Product Description

Thirty-one thousand, six hundred and thirty-seven pounds and eighty-four pence. That's how much I owe. I feel sick looking at the display on the calculator. I try turning it upside down to see if that helps. It looks like 'hOLEgIEA', which probably means 'loser' in some long forgotten language. 'When your debt is more than your share of the mortgage and your partner's threatening not only to leave, but to tell your mother how out of control your spending is, then it's time to take drastic action. But for Alexis Hall, a self-confessed shopaholic, just making it through your lunch hour without buying the latest accessory becomes a life-altering act ...Join Alexis on her year-long quest to reclaim her life from what's become a retail roller coaster. Twelve long months and just three short rules: no new clothes, necessity purchases only, and payoff as much debt as possible. Can she transform herself from a spending junkie to a scrupulous saver? And what will she discover about herself along the way?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #91153 in Books
• Published on: 2009-01-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

About the Author
Alexis Hall is a media relations officer and former broadcast journalist. Shelives in Glasgow with her partner, their four-legged, furry child and her large collection of shoes. In the Red is her first book.

Customer Reviews

An entertaining, light read.
I bought this after seeing the author on TV, and thought that it might be inspiring to myself - while I can't say that I have £30k of credit card and loan debts and have a shopping addiction, I do sometimes spend far more than I should, and thought that this might help me with some suggestions and support as to how to curb my spending before it gets out of hand.

This book, as has been said, is definitely quite light entertainment. I managed to read it in an afternoon. It's not going to give you lots of saving tips, but as I had hoped, it was definitely inspiring and has given me the motivation to look through my wardrobe and sort out things I no longer need! I really enjoyed her writing style, and easy to relate to. I'm sure there are many women who can relate to her and her problems, and her way of rationalising every unnecessary spend.

I did have a few criticisms; firstly, the amount of typos. I noticed quite a lot in my reading of the book, a lot of them were pretty obvious things, and it doesn't seem to have been proof-read. While it's not a real criticism I guess, it did (for me) detract from reading it as I felt the urge to circle the mistakes with a red pen! Secondly, it would have been better to know what her income was and how much she was putting towards her debts and how much towards essentials such as food/rent/dog stuff. After all, she did document how much of her debt she had left, but this was hard to put into perspective without other details.

I did feel when reading it that there was a lot she could have improved on (such as taking her own lunch into work, instead of spending a fiver in Boots, or selling more unused clothing on eBay with better starting prices!), but this was documenting her resolution to not spend, which I felt she did pretty faithfully. It would've been nice to know more about 'her' and details of her life (such as how she and her partner met, or what type of dog she has - which was only said about 3/4 of the way through!) as sometimes it seemed a little impersonal. But overall, it is a light and enjoyable read, that other women (and men!) may also find inspiring when looking through their debts and overflowing wardrobes.

A different world!
I ordered this book after seeing the author on Trevor MacDonald's Tonight programme. Like her, I am a compulsive spender, so I thought I might draw some inspiration to get my finances in order in the new year. The book's written in diary form, and parts of it are hilarious. However, it soon became clear that Alexis lives in a very different world to me - her purchases are designer wear, mine are definitely high street! - and that her attitude to getting out of debt was not one which would be endorsed by Martin at Money Saving Expert! While she did reduce her debt substantially and managed not to buy clothes for a year, her priorities were quite different to the average person. For example, she deliberated about buying mouthwash, yet spend loads on presents for her dog. As Alexis lives with a partner, she didn't seem to have any worries about ordinary costs of living - which most people with her debt would do - and she continued to enjoy a very active social life. So, while I enjoyed the book, it's essentially chick lit - it's well written (although poorly edited with glaring errors in the copy) but extremely light hearted. I think my expectations were of a less "soft" read, and a main character I could empathise with. In short, buy his book if you want a bit of fun, but expect to feel pretty annoyed at times, and don't look on it as a book which is going to inspire you to get out of debt yourself.

Well written but not really like the rest of us.
I'm always interested in how people get out of debt so I homed in on this book as being a bit like an English version of 'Save Karyn'. Alexis Hall is in debt because she buys designer clothes. Unlike Karyn she does not reveal how much she earns but as she manages to pay as much as £1000 off her debt each month she doesn't have the income of an average person. She doesn't itemise everything she buys just where she has to spend anything out of the ordinary - presents for the dog, partner or relatives.
The book is in diary form which makes it quick and easy to read. I did find it entertaining but unless you are really really extravagant yourself you aren't going to pick up too many tips from it about trimming your own expenditure. I did find it entertaining especially the arguments she had with herself about spending, and the way she cut down on her commuting costs. I felt that allowing yourself £5 per day for lunch etc was perhaps over generous as she could have taken sandwiches to work, but maybe because she had that money she was less tempted to go on a spree.
I recommend it if you want to read real life chick lit.