Thursday, July 16, 2009

Book Review- The Penny Pinchers Club

I just finished reading The Penny Pinchers Club by Sarah Strohmeyer.

From the inside flap:

Living in New Jersey--the state that boasts the most malls per capita--Kat's favorite recreational activity is a no-brainer: shopping. But when she discovers that her husband, Griff, has been hiding a secret bank account and exchanging dubious e-mails with his attractive young assistant, her joyful consumerism suddenly loses its appeal. Are their fights about money more serious than she understood? Is he, as her friends suggest, preparing for a divorce? Just in case, Kat decides it's time to start saving. Unfortunately, having racked up tens of thousands of dollars in debt (of course she needed those tiki torches from Pier 1!), Kat finds herself in way over her head.

Drastic times call for drastic measures. Kat starts by canceling cable and kicking her $240 monthly Starbucks habit. But what starts out as a simple effort to cut costs soon becomes an over-the-top obsession when she joins an eclectic but lovable group of savers called the Penny Pinchers Club. Soon she is pumping her gas at dawn (when it is thicker) and serving dinner made from food she retrieved at the grocery store Dumpster. Kat is saving money, to be sure, but what she's really saving is time--time she spends with Griff, their daughter . . . and an old flame, who resurfaces at precisely the wrong moment, offering Kat a life where money is no object.

An irresistible and wonderfully warmhearted novel about the unexpected ways hardship can lead to happiness, The Penny Pinchers Club is the perfect pick-me-up for these troubled times.

I really enjoyed this book. I could so identify with Kat. Not only do I LOVE to shop, but I have also been in the sad position of finding emails to and from my now ex-boyfriend and another girl. And luckily, just like Kat, I had friends to help me through--just not friends that helped me save money in the process. Some of the ideas in the books I think I might try--pumping gas in the morning when its thicker and plugging appliances in to a power strip that you can turn off. Others, like dumpster diving, I couldn't do. I found myself thinking about Kat when I wasn't reading the story. I felt so sad for her. But the ending is a surprise--I won't tell you if it's good or bad, but I will tell you that I liked it! The Penny Pinchers Club is the first that I have read by Ms. Strohmeyer but it definitely won't be the last!

I gave this book a rating of 4/5.

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