books

Book review: Happier

Posted June 22, 2008 - 14:05 by Philip Brewer

Career and Income, General Tips, Art and Leisure

Cover of Happier

Here are two ideas you already know: You won't achieve maximum happiness by always doing the most pleasurable thing you can think of at each moment, but neither will you find it by always deferring present happiness in favor of greater future happiness. The key is balancing these two things. And the genius in this book is that it gives you tools for finding that balance.

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Strategic Thriftstore Shopping

Posted June 20, 2008 - 22:47 by Margaret Garcia-Couoh

Shopping

True confessions? I'm a girl and a depression shopper (as in shopping, not unlike cheesecake, makes me momentarily happy like millions of other Sex and the City watching gals). But in an ever increasingly difficult economy it just ain't that wise to be buying those $200 dollar shoes. I give you strategic thriftstore shopping: same adrenaline rush but under $10 dollar satisfaction.

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Book review: The Drunkard's Walk

Posted June 17, 2008 - 02:31 by Philip Brewer

Life Hacks

Cover of The Drunkard's Walk

The human brain has a powerful capability to spot patterns. It's so good at spotting patterns, it can spot patterns that aren't even there. It's this fact that makes randomness--the topic of Mlodinow's new book--so interesting and so confusing.

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Book review: Cash-Rich Retirement

Posted April 28, 2008 - 05:08 by Philip Brewer

Personal Finance

Cover of Cash-Rich Retirement

Do you need a kick in the pants to get you saving for retirement?  Do you need someone to wave their arms and run around screaming that your whole future is at risk, in order to motivate you to put some serious money aside and take the time to learn how your 401(k) works?  If so, this is the book for you.

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Book review: Work Less, Live More

Posted April 22, 2008 - 05:12 by Philip Brewer

Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Career and Income

Cover of Work Less, Live More

Early retirement is a topic I've always been interested in.  The particular version of it that this book deals with--living well on less money, as a means to getting by without having to work at a regular job--is not only interesting, it's the life I'm living.  Allowing for the fact that it's aimed right at my own personal sweet spot, I liked it even better than I expected.  It reads like the author started following me around a year ago, figured out exactly what questions I needed answered, then carefully and thoughtfully wrote a book to answer them.  

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DVDs Freer than Free--No, Really, Really Free

Posted April 5, 2008 - 19:00 by Catherine Shaffer

Frugal Living

I noticed Paul's interesting article (NEVER Pay for a Redbox DVD Rental Again ) about using Redbox codes to rent movies for free, and in theory, I am all for it. But we don't have Redbox nearby, and I would never manage to return a movie in 24 hours with my crazy life. Fortunately, I have a diabolical method of getting movies for free. Even free-er than Redbox free! Nowadays, I laugh as I drive by Hollywood video. Why did I ever pay $4 to rent a movie? Why, God, why?

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Book review: Supercapitalism

Posted February 7, 2008 - 07:17 by Philip Brewer

Personal Finance

Cover of Supercapitalism by Robert B. Reich

For most of the 20th century, capitalism and democracy seemed to go hand-in-hand. After all, every democratic country was largely capitalist and nearly every capitalist country was, at least to some extent, democratic. What we've seen since the 1970s, though, has been a huge upswing in capitalism, while democracy has weakened. Robert Reich's book is about how this happened and what we might do about it.

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School Bookstores Can't Afford Cheap Textbooks

Posted January 31, 2008 - 11:11 by Thursday Bram

Shopping

Textbooks

I'm taking just one course this semester, with just one reasonably priced textbook. According to the back cover, the price was $29.95, but that isn't the price I paid. I purchased a brand new copy at Amazon.com for $19.77. I could have bought it for $15.89 but I would have lost out on free shipping.

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Book review: In Defense of Food

Posted January 29, 2008 - 08:47 by Philip Brewer

Food and Drink, Health and Beauty, Green Living

Cover of In Defense of Food

The message of this book is simple: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Michael Pollan gives it away right at the start, so I don't feel too bad doing the same. If you already eat food, but you worry about health and nutrition, you'll find this book fascinating and important. If, on the other hand, you're the sort of person who tends to eat less food and more "edible substances" and "food products," you will instead find this book important and fascinating.

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Finding New Recipes, Without Paying for New Cookbooks

Posted January 15, 2008 - 11:47 by Thursday Bram

Food and Drink

Cookbooks

I have a hard time resisting the urge of buying every cookbook that comes along — I thoroughly enjoy trying out new recipes, especially cookies. I came to the conclusion, though, if I bought every cookbook that caught my eye, I wouldn’t have any money left over for ingredients. Instead, I try to find recipes for free — another exercise in creating a frugal kitchen. The resources below are a great starting point for putting together a personal recipe book, but I’d love to hear if you’ve got any resources!

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