"The Spend Less Handbook - 365 tips for a better quality of life while actually spending less" by Rebecca Ash, is a book of three parts. In part 1 Rebecca outlines the moral and ecological arguments, demonstrating why we are buying more but not feeling any happier. Personally I found it a little on the preachy and strident side in a few places and that might put some people off right out of the starting blocks, but it is a solid 50 pages of facts about consumerism, and its effects on us and the planet. Part 2 is brief - 7 snappy rules to help you live better and spend less.
Part 3 comprises the 365 tips. I got the distinct impression that the author originally had perhaps 250 to 300 tips at most and then someone decided it would look more catchy to stretch these to 365, presumably hoping that most people will assume this is one of those books where you can put one thing into action every day for a year, thereby creating a year of bite-sized savings. If you are assuming that you will be disappointed, unless you are quite happy to downsize your house one day, try squatting the next and move abroad a week later.
The author would have been better served producing 300 really good quality tips rather than trying to eke things out to 365 and ending up looking frankly silly in places. For example, tip 211 - "Flying first class is surely unnecessary unless you really, really need to", I think I was on to that one already. Or maybe, tip 348 "it may actually pay you to look for ways to earn significant amounts of money while actually working less" - and that's all you get, there is no more substance to that gem, and certainly no guidance on how to do it. That one left me more than a bit baffled. Where did she get it from? Does she really think that we are all dumbly stuck in 9 to 5 jobs when there are hundreds of other 'magic' jobs out there paying more and only expecting you to turn up for the mornings?
I find it a bit disingenuous that the back cover claims "every tip will save you between £5 and £50,000". Quite a lot of the tips are very worthy in themselves but are more about being happy with what you are and have rather than saving actual pennies and pounds. "Feeling proud of the person you are" and "Stand up straight and wear your clothes and your life with elegance and pride" may be fine enough, if a little simplistic, as statements but they won't directly save you money. Anyone who is really struggling for every penny and picks up this book will probably put it down again fairly promptly, finding those sort of sentiments glib and unhelpful. If all of your few clothes are worn thin and sagging, then being told to wear them with elegance and pride might just stick in your craw a little. This is a very middle class book, and unfortunately it sounds as though the author is utterly unaware of this.
There are plenty of perfectly sensible tips such as don't buy a brand new car because you immediately lose a lot of money due to depreciation and go to price comparison websites for mortgage deals, holidays, the best savings rates etc. However, these sensible tips are also peppered between some that are disturbingly niave and simplistic, and there is a distinct lack of balancing the pros and cons of most of the bright suggestions. This is a little dangerous - you get one short, sensible tip, and not much further on you get another tip proposing something that could potentially lose you money if you get it wrong. I felt uncomfortable that the sensible tips are giving some credence to the more complex ones. I feel an example is needed:
Rebecca is very keen on the idea of selling up and moving abroad, of finding the perfect sunset and a cheap villa and living the good life. Admittedly she does say that her thoughts are meant as inspiration and not a comprehensive guide, but at the same time it is written in a tone that implies that anyone who doesn't see this as the ideal answer must be some kind of idiot. "Sell up your expensive home in the UK and you might find you have enough money to start a new life abroad doing the work you want to do". You might also find that if you have stayed away from the UK for 2 years and then need to return in an emergency, when you get back you won't be eligible for any state aid for 6 months. You'll have to pay all your own medical bills, and you won't be given temporary housing if you have nowhere to live etc. British citizen or not you'll have to fend for yourself without any safety net. These places are cheap for a reason, because there are big catches and risks involved. It's just not so simple Rebecca!
I think the best thing you get from this book is the repeated questioning of the status quo of your life. Are you really happy doing things this way? What would happen if you did this or that instead? Frankly the rest of it is rather pedestrian at best and pie in the sky folly at worst. Personally I think India Knight's "The Thrift Book" beats this one hands down any day.
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