I knew from the title that this book and I were going to be fast friends. What I didn’t understand was how laugh-out-loud funny Annie Korzen could be. From shopping to eating out, decorating to traveling, or bartering to selling, Korzen gives great advice while making light-hearted fun of herself and how “thrifty” (cheap) she is.

One of Korzen’s strengths is her insight into the Bargainista culture as she gives useful descriptions of the different things you can hope to find at yard sales, rummage sale, thrift shops, consignment, Craigs List, Ebay and flea markets. She also has great advice for bargaining in any situation, for example, she says that saying “How much? That’s ridiculous. I could get it cheaper at Kmart” is not nearly as effective as saying “You have such cool stuff. If I buy a lot, can you give me something off?”

Throughout the book, there are little snippets of her great sense of humor. One of the funniest things I read was in her section on “re-using and repurposing” in which she admits that she “occasionally flip(s) her underwear to save on washing machine use” and that she’s sure that it’s on one of these days that she’s going to take a visit to the emergency room. She also has a funny section called “Friends with Benefits” in which she discusses the pros and cons of having friends that are much wealthier than you. At the end of the chapter, she has a number of questions about her wealthy friends that are hilarious and include: “Why do so many rich women think it’s attractive to look like they’ve had face transplants?” and “where do rich people hide all their electric cords?” These are questions I’ve asked myself.

Overall, I learned a lot from Korzen’s book and had a good laugh along the way. I would recommend it, especially to anyone who is new to the Bargainista culture and needs some info to jump-start their money-saving adventures. You can get her book at amazon.com.

Enjoy!
Darcy Ratner
Rubbingnickels.com