The Kari AnnAlysis

The Frugalista Files is the real-life diary of a journalist who is way in debt. Like $20,000 between credit cards and car payments and student loans. Who hasn’t been there? Well, maybe not that much, but most of us can relate.

Natalie decided to nip her debt in the bud. She decided to quit spending and start saving. Her goal was a month and she was documenting it on a blog, through her newspaper’s website. And it took off like a wild fire. What started as an online spending diary ended up getting hers gigs on CNN and even a book deal (obviously).

This book follows Natalie as she saves money and learns that you don’t have to spend, spend, spend to have a nice, happy, and fashionable life.

Every now and then, I will find a non-fiction book that I can get into and relate to. I think that this being my first book of 2011 was a good choice because it immediately made me want to start saving better. I get pretty paranoid about my bank account and hate spending money. This past year, the hubs and I had a few things that we needed to buy and dug into savings to do it. We had more than enough money in there, but now that the holidays are over, it’s time to start paying money back.

I was able to relate very well to Natalie in this story. For the fact that we are both journalists primarily. If you are in the journalism field, you know this. If you are thinking of going into journalism, listen up: YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BE RICH. Enough said

I really admired Natalie for becoming so strict with her spending habits. I feel like I have always been good with money. When my parents were married, they had a more than decent income. But when they got divorced, I really started learning about money. And now that I am married, I know what to do with it. But, I was one of those funny kids who would go on vacation with money from the rents and only spend like $50 the whole time. I went to Europe and came home with 75% of the cash I took. I kind of wish I would have bought a few more knick knacks, but it appears I will be going again here in a few years and can get what I didn’t in the first place. Back to Natalie, it was nice to see how much skimping on the unnecessary can be so beneficial to your wallet and your bank account. At the beginning of each chapter, she put her current debt. It was awesome to see it shrink by the thousands.

I also admired Natalie’s courage in leaving her job to freelance and work on her Frugalista image. I doubt you are going to find a blogger who wouldn’t love to do that.

Now, before I wrap up, I have my own Frugalista tip, that was handed down to me from my dad. When it comes to student loans, here’s what I did and it’s working wonderfully for me. I was lucky to graduate on a Saturday and start my first full-time job on the following Monday. Since I had 6 months until I needed to start paying on my student loans, I went ahead and started saving. I made a new bank account and set up for $100 to be taken out of every paycheck to be put into that account. If I had any leftover money at the end of the pay period, that would go into that account to. So, I was putting at least $200 a month into this account and about $280 is what is being taken out. But, since I started so early, I now have a pretty nice pad in there that I will never have to worry about. The money automatically goes in and I have it also automatically going out. It is going to be a long while, but I can’t wait for the day that the loans are paid off and I have that nice chunk of change ready to go back into circulation. 

I give The Frugalista Files 5bookmarks and recommend it for women of any age. It’s good for those who are in debt, to show that it is possible to dig yourself out. It’s also a great read for young women, or men if they can handle a little frugalista, so they can hear from a spending pro that the debt really isn’t worth it.

ISBN: 978-0373892297
Published: December 21, 2010
Author Website
Kari got this book from NetGalley