Product Description

With the recession biting and green issues constantly in the news, publication of this entertaining but always practical guide to sensible living could not be more timely. Incredible but true the story of how one woman lived for a whole year on just a pound a day. Kath Kelly was broke. That was OK, as all her friends were, too. But she had an important event to budget for, just a year away. One drunken night, she made a rash decision: to live on just a pound a day for the next twelve months. In 12 month-by-month chapters, she tells how a mission to cut her spending to the bone showed her another side of herself and of human nature. Through a year like no year she had spent before, she discovered how greed and waste was messing up people to say nothing of the planet and came to see how much fun can be had on a few pennies a day. A comprehensive directory of organisations and websites provides invaluable leads for all of us whether we want to follow Kath all the way or just pick up tips on how to save money and live more sensibly.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14968 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-29
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Customer Reviews

Inspiring
The current recession has produced many newspaper articles and several books on saving money, but few are as readable and inspiring as this one. The author lives in a shared house and has no car, so is unencumbered by the motoring expenses, mortgage and utility bills that the rest of us have. The main message is that living on a pound a day is time-consuming and entails quite a lot of hard work, and some of the activities mentioned - dumpster diving and hitch-hiking, for example - would be regarded by some as degrading and/or dangerous. But it's a good read and you'll pick up some great ideas. There's a useful reference section at the back of the book too.

Some good ideas but not everyone can do this
I read this book with interest but have to agree with other reviews as the author is a single lecturer living as a lodger. She has no family, has access to many university-related social events where food, and sometimes wine, is provided and has no bills to pay. Her main transport is cycling or hitching, which is not appropriate for everyone. Of course, the book is "How I lived a Year......", not "How you can live a year..." Some interesting ideas, especially about the way society has changed into a bargain-driven consumer society, but without thought for sustainability. I liked the clothes swap party idea as well. Overall, quite a good read, but ideas are not appropriate for all.

If you want to spend less - read this book
Kath kelly decided to live on a pound a day, apart from rent, for a year in order to save up for a wedding present for her brother. How she did it makes entertaining reading. The book is divided into 12 sections - one for each month of her year and there is a section at the back of very useful web sites and addresses. Whilst Kath was lucky in the sense she lives in a city - Bristol - where the opportunities are much greater for free entertainment, this does not mean that people who live elsewhere can't find something useful in it. Admittedly you might not want to hitch hike on long journeys - you might want to spend a bit more and go by bus - but this does not invalidate the majority of what she did. What I found most interesting was how she completely changed her attitude to consumerism and realised she didn't need all the things she'd been buying to make her happy. Even if you simply want to reduce your spending slightly this would still be a worthwhile book to read. It's certainly given me food for thought.