G52 Cheaper, Better, Faster; over 2,000 tips and tricks to save you time and money every day
Author: Mary Hunt
Publisher: Revell
Publishing Date: 2013
ISBN: 978-0-8007-2144-2
Summary:
What if there were one book that could help you do nearly everything in life cheaper, better, and faster? Show you how to remove hairspray baked onto a curling iron. How to make white shoes look like new. How to make gourmet coffee without the gourmet price. How to keep your cat out of your houseplants. And hundreds of other things.
"Cheaper, Better, Faster "is all the best advice you've ever heard, collected into one handy volume. Every tip is short, to the point, and helps you make the most of your money and your time, making everyday life less hectic and more enjoyable.
Other Works:
Mary Hunt is a a founder of Debt-Proof Living which happens to be a website, and she also wrote 7 Money Rules for Life and writes a daily syndicated newspaper column titled Everyday Cheapskate.
Background of author:
Mary Hunt is the award-winning and bestselling author of several books, including 7 Money Rules for Life, as well as a sought-after motivational speaker who helps men and women battle debt. She is founder and publisher of the interactive website Debt-Proof Living, which features financial tools, resources, and information for her online members. Her books have sold more than a million copies, and her daily syndicated newspaper column, Everyday Cheapskate, is enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of readers nationwide. Hunt speaks widely on personal finance and has appeared on shows such as Good Morning America, Oprah, Dr. Phil, and Focus on the Family. She and her husband live in California.
Theme:
"What you have here is a revised and updated, fabulously fun collection of tips-short, to-the-point suggestions for ways to do things cheaper, better, and faster. Many of these tips are timeless; others we know were current and relevant five minutes ago, but how knows about next month!" (page 8, Introduction.)
Problem addressed:
"You're about to learn that there are many different ways to accomplish goals. ANd that's good, because if you need to polish the copper in your kitchen and you dont' have any lemons on hand but you do have a jug of vineage, you'll be able to get the job done without running to the store to spend money needlessly (page 40.) When there's more than one way to achieve the same result, Cheaper, Better, Faster will give you the choices." (Introduction, page 9)
Summary of Content:
If you are looking for dating tips, please look elsewhere. However, if you are looking for tips on how to keep bananas from browning for two weeks, or an alternative for conditioner or any tips that have to do with finances, travel, gifts, laundry, cleaning up stains, home repairs and decorating, then check out this book and enjoy interesting as well as fascinating tips. Unfortunately no index for quick lookup when it comes to specific tips, instead they're organized by category.
Thesis:
"Think of Cheaper, Better, Faster as a grand smorgasbord loaded with every kind of delicacy you can possibly imagine-even some things you can't. As you pass by, look at everything, consider most things, and fill your plate with what suits your taste.
"The best thing about Cheaper, Better, Faster, just like your favorite smorgasbord, is that you can come back again and again and again!" (Page 10, Introduction)
Main Points:
*Automobiles
*Cleaning
*Clothing and Accessories
*Food and Cooking
*Gifts
*Health and Beauty
*Holidays and Special Occasions
*Home
*Kids and Babies
*Laundry
*Money and Finances
*Outdoors and Garden
*Pets
*Repairs and Maintenance
*Shopping
*Travel and Entertainment
Why its interesting and informative:
A tip book on various ideas and repairs and finances and so forth. What's not interesting about that? I admit that I hadn't used the tips in the book, but they certainly make a good conversation topic whether it comes to cooking or gifts or gardening or whatnot. Ironically is that my mom does a lot of these tips, or so she tells me. Some tips even give some recipes such as surprise pies for cockroaches, or homemade juices and even substitutes, such as using mayo instead of eggs.
Book supports thesis:
I think the book does support thesis; that is there's a lot of things that I was surprised by when it came to the book and that I hadn't expected. Obviously its a book one can come back to over and over for problems and possible tips on how to solve them.
Addressing Issues:
Instead of doing things in a traditional way and spending lots of money, this book gives alternatives to the traditional way, such as using lemon or baking soda for cleaning and removing stains, or else using natural ways to get rid of pesky bugs.
Ideas in book vs larger ideas:
In someways this offers a lot of alternatives to traditional ways, such as using baking soda for a toothpaste, or designing various gift baskets for seniors or for people with different hobbies. Also included are cheap entertainment ways such as college entertainment and so forth.
Agree/disagree:
I haven't really tried the tips, but one that's there, putting soda and water on itchy bug bites does work. (I tried it, so I know.) I read some of them to my mom who claims to do a lot of them, and I was pleasantly surprised that cinnamon and cloves help out with blocking ants. There are tips as well that claim to keep bugs away from picnic or barbecue.
Sources:
The author never mentions what sources she used, and if I'm not mistaken, she claims that there are plenty of tips that she hadn't tried herself. Also, what I don't like is lack of index. If you will be dealing with over 2,000 tips or so the author claims, an index at the back would be very helpful to find an applicable tip towards a specific problem.
Conclusion:
The tips are interesting and some do sound like they would save money and time. As I mentioned earlier, an index would be helpful for the book. I would recommend that one does read it and try some of these out to see if they help.
Quick notes: I won this book on goodreads.com thus this review will appear in its entirety on goodreads as well as the blog
4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
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