Timely and very entertaining overview of the history of frugality in America; to some it might seem more of a lost art than a misunderstood virtue. Sage advice from Ben Franklin about a penny saved is a penny earned to our parent's lectures at the dinner table that money does not grow on trees, can be easily drowned out by the incessant marketing of the consumer culture that we live in. Plain living and high thinking are no more was the lament of William Wordsworth over 160 years ago and still seems applicable today. The author certainly recommends a return to frugality for the sake of our planet and our personal and financial well being. Rather than a lecture about the evils of overspending, the book offers a wry look at the cyclical popularity of living within or below our means throughout the course of American History. From the puritanical view that linked saving money to saving your soul to the time of the Depression when cutting back was not a choice but an absolute necessity for survival.
In a nod to the "going green movement" of today her advice is simple: if you want to save the planet, the most effective thing that you can do is stop buying so much stuff. Check catalog availability.
Submitted by Tom O. @ MPL Central