How to Live on Less: A Guide to Everyday Budgeting and Self-sufficiency

"How to Live on Less" is a practical guide to reducing everyday expenditure and waste by taking advantage of a range of smarter, cheaper ways of sourcing, acquiring and using those products we need or desire. "How to Live on Less" is not about penny-pinching or drastically reducing quality of life in order to afford what we want, it's about taking a new and exciting look at how we finance our everyday life and the ways in which we can achieve the same, or similar, for less. By combing a number of the ideas described in the book, significant savings could be made to support a reduction in income or provide the funds to finance a new project. "How to Live on Less" focuses on two key themes: everyday budgeting - establishing and sticking to realistic, achievable targets whether in energy or fuel consumption, spending capital or cash, feeding the family, etc and self-sufficiency - the ability to produce some or all of what we use and consume. Three specific mechanisms are used throughout the book to illustrate how to live on less: making simple economies, e.g. turning off lights, swapping to a cheaper supplier, driving less or more wisely; developing new habits, e.g. going to farmers markets, managing our cash, developing a practical new craft or skill; and, changing lifestyle, e. g. producing our own fruit and vegetables, raising livestock, ditching the car. "How to Live on Less" appeals to a broad readership as it provides a simple but intelligent guide to living more frugally. The book highlights what an urban family with a small garden could achieve in terms of reduced spending and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.