Pogue's Basics: Money: Essential Tips and Shortcuts (That No One Bothers to Tell You) About Beating the System by David Pogue

Pogue's Basics: Money: Essential Tips and Shortcuts (That No One Bothers to Tell You) About Beating the System Reviews

• 
  David

  David Pogue needs an intervention with these Basics books. I really liked his first book about technology and found it very helpful but the tips and tricks in the life and money books are either so firmly in the public consciousness or easily available as to be unnecessary in a book.
  
  The projected savings are overhyped, exactly like the coupon books I get from the warehouse club where I'm a member (spoiler alert, he recommends looking into warehouse club memberships). The book's cover always lists the total "savings" of all of the coupons ("$3, 287 in savings inside!") but the problem is that you have to buy three different laptops, five different TVs, eight brands of diapers and two varieties of coffee to earn those dubious savings.
  
  If you can borrow the life and money books from the library they're worth perusing but don't spend your money buying them. I really do like David Pogue and I think his intentions are good but these last two books are a bit much.
• 
  Alex Hoeft

  I wish I had a photographic memory so I could remember literally everything said in this book. Pretty much every other page is dog-eared due to good advice. I’m ready to start saving money!!!
• 
  Ryan Smith

  Lots of worthwhile tips in here, I’m sure I’ll often use the index to circle back. The major hitch is that the book was written for an American reader, so a decent amount of tips and almost all examples are not relevant for a Canadian.
• 
  Tim Johnson

  I had to read something nonfiction real quick to make sure I keep learning things.
  
  Most money books give you the standard list of rules: spend less than you make, pay off your debts as quickly as possible, save early and often, and blah blah blah.
  
  There's a little bit of that here but Pogue's focus is more about how to be responsibly irresponsible when blowing your paycheck. He includes couponing sites, sites where you can buy gift cards at a discount (from people who won't use them) and many other great tips.
  
  Who knew that AAA offered discounts on prescriptions? I didn't and man oh man, I am looking forward to getting my AARP card! Tremendous discounts for AARP members.
  
  Anyway, it's a departure from the norm of finance books but does have some great tips for saving money on things you are going to do anyway.
• 
  Fooie

  Book title should have “in the USA” - because approx 90% of the information relayed here isn’t really applicable anywhere else. Large chunks of it are also either outdated by now (book was written pre-covid), consist of basic common sense, or not really suitable for everyone (depending on your current income and stage of life). Projected savings also tend to be really exaggerated.
• 
  Kressel Housman

  This is a how-to book full of money-saving tips covering everything from coupon “clipping” websites to how to sign up for a paid clinical drug trial. It’s more of a reference book you’d want around the house than a cover-to-cover read to borrow from the library, but the latter is the way I read it anyhow. It was informative, and the tone was light enough to make it readable, but I’m glad to be done with it. I took notes, so who knows? Perhaps some of these tips might add up to some savings.
• 
  Aden Russell

  There are some really great, practical tips in this book, ranging from how, where and what to buy, to little hacks that you can do to save money here and there. The biggest problem with this book, however, is that it's just too geocentric to the US. I understand, American author, most things these days are centred around the US etc. but a large amount of the information was just not applicable to me as someone who lives in Australia.
• 
  Stephen

  I think this book was made for my style of "listicle (list-article) reader". Each chapter is generally introduced, then it's rapid-fire tips: Shopping Hacks, Food Hacks, Your Body, and more. Many bullets throughout the chapters are attributed to famous/celebrity/otherwise-renowned wealthy people, so their advice has some clout.
  My favorite chapter was actually the last chapter: Financial Brain Hacks. Most notably, here Pogue digs into into (the lack of) rational decision making around spending and saving. He emphasizes consistency between your psychology and usage of money to bring greater savings, reduced stress, more flexibility and liquidity. These are good things.
  
  Not a 5/5 because everything wasn't amazing. Save multi-paragraph introductions to chapters, it really is listicles throughout; I suppose there's no other way to get 200 tricks into a text. I simply thought the author could have had greater flow, and maybe craft a light narrative through conquering your money life. Instead, the book read like it was written in distinct parts then glued together, book-ended by introduction and acknowledgements.
  Nevertheless, the advise is sound. I had already employed many of these tips into my own life, so it was fun/affirming to see them here e.g. higher deductible plans, where you're paying yourself the difference (increasing liquidity and being able to afford the deductible, simultaneously).
  
  It's worth a purchase, as you'll be able to pick it, flip to a chapter you've been thinking about (say, "Food and Drink", if you're thinking that tri-weekly mocha frappe is going up in price), read for 30 seconds, and walk away with something to contemplate.
  Save yourself some money and buy this book.
• 
  Jonathan H. MONTES

  This review was inspired by my annotations. To view all my detailed annotations you are welcome to join my Patreon page (John Lawchamp). For $0.99 you can read my favorite lines and excerpts from the book with additional personal thoughts. The annotations are released once the review of that book has been posted on Goodreads. Why spend $15.00 on a book you are not invested in when you can explore the main topics for a fraction of the price? Visit Patreon:
  https://www.patreon.com/Lawchamp
  
  John Lawchamp’s Review:
  This book was entertaining in the way we see how much we can save money by taking a few action steps here and there. This book goes through everything imaginable in ways you can save money. It does not bore you with the things you should already know, such as exercising to save thousands on medical bills and doctor visits. Instead, it covers how to save money on electricity, or how to save money by sinking your razors in alcohol for longer life. They do this in barbershops, and that's how they make a profit and save money too. There are great ideas in this book, but in my annotations I only wrote those which I found most helpful. Go ahead and check them out on Patreon.
  
• 
  Aki Stepinska

  I read all three books from the David Pogue series - Technology, Life, and Money. The Technology one was probably my favorite.
  
  The Money book is from 2016, which is a bit dated. Some products and websites no longer exist. However, it still has some valuable tips, but I think of them as more shopping savings than money advice. There is a savings ballpark calculation by each tip, although some seem inflated for an average user.
  
  One tip, in particular, I had an issue with—advice to paying everything with credit cards (i.e., insurance, taxes, etc.). You can get more cashback or points, but it can lead to a high credit card balance, high interest, and penalties for some people. Additionally, you have to use a third-party service that charges fees to pay taxes via credit card. If the fee is less than cashback you receive, you may 'save' $50 or so, but you are exposing yourself to the danger of high CC balance and the hassle of setting this up.
  
  All tips are short, to the point, and it is a straightforward and fun book. The book is nicely formatted, with great use of white space, font, and color. I like books that are a delight to read.
  
  Total 5/5
  Readability - 4
  Scope - 2.5
  Depth - 2
  Format - 4
  Clarity -3.5
  
  Read this book if:
  You want quick and easy savings tips.
  You don't want to read an in-depth book on money savings.
  
• 
  Thurston Hunger

  Saw this at the library weeks ago, and based on Pogue familiarity (loved some of this old geeky kid-friendly science programs) picked it up. Weeks of renewals later, sped-read it and I'm just very lucky, dare I say fortunate to not have to worry at the coupon-level. Don't get me wrong, I'm far from even a polite screw-you level of money, much less the more dramatic !@$!@-you, but time spent thinking about money is often a big debit on my soul.
  
  Coupon clipping and apps, I think I save more by just avoiding even stepping into the Gap much less falling into the credit card gap. Maybe a cash-back credit card would be wise at this point, and I found myself even thinking about pumping more money now into 529's for the sake not necessarily of my kids (who we *might* have covered) but the kids of kids. Still that tacks on a need to watch the mix of funds and again spend time, which at this point in my life feels more valuable (and vulnerable) than money.
  
  The title is so appealing of course, the American Way seems to have migrated from Truth and Justice to an overriding notion of Beating the System.
• 
  William Schram

  In Pogue’s Basics: Money, we are introduced to many money saving techniques and methods that you may or may not have heard of. It even discusses the psychology of certain sales and comparisons. For instance, it explains that people are bad with numbers. This may not be news to me or to many that read the things I read, but that isn’t the point. The point is that it tries to give someone defense against such techniques by explaining them.
  
  Right off the bat in the introduction Pogue talks about what he will not be covering, and that is the obvious advice and the illegal advice. For example, Pogue mentions libraries as one of the so-obvious-it-does-not-need-to-be-mentioned things.
  
  The book is certainly well-done, but many of the hints and tips were familiar to me. It’s not that it’s bad per se, but I suppose it is slightly disappointing. You buy such a book expecting world-shattering tips, and many of them were like that, but I was familiar with way too many.
  
  I did enjoy the book anyway though. David Pogue has a breezy, conversational style that is sometimes quite witty.
  
• 
  Eyehavenofilter

  Rather than throwing money to the wolves, this little gem will tell you where and when the best time and place it is to exchange money and buy a bike, washing machine or perhaps a car. That's right folks each item has a season, and if you just wait a month or 3 you can get a better deal than most on almost anything.
  Plus if you take that European trip you've always wanted , you might be better off exchanging you money NOWHERE, and just using your handy dandy credit card that you've pre fixed for just this occasion at your bank along with a handy dandy tweak on your cell phone so you don't end up with a $600 bill wither you land back in the good old US of A.
  Don't say I didn't warn you...read this book, save a lot of £,€, and $.
• 
  N. Nelson

  Finally, a finance book that offers useful tips for people who are living at or below the poverty line! And they aren't common sense tips like "cook instead of going to restaurants" and "don't buy lottery tickets", or useless tips like "sell your extra yacht" (as if I had one) or "subscribe to four copies of the paper and spend hours clipping coupons each week" (no way I have time for that).
  
  Granted, many of the suggestions may not apply to your situation, but I think everyone will find at least one or two ways to save money. And the book is very well organized, which means you can easily skip sections that are not useful to you.
  
  My only complaint is that the author still assumes that the average reader is making a living wage and/or in a dual income household, as evidenced by his "total money saved" estimates (offered at the end of every tip).
• 
  Kirkley

  Ah, yes, the ‘loaded’ word.
  
  Still, having little financial education of my own growing up, this was definitely filled with useful tips. But what is information when it is not backed with action? Action lends words significance. Action is what changes things! In short, I hope to put these tips into action without becoming into extreme couponing or something along those lines.
  
  There’s my ramble. Seriously, if you don’t know a lot about saving what you earn, or spending less, these are less-than-obvious tips that are applicable to your life.
• 
  Heydi Smith

  So I got this book thinking maybe it could teach me tricks on how to save money - longterm. There certainly are those tips in this book. However, this book runs the gambit on just about anything you can spend money on and a few ideas on making money. I definitely learned a few things, there’s one piece of advice on retirement I really liked. For the most part I knew of just about everything that was listed but this book makes it clear how to put the pieces together. It wasn’t the book or advice I was searching for but it was a pleasant read all the same.
• 
  Ryan

  These tips weren't so new or so useful to me, but here are a couple quick ones that everyone should do:
  
  Turn down your heat at night and again during the day while at work.
  A fan uses less energy than A/C.
  If you're driving over 40 miles/ hour, use A/C. Less? Crack a window.
  LED lights.
  
  Much of what's offered here is specific to the USA.
• 
  Anne

  This was a ridiculous book. In spite of his protestations to the contrary up front, he just collected some ideas from a variety of internet sites regarding various schemes for making and saving money. None were unique. Very few were practical (and those I was already doing). Most involved too much time and effort to actually reap any benefit.
• 
  Andrew Post

  A wonderful little primer on money-saving tips and tricks. Some of this stuff I knew already (my parents are die-hard tightwads), but a lot of it was news to me...and it's updated for the 21st century, with lots of money-saving websites and electronic wizardry. A good read, well worth anyone's time who wants to be smarter about pinching pennies.
• 
  Carter Hemphill

  I've enjoyed the other books in this series. While this book has a lot of useful financial and money tips, a lot of the advice is outdated. Some of the website links do not work and the recent tax law eliminated many of the deductions listed. If you are able to get over these shortfalls, the book provides some useful tips, although it certainly could use an update.
• 
  Jeff Rosendahl

  It's a "save-money-on-everyday-items" book. Quick read. Skim through it and pick out whatever money savings apply to you. Don't have to even read the whole thing. And ignore the "annual savings" at the end of every category because those are all estimates anyway and your situation may be different anyway.
  
• 
  Worth-Pinkham Memorial Library

  This is a fun and informative book! I liked it because you can flip around and read what really works for you. There are lots of tips for getting the cheapest price for Disney Parks to different tax breaks you can take advantage of. It also tells the amount of money that you can potentially save from each Idea. -Pam
• 
  Cara

  Rather than a "how to budget" book, this is a "how to spend less money on things you already buy/pay for, which is useful in its own way. Not a bad library find, though as usual, it's not a book I would personally spend money on (hey, there's a money saving tip he ought to have included. How come books like this never mention libraries?).
• 
  Joanne

  The information in this book is very current and extremely helpful. His writing style is direct and honest. I read this entire book in an afternoon and extracted enough information to last a lifetime.
• 
  Erica

  the book was ok. I mean I learned a few things like claimdog.com to check to see if I had any unclaimed money. and a few tricks of the trade here and there but a little basic. I feel like a lot of the things were common knowledge but then again it is a essential tip book, so...