Book Review Comments: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly...

On December 15 of 2014 I published an ebook on Amazon called Pinch Like You Mean It! 101 Ways to Spend Less Money Now.

My Book Has Inspired Some Amusing Book Review Comments...

The good news is that my book has "sold" thousands of copies since then.  In fact, I once "sold" over 4,300 copies of my book in a single month!  The book continues to be popular on Amazon, currently ranked as the #4 best selling book in the category of Budgeting.

Now for the bad news: it is a free book.  I decided to price the book at $0.00 and see if anyone would read it.  While I am glad lots of people have read my book, I haven't made royalties from selling it.  That's OK.  I like seeing the continued sales roll in, and I am amused by the comments that readers leave in their reviews of my book.

Like all authors, I enjoy 5-star reviews and glowing praise for my work.  But I also think the bad reviews can be amusing.  When you are dealing with critics, you have to keep a good sense of humor and be able to laugh at yourself -- and the critics!

Here are some of my favorite and most memorable comments readers have left in book reviews: the good, the bad, and the ugly:

From Critical Book Reviews...

"It isn't easy to save money and not everything is cheap, and there are a lot of things that you must do in order to live a normal life and things that you simply can't live without."

-Jason on Amazon


"After I finished it, though, my main impression was that the economy would collapse if everyone followed all or even most of these suggestions."
-Leonore on Amazon

From Bad Book Reviews...

"If you do not know these tips you must be an infant."

-Daniel on Amazon


"It's a bunch of random tips on cutting back."
-Swedey on Amazon


"Not very imformative"
-Jeannie on Amazon


"...I'm glad I read the whole thing. Had I stopped reading, I would have missed tip #98, where he talks about testing batteries that came from his night vision goggles.

He does seem like the kind of fellow who would have night vision goggles. I bet he got them on sale at Kohls or Lowe's.

I got a little creeped out and missed the last three tips."
-MBScott

"...it sounds completely as though he wrote them while he was on an airplane trip, which he admits he did."
-Tracy on Amazon


"The writing is not great, nor are the author's personal stories and asides in his pursuit of the frugal life."
-Bibliobabe2 on Amazon


"I couldn't wait to finish, just to see if there were even one helpful hint I hadn't heard before or could actually use. There wasn't."
-LawDawg on Amazon

From Good Book Reviews...

"This book is so good, I am going to be known as Ms. Penny Pincher from now on."
-Coleen on Goodreads


"Got some good ideas, and I will be checking out the Dr Penny Pincher blog for more."
-Laura on Goodreads


"This book has really great practical ideas. It's worth reading it. I would definitely read another book from this author."
-Jasmine on Goodreads


"Lots of valuable tips about saving money in clear simple language and short entries.I highly recommend it. Thank you Dr. Penny Pincher."
-Amira on Goodreads


"Many clever tips. Follow up explanations. Very entertaining cheapskate."
-xxoo on Amazon


"I really enjoyed reading Dr. Penny Pincher's tips on saving money. The advice is practical, creative, and easy to follow."
-Michelle A on Amazon


"I bet everyone can find 20-40 of the 101 tips to use!"
-Dave on Amazon


"I love this book! I am an "extravagant cheapskate," love to do bit things on small budgets, and this book just made me smile and smile. :-)))"
Kitty on Amazon


"I really enjoyed the doctor's tips on living frugally. His advice is doable and not crazy like some penny pinching books are. It was a fun, encouraging read."
-Jan on Amazon


"This book helped me a lot, because I was not a frugal person. You get a lot of ideas while reading this book. I am now a frugal person and do not regret it."
-Pearl on Amazon

Penny Pincher Journal

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25 IS THE NEW 65: How To "Retire" Outrageously Early And Do Whatever The Heck You Want

Book Review- 25 Is The New 65 by Travis Hornsby

I recently stumbled across Travis Hornsby's book 25 Is The New 65: How To "Retire" Outrageously Early And Do Whatever The Heck You Want while it was free on Amazon for a 3-day promotion when it was launched.  This book is about how Travis (aka TMONEY on his blog) was able to get through college with a respectable amount of savings and lived a very frugal lifestyle while working full-time a few years.  Travis clearly did not enjoy his time working in the corporate world and decided to get out and go a different way.  Living a frugal lifestyle allowed Travis to save and invest enough after working only a few years to "retire" at a very early age.

In this case, "retirement" does not mean never working again, but instead means working part-time or working on things that he enjoys and wants to do to continue to make some money.  Also, this sort of retirement will require living a very frugal lifestyle, living on about $16,000 per year.

This is clearly not the path for everyone.  There is a trade-off between having time to do whatever you want and having money to experience things that cost money.  I am fortunate that I have a career that is interesting, so I don't see working as a form or torture.  Of course, I would like to retire someday, but for me I don't mind the lifestyle of having a professional career and making lots of money for awhile.

This book does have some good examples of how you can live frugally to minimize expenses and boost your savings and investment contributions.  I liked his examples of "typical" spending by young people out of college and how this could lead to working for a very long time to pay off debt.

Many people do not learn to control spending until later in life, this book provides an example of what is possible with extreme financial discipline early in life.  If you are dealing with debt, this book can provide some motivation to cut expenses, boost savings, and get rid of that debt to find your path to freedom.

I enjoyed the exercise of thinking about how frugal I want to be and what trade-offs I am willing to make to have time available to pursue my interests.

Penny Pincher Journal

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Real Life on a Budget by Jessi Fearon

Book Review- Real Life on a Budget by Jessi Fearon

Real Life on a Budget by Jessi Fearon

If you are looking to improve your financial situation, having a budget that you can follow to meet your goals is essential.  Real Life on a Budget is easy to read and provides some solid advice on how to get on the right track financially.  This is the third book written by Jessi Fearon who also writes at the personal finance site The Budget Mama.

Real Life on a Budget is written in short chapters that cover topics related to setting financial goals, setting up an emergency fund, paying off debt, planning a budget, and dealing with issues that can derail a budget.  Each chapter ends with a "challenge" which prompts the reader to implement the concepts that were covered in each chapter.

I think most people who want to improve their financial situation will be able to relate to this book since it is written from the perspective of someone who was deep in debt from using credit cards to live above her means and was able to turn things around through frugal living and staying on a carefully planned budget.  Jessi describes the challenges of staying on a budget while balancing life with her husband and kids- this is the "real life" that is mentioned in the title.

If you don't have a budget, or have a budget that is not working for you, Real Life on a Budget would be useful reading.  This book is well-written and provides specific steps to set goals, plan a budget, get out of debt, and tips to stay on your budget.

Thanks to Jessi for providing an advance copy of the book to review here on Penny Pincher Journal.  The book will be distributed starting June 30, 2015 on Amazon and can be pre-ordered now.

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