The Shoestring Girl: How I Live on Practically Nothing and You Can Too

by Annie Jean Brewer

The second edition of The Shoestring Girl: How I Live on Practically Nothing and You Can Too contains everything you wanted to know about saving money but were afraid to ask. It covers housing (urban and rural), medical, food, budgeting, furniture, fashion, personal care, and much, much more. It even contains a section about saving money on "bad" habits. Filled with tips, tricks, and stories, there is something for everyone within these pages.

Genres: Frugal, Self Help, Nonfiction

114 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 30, 2011

About the author

Annie Brewer learned how to combine minimalism with frugality to live the life of her dreams. A single mother, she is a computer professional who works from home and primarily supports her family through writing. You can follow her adventures at Annienygma.com, discover her articles on the Yahoo Contributor Network. See also https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi... .

Reviews

[Casseroll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting tips on living way below your means and the poverty level. Her take on insurance was scary. Home remedies to cure serious stuff isn’t something to be passed on. She essentially diagnosed herself and kids, then used jalapeños to cure what ailed her. Some bad editing and repeats but overall, okay read.

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is pretty thorough but very drawn out on minute details. This book definitely embraces one to think creatively about solutions. My gripes are that the author is antivax and falsely claims that doctors spend the most time on patients that they can make pay more.

[Mari · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was interested in this topic since there's been a lot of press about raising minimum wage. I am in favor of raising it but I doubt legislation will pass to almost double it to $15. So, how do some people manage to live on incredibly small budgets? How will many of us be able to afford retirement with small or no pensions and social security being depleted while cost of living continues to rise? This book presents practical tips by one woman who lives very frugally and seems happy to do so.

As one would think, health insurance doesn't make it into a shoestring budget. The author recommends prevention but that only goes so far. Scary stuff. But most of her other tips were very interesting.

This book and another I read on the topic both lamented recent laws banning people from raising chickens in cities. I always considered this a good thing but these books have shown me the perspective from the other side.

[JHM · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot of value in this slim, inexpensive book. Annie has -- through a combination of necessity and choice -- chosen to live a much more frugal existence than I would, but she illustrates how easy it is to cut out a lot of expenses we take for granted. I'm just starting out to investigate frugality, and I was impressed by her inclusion of tips about natural remedies for oral health and overall wellness.

If you're in a severe financial pinch, I think the $2.99 for this book would be a good investment. If you're not in dire straits, this would still be a good book to learn about how you can trim your expenses in order to have more time and money so you pursue what you truly want in life.

[Susan Bybee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been really spendy lately, and when I get into that mode, I find that reading books like this will give my paradigm a much-needed shift.