Book Reviews Book Review by Beatriz Fernandez Featured in The Dollar Stretcher.com This book's subtitle is so descriptive, it's almost redundant to write a review! Prosser's book is geared toward beginning to intermediate frugal spenders. (Is that an oxymoron?) She states, very humorously, "This is not a radical frugal living book full of highly unusual and bizarre ways to live on $10 a week. For the record, I do not forage for edible plants along the highway or recycle dryer lint." The first chapter is an overview of financial organization and each subsequent chapter covers a different area of potential savings. Smart grocery shopping and frugal food preparation are dissected and analyzed with expertise. Prosser offer suggestions on how to save money on gifts. travel, entertainment, health, and utilities. The section on online shopping has some great strategies. The chapter on how to find freebies and earn extra money filling out surveys or mystery shopping will be very helpful to the uninitiated. The final chapter closes with words of encouragement, a glossary of terms, a basic budget worksheet, a grocery price book template and a directory of resources consisting of additional reading and internet sites, some of which were mentioned in the book, including the Dollar Stretcher! (Always a good sign!) There's also a detailed index. The author's bio states that Prosser uses her own Smart Spending Grocery System to save over 50% off her family's weekly grocery bills. She uses her expertise to educate others through courses and workshops at community colleges, parks and recreation departments and other non-profit organizations. Her motto is "It's your money, spend it wisely!" It's amazing how few of us do! If you're one of those people, Prosser's book would be a very helpful guide for you. Reading her book is like having a frugal friend at your elbow giving you sage advice! Review by Editor, Sherri Allen www.sherriallen.com Whether you need help stretching your paycheck from month to month or you just want to build your retirement nest egg, the advice and tips provided by Faye Prosser in her book, The Smart Spending Guide, will teach you how to get the most from your hard-earned money. I know, because I learned Prosser's grocery shopping techniques while editing the book and have been experiencing big savings for the past few months. Note: I was hired to edit the book and paid for my services. I have no stake in the success of the book and am not receiving any compensation based on book sales. The Smart Spending Guide begins with a solid introduction to debt-reduction and budgeting and even includes helpful worksheets. Then, you get to my favorite part of the book, the grocery system. Prosser gives you an easy-to-follow lesson in combining several money-saving shopping techniques to maximize your grocery savings, including where to find coupons (did you know you can BUY coupons?), how to organize your coupons (the bottom of your purse just doesn't work!), where to buy food (it's not always the grocery store), planning your grocery shopping trips, and much, much more. Next, there are several chapters full of useful information about frugal living. The frugal tips provided in The Smart Spending Guide cover a wide range of topics, showing you how to save money on meals (adding to the grocery shopping strategy), gifts, vacations, and your health and well-being, as well as around the house and more. Finally, the book provides some suggestions and resources for making extra money and presents ideas and motivation for continued saving. Thanks to Prosser's conversational style of writing, The Smart Spending Guide is very easy to read. As you go through the book, if feels as if she's a friend imparting helpful advice. The grocery system is well-explained and made to seem simple, so you won't be too overwhelmed to give it a try. The frugal sections are smart and mainstream; easily adopted by busy people living in modern times. Prosser has avoided the more radical ideas often found in frugal-living books which end up intimidating beginners, such as 101 ways to recycle dryer lint or goat farming to save money on milk. The Smart Spending Guide is perfect for frugal beginners and people who are already moderately frugal. People who don't know anything about frugal living will be amazed. The moderately frugal will pick up a few extra good ideas and be motivated to try more. I highly recommend The Smart Spending Guide. After all, I saved more than the book's purchase price on my first grocery shopping trip!

It's Your Money - Spend It Wisely!