providing kids the basics on a tight budget
• Putting kids through school without going broke
• Looking good and feeling good on a tight budget
• Frugal holiday fun year round
• Saving money around the house and driveway
• Finding quality in pre-owned merchandise

Packed with tried-and-true techniques for cutting costs and stopping the insanity, Frugal Living For Dummies is the ultimate financial survival guide for the rest of us.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780764554032
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	01/31/2003
Series:	For Dummies Books
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Deborah Taylor-Hough teaches people how to live well on less and is the publisher of The Simple Times Newsletter, which reaches more than 18,000 frugal readers around the world.

Table of Contents

Introduction.

Part I: Getting Down to Basics.

Chapter 1: Living Frugally in a Spendthrift World.

Chapter 2: All in the Family: Establishing a Frugal Front.

Chapter 3: Eliminating Debt and Setting Up a Budget.

Part II: Eating Like a King with a Peasant’s Purse.

Chapter 4: Going to the Grocery without Being Taken to the Cleaners.

Chapter 5: No More Macaroni and Cheese, Please!

Creating Frugal Meals.

Chapter 6: Quick and Thrifty Cooking Tips.

Part III: Funding the Frugal Family.

Chapter 7: Cutting Kid Costs: Providing the Basics on a Tight Budget.

Chapter 8: Putting Kids through School While Protecting Your Pocket.

Chapter 9: Looking Good and Feeling Good on a Tight Budget.

Chapter 10: The Family That Plays Together, Stays Together: Frugal Family Fun.

Chapter 11: Frugal Holiday Fun Year ’Round.

Chapter 12: Celebrating Special Occasions, Frugal-Style.

Part IV: Enjoying a Frugal Home and Hearth.

Chapter 13: Saving Money around the House and Driveway.

Chapter 14: Cutting Utility and Service Bills.

Chapter 15: Saving Money on Big-Ticket Items.

Chapter 16: Calling Secondhand Rose: Finding Quality in Previously Owned Merchandise.

Part V: Part of Tens.

Chapter 17: Ten Frugal Ways to Tell Your Sweetheart, “I Love You!”

Chapter 18: Ten Frugal Gift-Giving Ideas.

Index.