A Bit of Inspirational Reading

Amongst many other lovely things, I had a really inspirational book for Christmas. 

I devoured this in less than 24 hours as I really couldn't believe that anyone could possibly live on so little money for a whole year - but she had, and without cheating once.  I'd read about Kath Kelly in the papers a couple of months ago and had mistakenly thought she'd managed to live on only £1 per day by being a bit of a scrounger but that really was not the case at all.  In fact, she made it very clear from the outset of her year of frugal living that she absolutely would not do that. 

Many of the things she does during the year I would be too much of a wuss to try - like hitch-hiking to get to other parts of the country, or going to university lectures to take advantage of the free buffet on offer afterwards.  But generally it is a truly thought-provoking and inspirational book with lots of ideas that anyone could put into practice - for example, taking an inventory of exactly what you've got lurking in bathroom cabinets, wardrobes, larders and pantrys before you go out buying yet more things that possibly you've already got enough of, something I've definitely been guilty of in the past.

It was especially interesting for me as she was living in Bristol during that year (she's since moved to Somerset) so I knew most  of the places she was referring to.  I think the fact that she was living in a large city did make some aspects of her frugal year easier as there would be no way I could find free buffets or gallery openings on offer in the small town where I now live.  On the other hand, living in such a large metropolis did mean that she had to cycle a long, long way to get out into open countryside to go foraging - something that would be much easier for me, I could practically walk to open countryside.

Reading such an inspirational story is just right for this time of year with New Year almost upon us and I'm hoping that I can cut my spending down a lot further in 2009 now that I've read this book.  Like 'The Complete Tightwad Gazette', it's the sort of book that will be useful for years to come as whenever I'm getting tired of being frugal I'll only have to leaf through it again to get plenty of excellent tips and inspiration to give me renewed determination.

Comments

[Catz]

Oh no another book to add to my list! :) Seriously it sounds like one I would enjoy! The tightwad gazette is great isn't it!

[Sharon J]

My OH knocked her down to the ground but like you, I see her as an inspiration. Must add the book to my Amazon wish list :)

[Caroline]

I've got this book on my wishlist as well. Like you, I read about this lady in the newspapers a while back, and thought it sounded like a really interesting book. Glad to hear it lived up to expectations for you.

[apieceofwood]

Interesting, I was toying with the idea of buying this book yesterday with some vouchers I got for Christmas and read some really poor reviews of it online, so didn't go there. Maybe I need to rethink this book!

[gill]

This is on my wishlist too, I read it about her earlier this year and htough it sounded really interesting. I know I couldn't live in £1 a day though! But it might give me some inspiration to leave more frugally.
Happy New Year Elizabeth, thanks for your nice blog and hopefullt I'll jump back in next year!
Gill x

[jeanie]

thanks for mentioning this book, I just got it and I'm really enjoying it. Also chuckling at her comments about Judith Levine's Not Buying It book, which also is interesting but has some rather flexible rules about shopping, as Kath points out.