How to trim your living expenses. (Realistically.)

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9781591846437HWhile at the Financial Blogger Conference in St. Louis, I ran into Brian J. O’Connor, personal finance editor and columnist for The Detroit News. He was in the Expo Hall, handing out copies of his book, “The $1,000 Challenge: How One Family Slashed its Budget Without Moving Under a Bridge or Living on Government Cheese.”

I happened to have read the book (got an advance uncorrected proof) and was thus able to provide him with potentially the strangest endorsement for the cover of the second edition: “Your book helped me get through my colonoscopy prep.”

He did blink a bit at that, but apparently being a PF writer in Detroit exposes you to all sorts of odd people.

I’d kept the galleys in the bathroom during the, uh, cleansing part of the prep, so as to get a little work done despite my frequent trips to the john. Turns out it was the right move, so to speak: The book is funny as well as well-researched and it took my mind off the current circumstances.

O’Connor’s premise is simple: As middle-class budgets get squeezed ever more tightly, how can we actually save in the face of price increases of the most basic needs?

But he did it, trimming his own family’s budget fairly ruthlessly — yet also fairly painlessly. That’s why I’m giving the book away: to inspire others to find ways to rearrange their own expenses.

The author makes it very clear that no one-size-fits-all solution exists: “Your results will — and should — vary.” Not everyone has a cable TV bill to cut, and some families have special health issues that require certain (often pricey) foods. O’Connor knows all this and in fact, had the challenge of paying for special therapy for a medical condition in his own family.

In other words, he knows that life happens. He’s not some clueless talking head saying, “Just cut one latte a day and you’ll soon be in clover!”

The book isn’t the be-all and end-all, mind you. For example, he didn’t even mention cash-back shopping or discounted gift cards, both of which can carve a little (or a lot) off everyday necessities and the occasional entertainment.

He also touts The Grocery Game (a paid service) but doesn’t mention free sale/coupon match-up sites like CouponMom.com or any of the Savings.com DealPros (who may also publicize short-term or “manager’s special” sales at specific stores in your neighborhood).

Still, it’s a welcome change from books that promise The One True Way To Savings and wind up being unrealistic or too darned onerous for your particular situation. Bonus: It reveals a secret about the role of newspapers in fighting gum disease.

So if you don’t win this week’s giveaway, look for it at your library or get a secondhand copy by clicking the above link. Both are frugal moves that O’Connor would no doubt applaud, even if they cut into his royalties.

To enter:

If you do any (or all!) of these things, please leave separate, additional comments to get credit for each entry.

The deadline is 7 p.m. PST Tuesday, Nov. 5. If I don’t hear back from the winner by 7 p.m. PST Wednesday, Nov. 6, I’ll pull another name.

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151 thoughts on “How to trim your living expenses. (Realistically.)”

  2. This would be great to win. I have cut and been creative wherever I can. Just not enough to get by. Maybe some light hearted ideas will help.

    I appreciate your blog for many reasons but mainly because it is realistic for someone who has a low income as well as others with more. Good sound advice. Thank you!

    Reply

  11. Sign me up! Your blog has already helped me stretch a small income even further, and I appreciate any frugal advice that comes my way.

    Reply

  19. whoo, hoo. Second person I follow on Twitter now. You and Julia Park Tracey. Great folks to follow. Now if I can only figure out what this really means:-)

    Reply

  26. It sounds like a book worthy of someone’s time in a world when so many take a cookie cutter approach to finances. It would be refreshing to read something encouraging and realistic.

    Reply

  42. Could lightning strike twice in the same place? We’ll see, since I won a Donna give away once before!!! Sign me up! I follow you here in your blog and on Facebook.

    Reply

  56. I love my ebooks but a genuine, old school book is just the cat’s pajamas, especially when it’s about helping my family get more bang for their Benjamins.

    Reply

  69. We try to be frugal with no cable, cooking at home, using coupons, etc., but I’m always looking for more tips and ways to save. Would love to win this book!

    Reply

  72. We’re comfortably frugal but I worry we’re sliding more toward comfort than frugality… I’d love to win this for some fresh tips and tricks!

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  88. Donna,
    Thanks for sharing all of your hard earned knowledge. I’ve been following since your college days.
    A true kindred spirit and fan!

    Reply

    • Government cheese is what my family lived on in the 1960’s. Farmers produced surplus amounts of cheese and it was provided to poor families.

      It wasn’t too bad. But it was humiliating to be in that line each month with my poor neighbors waiting for this food assistance.

      There were several items given out: cheese, peanut butter and canned chicken. It took me years to be able to eat peanut butter again. The canned chicken was practically inedible.

      It was awful stuff. My family was thankful when Food Stamps became available. Still poor, but better food became available.

      Reply

  95. I really enjoy your blog. However, today I was excited to see what kind of great tips I was going to learn, only to find a ‘sort of’ book review. Keep posting though. I am a subscriber. Thanks.

    Reply

  104. I totally need this book! My husband was laid off, and now we’re both looking for jobs, since I was a SAHM. But with childcare costs and what each of us will realistically make in salaries, we’d still end up short our expenses, and we already cut so much from our expenses to allow me to be a SAHM.

    Reply

  109. Would love a copy. Anything to help shave some $$$ off of the bills every month and other pointers will be greatly appreciated.

    Reply

  110. I follow you on Facebook too. Tonight my husband is “studying” for his colonoscopy tomorrow. Wish us luck! Hope yours went okay.

    Reply

  116. I’d love to win this book. Maybe I can learn how to cut other expenses so I can afford the skyrocketing cost of our health insurance!

    Reply

  119. I think I’ve pared the budget as low as I care to go but love reading about how others are doing it. Sounds like a fun book to read. Just a slight defense of the latte factor author….I think he was saying that if you watch lots of little expenses that are easily cut, soon you have some real money to apply elsewhere. JMHO. 🙂

    Reply
  138. Pingback: Thanks to These Blog Carnivals - October 2013 to Current

  147. Just read your article in the blog today at Swagbucks and enjoyed it so much that I decided to read more and searched your blog (got a 9sb search win for it, too). Thanks for the chance to enter! Looking forward to reading more of your stuff, Donna. 🙂

    Reply

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