The Frugal Life – Piper Terrett (NON-CRIME)

Here’s another good (non-crime fiction) book for the festive market and one I consider an investment.  It’s also another timely tome as the UK lags behind in coming out of the recession and rumours abound that a second wave might hit our shores.  Many are feeling the pinch and many are reviewing the way they spend their money.  Thus, The Frugal Life, being packed full of tips on this topic is full of good advice.  Neither is this a book to dishearten, for as the subtitle says, this is one about “How to Spend Less and Live More”.

The author, Piper Terrett has maintained a blog on The Frugal Life for some time, with posts subsequent to the publication of the book adding more advice into the mixture.  Recently, Piper was set a challenge by MSN Money to see how she coped living on the equivalent of incapacity benefit for three weeks.  Also, back in October she won the Energy Saving Trust’s Green Voice of the UK.  Clearly, this is an author who advises only what she practises, so what will you find in the book?

Well, first of all the chapter headings set the scene, as this is all about maintaining fun too.  They include Frugality Begins at Home: Conserving Cash in the Frugal Castle; The Frugal Family: Breed without Breaking the Bank; and Frugal Threads: Be a Frugal Fashionista.  The Frugal Ecologist includes advice on slashing your energy bills.  The Frugal Foodie advises on dropping your snobbery for good eats at lower prices and creative ways to resource your food.  This chapter also includes an interesting insight into Germaine Greer’s store cupboard (and when you can ignore the “best before” dates).  The Frugal Good Life may have you re-thinking your garden and prompt you to consider keeping chickens.

In addition to her own tips and those of commenters on her blog, Piper’s The Frugal Life carries a list of website resources for further information on the topics included.

The Frugal Life is a fine reminder that we don’t need to spend money as we may have done over the last couple of decades and a great tome of advice for those, sadly, who are already feeling the pinch.