Monday, November 15, 2010

Book Review: Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half

 Cut Your Grocery Bill In Half
With America's Cheapest Family
By: Steve & Annette Economides

One of the tag lines for this book says "You Can Save Thousands a Year on Your Grocery Bill Without Cutting Coupons." I'm always one to look for ways to save money, and since grocery shopping and meal planning/prep are two of my household responsibilities, I was definitely interested to see what the Economides had to say. If you are looking to cut down on your grocery bill and willing to invest some time, then I think this is a good resource. It's really a wholistic look at how to save money in the areas of meal planning and preparation. The chapters cover everything from how/when to grocery shop, the most economical ways to plan meals, time-saving cooking strategies, and even basic gardening. I found tons of good tips, some of which would take a significant amount of time and energy to implement and others that were quick and easy to adopt. I felt like this was a fairly practical guide that most everyday mom's could appreciate and glean tips from.

Overall, I really liked this book and their approach at saving money and planning meals. I wish I had more time to implement some of the strategies they suggest, but maybe one day I will.... maybe. The book is pretty lengthy at 300 pages and is probably best read from cover to cover, although you can fairly easily scan individual chapters based on titles if you're looking for pointers in one specific area. I would also say that you'll need some time to process and implement tips from each chapter before tackling the next one. 

One thing I really like about this book was at the end of each chapter they give three different action levels for you to pick from and work on: The Timid Mouse, The Wise Owl, and The Amazing Ant. Each one is more advanced than the first, so I could easily read the Timid Mouse action plans at the end of each chapter and find  quick tips.

I would recommend this book to someone who has a good bit of time to invest and really wants to make a difference in saving money when it comes to your grocery bill. It might be a little overwhelming if you are new to grocery saving strategies and just want some quick, easy tips.

I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

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