925 Ideas to Help You Save Money, Get Out of Debt and Retire A Millionaire So You Can Leave Your Mark on the World... - An eBook Review

925 Ideas to Help You Save Money, Get Out of Debt and Retire A Millionaire So You Can Leave Your Mark on the World...

By, Devin D. Thorpe

Amazon Kindle Price: $0.00

This book is large compilation of articles written by Devin D. Thorpe for Familyshare.com. The reviews on Amazon were mixed, some people seemed to love the book, while others seemed to find it useless. Since the book was a free kindle download, I didn't set my expectations high, but I figured for the price I had nothing to lose. After reading through the first few articles, I was impressed with the content of the book. The 177 pages of this book are divided into the following segments:

Your Family
Frugal Living
Your Home is the Centerpiece of Your Financial Future
Your Car is Just Transportation
Your Money
Managing Your Career
Increasing Your Savings
Entrepreneurship
Getting Out of Debt
Saving for College
Planning for Your Ideal Retirement
Investing Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Money
Leave Your Mark on the World


Each segment of the book is comprised of multiple articles relating to that segment. Some of the articles were pertinent to my life, and some weren't. The titles of the articles are clear and indicative of what you will fine within the text, and the content is concisely written. In many cases, the articles follow a progression, for example there are a series of articles written regarding saving for retirement; these articles are broken down by the age of the reader. If you're a 30-something, then the article about saving for retirement in your 30's is suiting, but you may not be interested in the article about saving for retirement in your 50's.

The author offers sound advice on a broad spectrum of personal finance topics. While I don't believe that you'll become a millionaire simply by reading the articles in this book, I do believe that there is helpful information in this book regardless of what your current financial situation is. I definitely recommend reading through this, and seeing what you can learn from the articles. I'm quite certain that there will be at least something of value in here for everyone, and since it's free you really have nothing to lose by checking it out!

The American Frugal Housewife - A Review

The American Frugal Houswife - A Review
By: Lydia Maria Francis Child

Amazon Prices: Kindle - $0.00, Paperback - $6.95, Hardcover - $8.96

Can a book written about life and frugality in 1832 America really be of use to us today?  That was the question I asked myself as I downloaded this book, and began reading it.  As it turns out, it can!  While there are many items that Child writes about that aren’t relevant on the whole to today’s times, there are many issues that are broached in this book that are still perfectly pertinent.

Written as a guide to women in the New World, this book offers many themes that are still common today.  Written anecdotally from her life and perspectives, Child embraces topics such as not trying to keep up with the Joneses, as she states, “No false pride of foolish ambition to appear as well as others should ever induce a person to live one cent beyond the income of which he is certain.  If you have one dollar a day, do not spend but seventy-five cents.  If you have but half a dollar, do not spend more than forty cents.”

She preaches of the frugality of doing things yourself, rather than taking advantage of having things prepared for you. “Make your own bread and cake. Some people think it is just as cheap to buy of the baker and confectioner, but it is not half as cheap. It is convenient, but those who are under the necessity of being economical should make convenience a secondary priority.”

Child offers guidance on teaching your children the value of money, “In early childhood, you lay the foundation of poverty or riches, in the habits you give your children. Teach them to save everything, — not for their own use, for that would make them selfish — but for some use. Teach them to share everything with their playmates; but never allow them to destroy anything.”

I could easily quote the majority of the book, and tell you how fitting it is to current events, and the movement towards self-sufficiency.  Granted, Child does offer up many household solutions and recipes that I will likely never require, such as how to wax cheese (though you never know, that may come in handy at some point), or what kind of straw works best for stuffing a mattress, however, there are many of her tips that are still valid today.  In Child’s section of the book entitled, “General Maxims for Health,” she asserts, “Rise early. Eat simple food. Take plenty of exercise.  Never fear a little fatigue.” A sound maxim for life, and one entirely as true today as it was in her time.

This book is entirely worth the time spent reading it, if not only to glean some advice from days gone by, but to also relish in the fact that we aren’t forced to worry about how to cook calf’s head so as not to waste it.

Miss Minimalist: Inspiration to Downsize, Declutter, and Simplify - A Review

Miss Minimalist: Inspiration to Downsize, Decluttter, and Simplify (Kindle e-book)
By: Francine Jay

Amazon price: $0.99 (or free using the Prime Lending Library)

This e-book is a compilation of 50 blog articles written by Francine Jay, blog author of Miss Minimalist. 

While I’m not a minimalist to the extent of the author of these articles, I am interested in simplifying and decluttering my life and home.  When I saw that this e-book had good reviews, and I was able to download it for free using the Prime Lending Library on Amazon, I figured I had nothing to lose by reading it.  I was right!

The articles are clearly written, and while some have over lapping information, they all read well as stand alone articles.  The articles cover a wide range of topics, from why and how the author chose to be a minimalist, to downsizing your wardrobe, to minimalist gift giving.  The e-book itself was an entertaining, and easy read, and the information was presented in a clear and concise manner.

I personally have no desire to establish a minimalist life-style equitable to that of Ms. Jay, however there were a number of insights that I did glean from this e-book.  The most insightful of which was Ms. Jay’s mention of removing one item of clutter a day from your home for a year.  This was the inspiration behind my 365 Day Declutter Challenge.  Other rays of inspiration revolved more around mindset; keeping things in your life that have purpose, or multiple purposes, and not hanging on to things merely because they have some sort of intrinsic sentimental value to you.  This is something that I personally struggle with, I have a hard time letting go of things that have sentimental value to me, but do I really need to keep all the cards that we were given for our wedding, or baby showers?  Do they really have any value to me if I keep them wrapped up in a drawer?  Is there any real reason to keep them, other than the fact that I can’t bring myself to part with them?

There are many ideas in this e-book that can be implemented in anyone’s life to some extent.  While you don’t have to purge your home of everything, and live in an empty shell, there are likely many things in your life that you have, or do, that you don’t need to.  This e-book is a great start to spark your desires to simplify, and I highly recommend it.

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Ways to Save When Shopping on Amazon

Living in rural Vermont, our shopping experiences are limited.  Not only do we not have a vast assortment of retailers in the area, but a trip to the store is an excursion.  Our small town does have a small general store that serves us in a pinch when we run out of a staple item like bread or milk, but the nearest large grocery store is 14 miles away and the nearest department store (a small Walmart) is 15 miles away.  Given the distance, and limited choices with local shopping, I find that I do a majority of my shopping online.  For the most part, my "go to place" is Amazon.com.

There are many features of Amazon.com that I love.  I love the vast selection, the customer reviews, and the ease of placing an order and having it delivered to my door.  I pay special attention to prices though.  If there's a particular item that I know is available locally for a lesser price I'm willing to forego the instant gratification of buying online, and visit the brick and mortar store in the area to make the purchase.

Beyond the listed prices, Amazon offers a number of different ways to save you money when shopping through their site.

Amazon Prime:  Amazon Prime is a paid membership program.  The cost of Amazon Prime membership is $79 a year.  At first, this cost deterred me, but after having Prime for the past few months, I'm convinced that it's well worth the upfront cost.  This membership entitles you to free two-day shipping on Prime eligible items (you can refine your Amazon searches to only show Prime eligible items), as well as Prime Instant Video, and access to the Kindle Owner's Lending Library.

There are a number of movies, television shows, and other videos available on Prime Instant Video, all of which are free for you to view with Prime Membership.  My family has enjoyed countless free movies this way, providing us with hours of quality family time on rainy evenings.

If you own a Kindle, the Kindle Owner's Lending Library is an amazing deal.  While there are already a multitude of free books available for the Kindle, the Lending Library offers you the option of borrowing an e-book for free every month!  These books are more mainstream than many of the other free books available for Kindle.  Books like "Hunger Games", "Water for Elephants", and "5 Love Languages" are all available to be borrowed from the Kindle Owner's Lending Library when you have Amazon Prime membership.

Subscribe and Save: Subsribe and Save is a program that offers you discounts on items that you have automatically shipped to you on a regular schedule.  There is no cost to take advantage of this program, and no commitment.  You can cancel your subscription or adjust the frequency of deliveries at any time.  The discounts vary by the item purchased, and prices are based on the date that the order ships.  If the price an item on your Subscribe and Save list changes (either by going up in price, or down in price) the current price, less the discount, is what you will be charged.  At present, I only have a couple of items on my Subscribe and Save list; diapers and cat food.  I've been receiving these items monthly for the past 6 months and things have worked out great.  As I determine the cost effectiveness of having other items on my Subscribe and Save list, I plan to add more to it.  In the meantime, I'm enjoying the fact that I don't have to worry about running out of either of these items, and the fact that they magically appear on my doorstep when they are needed.

Amazon Mom: Amazon Mom is a program for parents with young children.  When you initially sign up for Amazon Mom you receive a free 3-month membership to Amazon Prime.  This free membership entitles you to the benefit of free 2-day shipping, as well as a 20% discount (5% Subscribe and Save, and 15% Amazon Mom) on select diapers and wipes, and you can also save an additional 20% (15% Subscribe and Save and 5% Amazon Mom) when you subscribe to a total of 5 Subscribe and Save items (the diapers and wipes count towards this total).  There is a catch though... In order to continue receiving the benefits of Amazon Mom, you will have to join Amazon Prime after the free trial expires.

Amazon Student:  Amazon Student is a program for college students.  With this program you get 6 months of free 2-day shipping on Prime eligible items.  You can also upgrade to Prime membership for a cost of $39 per year (A $40 savings over the normal cost of Prime membership).  Once upgraded to a paid Prime membership, you'll be able to take advantage of Prime Instant Video, and the Kindle Owner's Lending Library.  Amazon limits the use of this program to 4 years only.

**I am in no way affiliated with Amazon.com.  Please check the links to each program for further information and restrictions.**