Review: `You are the best judge of what you needs are and your threshold to specific limitations.'
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 24, 2014
Author Tyler Logan is a pragmatist and has taken on the mantle of bringing a bit of reality solutions to the table where we all sit to ponder how to make ends meet in the present state of a disastrous economy. He doesn't preach in his books (`Minimalist Lifestyle', `Speed Cleaning for Busy Moms and Dads', `Life's Disappointments are Full of Obstacles', etc), but instead gets right down to the problems we are facing with dwindling income and resources and retirement funds and addresses these issues in a matter of fact list of ways to change  - to become less stressed and more happy, even in this environment.Tyler Logan keeps things in perspective; he opens his book with some tasty quips: `A wise man once said that to not desire was a desire in itself', `according to some minimalists, to lead a minimalistic life, one should own less than 100 items', `The conventional belief is that the more we acquire, the happier we become', etc.  That provides a taste of how Logan approaches his subject - with candor, some humor, and a lot of realism.  But his goal is to continue his previous book on how to de-clutter our life to focus on the important and meaningful things by now addressing and focusing on cutting down on our expenditures and budgeting our life to meet our need instead of the reported needs of a materialistic world.Logan's book teaches us how to examine what we make and what we spend and how to cut our expenditures in a mature and well considered manner - some steps are as simple as not leaving a light on al day, spending based on what we earn and need, getting rid of debts, nurturing our credit score, living healthier, `Cheap people care about the cost of something, whereas frugal people care about the value of something' He teaches how to track expenditures (yes, make a list of every expense), track our earnings, do a weekly analysis of a budget, and then the book takes off on the day to day actual ways to spend less and save more and enjoy the newfound less stressful mode of living that is the goal of us all. Lots of tricks here, lots of advice, and it all is given in the most user-friendly manner. This is another Tyler Logan book to help us crawl out of the hole that seems to grow deeper with every passing year. He is an optimist, but you have to work with him to arrive at his/our goals. Grady Harp, January 14