Product Description

"Do you want to cut your bills without cutting back? Are you fed up with being ripped off? Do you want more money in your pocket without changing your lifestyle? What we all need is detailed, no-nonsense advice about organising credit cards, finding the cheapest utilities, how to get the very best mortgage deals and how to haggle with every shopkeeper - in other words, how to make sure we're not wasting pennies. With one hundred new MoneySaving pages, in this fully updated edition of the bestselling The Money Diet, Martin Lewis shows you how to be canny with your finances, and provides clear-cut advice on payment of bills, ways to slash spending, which banks to use and choosing the best deals on an even greater range of products, including: mobile phones; package holidays; pensions, credit cards and insurance; books, CDs and DVDs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12498 in Books
• Published on: 2005-12-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

From the Publisher
Fully revised and updated - the money diet that can save the average family up to £6000 a year

From the Author
The Money Diet is focused around a Calorie Counter of savings. This, right at the start of the book, details the things you can save money on, how long each takes, how much you'll save and whether it's hard, medium or easy to do. A simple but powerful devise to put money into people's pockets.

About the Author
Martin Lewis has his own ITV1 programme Make Me Rich, a weekly column in the Guardian and regular Radio 2 phone-ins amongst other things. His free to use, ad-free website www.moneysavingexpert.com is the biggest independent personal finance site in the UK, with over one million visits a month and he can easily save you hundreds of pounds a year with his fully-researched, easy-to-implement, cutting-edge advice.

Customer Reviews

WoW!
I asked for this book in January for my birthday (easily pleased) and am sooo glad I did! I have decluttered my finances and understand that I am in total control of the way my money goes out. It's not about being a skin flint or a cheap skate, it's about having the same lifestyle for less, leaving you more money for treats. It's also about being in control. Anyone who doesn't have anything to say about this book doesn't understand it or doesn't want to! It's a brilliant, go anywhere, starting point prior to getting hooked on the web site. Every '30 something' should have one!

Great advice.
I bought this book when browsing for something to read - I wasn't looking for a book on saving money, but it caught my eye. I'm glad I did. This is the first book I've found hard to put down in ages. I read it in less than a week and applied the advice straight away. On two recent purchases I have saved £95.00! Now I know it's possible to pay internet prices in the high street...

BUY IT. YOU WON'T REGRET IT!

Change your routine advice
The essence of Martin Lewis's advice can be encapsulated in the old adage, look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves. It's easy to fritter money away once you get into the habit of simply spending it and not thinking about why and how. Lewis suggests that you get into good spending habits, that you develop a routine of questioning and assessing your spending patterns. Look for the cheapest options, look for the best buys, keep even your routine spending under review.

Change your gas, electricity, telephone and other suppliers. Keep aware of where the best deals are and don't suffer from any false loyalty - go for the best value. Change your credit cards, keep your spending under review. Look to mortgage and insurance providers - be prepared to switch to better deals.

Lewis offers advice and a health and fitness check on your finances. Think about what you're spending, evaluate whether or not each expenditure (particularly the regular ones) gives you value for money. Look for patterns in your spending - and it's not just a case of "why is it I go out on Friday night with money in my pocket but come Saturday morning it seems to have gone?" We all have bad spending habits, we're all addicted to routines, and these can become very expensive.

This is sound, well-packaged advice. Much of it is (or should be) obvious. A lot of it will make you think and question your spending habits. And it's not an expensive little volume, so you should recoup your investment very rapidly by simply adopting one or two of Lewis's ideas. Good value.