by Caroline Nellis (Editor), Scott Bishop (Illustrator), Frank Nellis (Author)
Since many older Americans exist on little more than Social Security, tips are needed on living well on a tight budget. This book chronicles what the author learned during a year of living on a $1,000-a-month budget. In these financially tough times, the insights offered are of value to younger households as well as seniors. This book is an easy, thought-provoking read. Not only does it contain timely information on frugal living, it is written in a conversational, humorous style, with short chapters that cater to today's hectic lifestyle. To better prepare for his approaching retirement on a shoestring budget, Frank Nellis read two bestsellers on the subjects of frugality and retirement. The first was The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn. Her book contained useful material, but with her endorsing dumpster diving for canned foods and like suggestions, Nellis felt the standard of living she described was below the level many retirees aspire to. The second bestseller Nellis perused was Retire on Less Than You Think: The New York Times Guide to Planning Your Financial Future by Fred Brock. That book suggested working in a high-income metropolitan area and buying an expensive home in the suburbs. A prospective retiree could later sell the nice home, use the equity and any appreciation to downsize to a modest home in a low-cost-of-living area, and use the price difference between the two homes to fund retirement. For Nellis, this did not seem a viable option for less well-off individuals who lack big homes and who retire on meager incomes. The author felt the literature on frugal retirement contained a large niche between these two authors' works. He was convinced many retirees live well on limited incomes. He described this "middle ground" of simple living by chronicling the experiences of his first year of retirement. That chronicle, which morphed into this book, proves a useful vehicle to convey the nuts-and-bolts of thrifty living.
Author Biography
For the author, thrifty living is not just a recent concern, but rather a way of life dating from the 1940s, when he was born the eldest in a family that eventually grew to 12 children. By necessity and by choice, Frank Nellis has lived the simple life. He grew up in Evansville, Indiana. After high school, he enlisted in the Army, serving in the Washington D.C. area and Southeast Asia. Frank graduated from Indiana University, where he met his wife and also earned master's degrees in Economics as well as in East Asian Language and Literature. After college, Frank worked various jobs, including serving as an adjunct university professor in economics. However his most memorable job may have been a stint as elephant keeper at a zoo. Frank and his wife live on four acres in a rural Indiana county near Evansville, and they raised two daughters in that country setting. In early 2008, as work stress and health issues collided, Frank decided to retire early, which required that he begin living on a thousand dollars a month. This book, in which he has chronicled that yearlong lesson in frugality, should help readers discover novel ways to live comfortably on a more limited budget, whether they are thinking about retiring or just trying to get by in hard times. Since retiring, Frank spends time fishing, organic gardening, hobby farming, and writing. Access his blog at www.tightlivingfortoughtimes.blogspot.com.