Three Frugal Indulgences I Love (and two I don't)

It's not often I read a book on a subject on which I consider myself an "expert," but FRUGAL INDULGENTS would definitely qualify. Having lived in New York for a year and a half, I am all about trying to get the most out of my money. It's fitting that I mooched this book (subtitled: HOW TO CULTIVATE DECADENCE WHEN YOUR AGE AND SALARY ARE UNDER 30) because that's just the kind of smart thrift the authors promote. Here are some of their tips I loved and some I will not be cultivating:

Great ideas:
Cutting back on fancy food in order to go out. Authors Kera Bolonik and Jennifer Griffin are spot on when they say that eating out is both an expensive pursuit and one that's very easy to cut out. Nowhere is this more true than at work -- peanut butter sandwiches four times a week equal a concert ticket; two months of that can be converted to a plane ticket.
Shopping in a way that makes your life better. Bolonik and Griffin aren't absolutists; their only sin is not to go out and have fun at all. But they advise using your dollars in a way that will have the greatest benefit towards your life as a decadent person. The chapter on clothing actually breaks down your basic wardrobe options into categories by where to find what you need among vintage stores, retail and "simulacra-wear" (Gap and Old Navy-style basics).
Looking on the bright side. Some of the authors' advice is clearly tongue in cheek -- take the section called "Bed: The Poor Man's Opera," in which it is argued that sex is free entertainment -- but the overall tone of this book is pretty congratulatory. Far be it from them to shame you because you don't make a lot of money; rather, your determination to make it by any means necessary should be congratulated. For this reason I wish I had read this book when I first got to New York, instead of getting depressed because I couldn't save 15 percent of my miniscule income.

Not so great:
Not having a budget. Different systems work for different people, and even I don't have a hard-and-fast, down-to-the-penny budget any more. FRUGAL INDULGENTS talks a lot about maximizing your entertainment dollars (i.e. if you're going to a first-run movie and you have to pay full price, go to a fancy indie theatre to enjoy it the most) but not so much about the big picture. But it would be useful to read this book along with a more traditional personal finance book that will tell you the rules, even if you choose to break them.
Relying on richer people to get you things. Maybe I'm just bitter because I don't have any friends with expense accounts, opera subscriptions (what, with family circle tickets just $23?) or giant apartments for which they need a house-sitter. It's not the concept of getting by with help that bothers me, it's that as we all know, people can be unreliable. If you're steering towards an uncertain generosity, you could be headed for a crash.

Overall, I'd recommend FRUGAL INDULGENTS; it's a fun read that will make you think about how to have more fun with the money you have. I will consider myself a proud member of what they call the nouveau pauvre.

ToTT Tuesday: My Personal Finance Toolbox

My review of Farnoosh Torabi's YOU'RE SO MONEY on Talk of the Town with Parker Sunshine airs August 27. Yay!

I got interested in Farnoosh Torabi's YOU'RE SO MONEY because, as I wrote last week, I'm getting used to organizing my own finances and plan for an uncertain future. So I thought it might be useful to share what my money reading looks like right now as the background I'm taking into this book.

I Read
Suze Orman, THE MONEY BOOK FOR THE YOUNG, FABULOUS AND BROKE. The title's a little silly, but "Suze" is in the self-esteem business as well as the personal finance business, which is why this was the finance book I gave my sister for graduation as part of a "Welcome to the Real World, Too Late To Retreat" package.
Michelle Goodman, THE ANTI 9-TO-5 GUIDE. This book specifically covers freelance personal finance, and that's not all it discusses, but I'm proud after reading it last month to add it to my arsenal.
Dave Ramsey, THE TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER. In some ways Ramsey's advice counters Orman's, especially about getting into debt, but I like Ramsey's wherever-you-are approach to improving your financial situation. When I started listening to his radio show (which streams at daveramsey.com) I wasn't in the dire straits that many of his callers describe, but I was content to not keep track of where my money was and to let the chips fall where they may. If nothing else this book will make you keep track of your spending.

I Follow
Personal finance blogs, especially Her Every Cent Counts, Give Me Back My Five Bucks, Escape Brooklyn and SF Money Musings (now Soul-Searching 20something On a Mission). These are all blogs by women around my age who are dealing with career changes, establishing good savings habits and learning when to splurge. I admire them because I'm not remotely brave enough to share my financial life with the world, even anonymously.

I also listen to NPR's Marketplace and Marketplace Money, which doesn't always cover personal finance but is a great way to ease into the scary category of business news.

So where do you get your personal finance information? From the brokerage of Mom and Dad? (Hey, I still ask them for advice a lot.) From an outside advisor? From your savvy friend?