The Spend Less Handbook

Rebecca Ash spent the first years of her working life in China living on ?80 a month. After moving back to London she became a copywriter and spent the next ten years trying to persuade other people to buy, buy, buy... spend, spend, spend - and liked that philosophy so much, she started to live her life that way. However, Rebecca came to realise that frugality and a less avaricious approach to life can be equally rewarding, particularly if you have to live on a skin-tight budget. Rebecca has since quit the job, quit London and quit spending and is now a freelance writer raising her two children away from the city, living a less consumerist, more fulfilling life.

Preface. Introduction. PART 1: THE PROBLEM - OR WHY, DESPITE EARNING A NOT INCONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF CASH, MOST OF IT DISAPPEARS ON JUST PAYING FOR THE BASICS. So why does life cost so darn much these days? The myth of low inflation: Our hyperinflated, hyperbloated lives. Deranged consumerism. The pressure to spend, Spend, SPEND. So is all this extra money making us any happier? We're all going nowhere - But we're going there fast. How selfishness and ceaseless consumerism are destroying life. PART 2: THE SOLUTION - 7 RULES TO HELP YOU LIVE BETTER, SPEND LESS AND NEVER LET MONEY RUIN YOUR LIFE AGAIN. So where has this book managed to get us so far. Rule 1: Who said you need lots of money anyway? Rule 2: Don't let the power of it's only GBP20 excuse ruin, bankrupt or leave you poor forever. Rule 3: Rescue the essential from the clutches of the irrelevant. Rule 4: Don't go buy new if you can beg, borrow, steal or go without. Rule 5: Cultivate an enjoyment of elegant frugality. Rule 6: Find your own personal financial black holes and weaknesses. Rule 7: Always remember that it is about have more rather than less. PART 3: THE TACTICS - 365 WAYS TO SPEND LESS WHILE IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF YOUR LIFE. Shopping. Your house and your home. More ways of saving or making money whenever you buy or sell property. Your personal finances and savings. Cut the cost of necessary household expenses. Food and drink. Cutting out unnecessary, excessive expenditure. Kids, schools and universities. Cars and travel. Leisure, pleasure and going on holiday. The kind of happiness that money just can't buy. Creating more time in your life. Your 'job' or your 'work'. Moving overseas. Conclusion.