How I Lived a Year on Just a Pound A Day
Book Review of Kath Kelly’s Account Of Life on a Very Low Budget
Sep 28, 2008
Kath Kelly is the sort of person it would be fun to spend an evening down the pub with, if her budget stretched to it. Her surprise hit book, How I Lived a Year on just a Pound a Day, is an easy, entertaining read that is nonetheless thought provoking.
How Kath Kelly Came To Live on Just a Pound a Day
It all started after an evening of a little too much wine. Kath Kelly was skint, and needed to save for something important that was less than a year away. Being the impulsive lady she is, she decided there and then to live a year on just a pound a day to square her budgetary circle. Sounds impossible? Not in the UK City of Bristol. And maybe not impossible anywhere in our over consuming western world. Kath Kelly’s book makes you wonder.
Bristol sounds like a good place to be short of money. Kath Kelly took full advantage of the largesse of modern capitalist Britain, and met new people from all walks of life during her adventure. She has a lovely, easy writing style and is a naturally endearing heroine being both self confident and self effacing at the same time.
How to Live on Just a Pound a Day
Her tight knit group of friends were forbidden from paying for nights out as she wanted to have some friends left at the end of the year. Despite this her social life did not suffer. Kath discovered plentiful free activities in her city and beyond, often offering refreshment s and a genuinely entertaining time to boot! She rediscovers hitching, which makes an adventurous, but surprisingly safe, change from public transport, and gets fit from travelling under her own steam. She also learns about, and takes advantage of, our wasteful food supply chain. Generally Kath Kelly shows a delightful initiative when faced with situations that at first seem insurmountable.
Recession: A Challenge that Need not be Depressing!
Self-sufficiency enthusiasts may be disappointed that Kath Kelly does not immediately turn to growing her own food, and hardened ecologists may not approve of all of her methods of living on such a small sum. But everyone can learn something from her experiences. From practical tips to an inspiring outlook, Kath Kelly’s book is a great way to face up to the threat of recession with cheery nonchalance!
How I lived a Year on Just a Pound a Day is published by Redcliffe, ISBN 978-1-9065593
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For more advice on how to cope with money in difficult times, read these Quotations on Money and Wealth from the Wise and the Witty. And check out these tips on How to Survive the Economic Downturn.
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