Suddenly Frugal: How to Live Happier and Healthier for Less

by Leah Ingram

Live a happier and healthier life for less and save thousands of dollars each year with this essential guide to living on a budget.

Many people know one or two things they can do to save money, like cutting back on vacations and meals out, but beyond that, they’re stumped. When they look at their current lifestyle, they have no idea where they can trim the fat without sacrificing their quality of life.

That’s exactly what this guide will do. It will help you identify small, painless changes you can make to your daily habits that can add up to big savings—while bringing you closer as a family. By grouping these money-saving tips into a room of the house or errand on a to-do list, you can immediately put your suddenly frugal plan into action—and instantly begin saving money.

By pinpointing the dollar amount associated with each cost-saving step, financial whiz and mom Leah Ingram will inspire you to embrace—and enjoy—your new frugality.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Money, Finance, Personal Finance, Reference, How To

256 pages, Paperback

First published December 18, 1989

Reviews

[Dianna Dekelaita · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you need to be told to close the freezer door, to avoid buying Starbucks every day, and to turn down your thermostat to save money, then you should be smacked in the head with this book. Otherwise, skip it.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Recycled information. Want to be truly frugal? Get this book from your library for free.

[Alexandra Hamilton · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is sad. It reminds me of that episode of The Simpsons in which Homer loses his job and they economize by squishing all the last slivers of soap into a ball of soap slivers.

The most poignant was the calculus for spending money on clothes. If you're at a thrift shop, do buy the Land's End coat with the lifetime warranty because it means that it will be the last coat you will ever buy. Bless her Land's End coat wearing heart.

I am no spendthrift, and I was raised to live poor, but buying one coat to last for the rest of your life, and it being Land's End (!) is letting the terrorists win.

[SB · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suddenly Frugal is about exactly what the title suggests, and offers some useful and sensible suggestions about de-cluttering as well as simplifying everyday spending patterns in order to cut back on a few quid. However, some tips are incredibly outdated or slightly unrealistic (and some even fringe with common sense). Although, ultimately, this book does share the importance of looking into the necessity of what we purchase, as well as providing easy to follow steps to cutting back.

[Lenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could have written 90% of this book on my own. The suggestions for "being frugal" are things that I have always done anyway. Some examples from the book were: make compost for your garden, shop at Goodwill, use your dryer less often, clean with vinegar or baking soda. DUH! Could I get some advice on how to be even MORE frugal? These "frugal" ideas are what I consider no-brainers.

[Kate Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice little package of a frugal book for someone just starting out. For me, the frugalista of frugality, it wasn't anything new. However, it did remind me of a few things I'd passed over for year such as washing clothing in cold and short cycles to save and making sure the fridge isn't pressed against the wall. Leah also inspired me to order some things from the library such as 365 Slow Cooker supers and The Biggest Loser Sculpt workout. Sometimes us masters of frugality need to be inspired by new tricks or cookbooks.

[Kelly]

This is most definitely NOT for me. I'm beyond the "close the fridge to save energy" tips. I'm also beyond the "use your library" tips. I was hoping for something more.
And can we mention how repetitive it was? Annoying to read. She also insisted on putting websites to everything (www.goodwill.com, www.crock-pot.com, www.gap.com, www.oldnavy.com...I am not making this up).

[Gwen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has finally made me come to terms with the fact that there is precious little else that I can do to curb my (already extremely pared-down) spending--Ingram's work doesn't provide any new tips or ideas for the already-frugal person. (In Ingram's defense, I'm not sure what I was expecting to learn from reading this book. I was hoping that there was a chance that I'd missed some crucial method of saving money and took a chance on reading this.)

Don't go out to eat? Check. Plan meals and shop the sales for food? Check. Cut cable? Check. Wash clothes in cold water? Check. Shop at Goodwill/thrift stores? Check. Sell items on eBay/Amazon? Check. Use the library? Check x10000. Find cheap/free entertainment? Check. Turn the heat down? Check. (So far this winter, we've had our heat on for less than 24 hours...total.) Carpool or take public transit? Check.

Nothing Ingram says here is a radical idea--or even a lifestyle shift--for people already extremely conscientious about finances.

What I did appreciate: the idea of buying a set amount of giftcards for the grocery store and only use those over the course of a month to really see how much you're spending. Even though I track my spending online, this seems like a good method of examining expenses. (Harder to do, though, if you shop at more than one grocery store.)

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Most of her ideas are common sense that anyone who didn't grow up rich would know. The amounts that she says you can save per year are totally based on her experience. I can guarantee that I will NOT save $800 a year on books, since I have never spent that amount on books before. I also do not like that she mainly assumes that if a government website says something will save you money that it is true. If you want to learn how she saved money, go ahead and read this. If you want to learn to save money, it's pretty useless unless you have her exact experience. I only finished it because of how much time I had already invested in it before realizing it was useless.

[Jaymee · Rating 4 out of 5]

what might be old news to some people is useful information to others, especially condensed into a handy portable tome. none of these tips are particularly groundbreaking, but it's clearly written for the beginner.

repetitive and obvious, yes, but the writing was simple and honestly, what do you expect? all self-help books are essentially organized common sense.

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

it would be okay, if it was the first book you read on teh subject to get you started, but I was thinking most of this is common sense.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book had a few good ideas, most of it was common sense or reallllllly dated. Like recommending compact fluorescent....remember those spiral bulbs that were popular before LED? Or using Netflix's one movie at a time sent through mail program instead of cable... Also, some of the things the author mentioned really didn't seem frugal at all, like spending $100/yr for People magazine instead of buy individually and some other purchases that I would consider frivolous. It is hard to judge too much based on the time as I'm assuming this book was written around 2008-2009 and I was still in high school then and not paying for a household, but the amount the author claims to spend on groceries and other activities in this book are just very high in my opinion so I don't feel like the book aged well and feels less relevant than many frugality books out there.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

In today's economy every little bit of savings helps. I am by nature pretty frugal but I picked up some tips that I am going to implement. This book covers an amazing range of subjects for only being 232 pages!!! In addition to all of the tips on saving money Leah Ingram gives you many websites to check out for more information/savings ideas. Even if you aren't on a tight budget I would recommend this book for smart "green" ideas.

[Donna Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Instead of reading these, I should just write one. If you're a newbie frugalista this would be a great help. I always use the recipe book theory with these: 1) get them from the library or borrow; and 2) if you get one tip or it reminds you of a tip, it's all good.

[Shiloh Cleofe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This contains some good ideas and tips, but not much more than a simple search on pinterest could get you. So the main value is ease of use. Several ideas condensed into a single source, but nothing ground breaking.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little out of date, and some tips were more extreme than I would go. Still I really liked some ideas, like having a gift closet and buying reusable products instead of disposable. Nothing earth-shattering but definitely some good reminders!

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. It had lots of great ideas on how to save money. I highly recommend this book.

[Lena Denman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Tips

This book had some decent thoughts about how to cut corners to save money. Mainly I liked the idea that money and buying things did not equate to success or happiness. Our society needs to think about sustainability and focusing on relationships more than the attainment of items. To that end, some good information can be found here in Suddenly Fugal.

That said, this author’s website is now almost entirely promoting the Peloton craze. She has other information on that blog, but what little I could find is buried. Some of the ideas are dated, others were good reminders. Is this book worth your time? Yes, but only if you really need to cut every corner possible.

[Rain23 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical and Useful

Most of the suggestions in the book are things anyone can do. Some seemed more than I wanted to do from an aesthetic or time standpoint, but they were outweighed by those that made me think "Oh, I can do that!"

Very useful as a springboard for your own frugal ideas, also.

[Alley Propp · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of information that most people would probably know. Some info just took frugality too far. It came of more as “cheap” than frugal. Good for someone who is truly uneducated in this subject, but most would find it repeat information.

[Annmarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

still good tips

This book needs an updated edition, but the tips are still good. Some of the websites mentioned are no longer out there. There is no mention of the Goodwill bins either. 😉

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing new or noteworthy here for me.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

S'okay for newbies, not much new info.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some okay ideas but didn't feel info was presented well and info was outdated or unrealistic.

[Charity · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books has some helpful tips and tricks to save money or rethink things you do.

[Traci Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very resourceful

This book has a lot of good ideas on how to reduce costs of living and leisure. Some recommendations may be a little outdated, but most are helpful.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful info, presented in a painfully boring fashion.

[Jeanette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnfed.. same thing I've read in other books.

[Guerino · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lèggete Marie Kondo al posto di questo.

[Kelly Holler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good! If you're new to being frugal, this is a great start. If you're pretty frugal and used to thrifty living, there's not a ton of novel information!