Book Review: Hard Core Poor

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Here at Books, Bargains, Blessings, I haven't been reviewing all the books I read, but possibly I should change that?  I saw the Kindle edition of Hard Core Poor on sale and decided I was going to see if it was any good -- or a disappointment after years of thrifty living like most books on frugality tend to be for me.

I was very surprised at how much new knowledge was presented in this book.  Of course, I've never researched how to get the best deal on diapers, and there was a pretty lengthy section dedicated to the frugality of diapering on a dime, but there were a lot of other things I didn't know included as well.  Such as the best way to air dry clothing when you have hand washed it.

I'm the one who used to keep little bits of deodorant and when I had enough melt them down to form a new stick.  I was once that poor.  I was surprised this wasn't mentioned in the frugal hygiene section in this book, but the rest of the tips made up for it.



One thing I really liked about this book is it didn't assume that everyone would have access to a bank account or other conveniences that are often not thought about when you have enough money to have the basics in life.  There were great ideas on how to pay bills, cash checks, etc., without having a checking account.

Of course there was a section on increasing income, but this was mainly about how to stretch your money as far as possible on the very necessities of life such as housing, food, clothing, transportation, and utilities.

I think anyone would benefit from reading this book.  Although if you are a multi-millionaire you may not decide to take much in this book to heart.  I wish this would have been available years ago when my mother and I had $4 a week to spend on groceries and most of our meals consisted of potatoes bought from a local farm for 50 pounds for $6.  While this wouldn't have solved all our problems, it would have also helped us to know that we were not alone and things wouldn't always be like they were then.

You can start reading this book now: