Brokenomics: 50 Ways to Live the Dream on a Dime

by Dina Gachman

In Brokenomics, author Dina Gachman shares the lessons she’s learned about how to live large in the cheap seats. Through stories both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny that anyone can relate to, Dina reveals all the tricks you need to live the good life without spending a ton of money.

Brokenomics covers the place where economics and everyday life collide. It includes:

Rules for changing your mindset (“There Will Always Be Someone Richer, Taller, Smarter, and Better Looking Than You”)


Wise words about making big decisions, like raising children—or not (“Why Have a Baby When You Can Just Get a Nice Potted Plant?”)


Clear-eyed relationship advice (“Do Not Date Anyone Who Loves Their Bong More Than They Love You”)


Solid guidance for renters (“The Freeloader's Guide to Housesitting”)


And strategies for talking to your honey about money. . . without breaking up

This helpful and hilarious handbook has the answers for crafting your own version of the glamorous life without breaking the bank. Dina shares advice on every page while keeping things fresh, light, and fun. Written with the wisdom afforded by hindsight, Brokenomics will appeal to recent college grads, newly committed couples, and those facing career crises alike.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Memoir, Money, Finance, Audiobook, Humor

266 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 24, 2015

About the author

Dina Gachman is a Pulitzer Center grantee and a frequent contributor to New York Times, Texas Monthly, Vox, Teen Vogue and more. She's a bestselling ghostwriter and her second book, SO SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS: How I Learned To Live With Grief, and Other Grave Concerns, has been featured on NPR and CBS, and in Time, Texas Monthly, Southern Living, Garden & Gun + several podcasts.

Reviews

[Yodamom · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars
College party Frat/Sorority house financial guide-ish book or what ? It was humorous in a offensive way but offered little real financial advice.
Offensive. She went to a flea market with her mother where she noted the 300-400 lb people contemplating their leftover pork ribs and Dr. Pepper. Maybe 68% of LA is shallow, materialistic, annoying, flaky, narcissistic, money-hungry, celebrity wannabes? If your boss treats you like crap go ahead and steal from them ? Women selling their eggs, and a reference to one girl who had a personality being like a styrofoam cup ? It goes on and on, and I am not a fan of mean/stupid/drunk/selfish humor.
Not a book I would recommend or buy.

[Dana · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has the the most misleading description that I have ever come across. There are zero tips for how to save money in a practical/frugal way. There is nothing clever or creative in any of the chapters. There are some stale jokes and tired/repetitive stories, but apart from that this book will only cost you money, not save it.

Buy, Borrow or Bin Verdict:Bin


Note: I reviewed this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

[Deanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amusing and readable, but containing none of the practical advice and wisdom I thought it might.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I could give this book 1.5 stars I would, I'm being generous with 2-stars. Lesson 51 of Brokenomics could be: 51) even though you may be broke, find someone else to narrate your audio book, especially since you have an MFA, have connections to Hollywood, have access to the USC alumni network, and you may know an intern who may do it for free. 95% of the time an author narrates her/his own audio book I'm not a fan of this and this rule holds true here too. There were times when Dina didn't put emphasis on the right part of the sentence for effect.

All-in-all this book fell flat including the humor or attempts at humor.

To make matters worse she is telling her listeners/readers to know which student loans not to pay and complains about her student loans. I have yet to read a book by an author telling me to stop making my car payment or my mortgage payment because those things can be repossessed unlike an education that once you have it cannot be reclaimed by the loan company or the tax payers that wind up paying higher taxes because people default, willingly it seems, on their student loan payments when they knew how much they were borrowing before they signed that promissory note. I too went to college and took student loans to cover what Pell Grants did not and I paid them back in full and early. I was taught in freshman Political Science that "an honest man pays his debts!"

This is also the second audio book to which I have listened recently in which the author has recommended this to the reader, e.g. just stop paying your student loans and stick it to the man.

I cannot recommend this book, a better book to read is The Richest Man in Babylon.

[GONZA · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's funny and entertaining, but absolutely useless if you are really searching for a cheap way of living.

È simpatico e fa ridere, ma assolutamente inutile se state cercando veramente un libro che offra cosnigli su come vivere nel modo piú economico possibile.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND PERSEUS BOOKS CLUB, SEAL PRESS FOR THE PREVIEW!

[Lex · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author was trying desperately hard to be funny and quirky, but it just came off as that: desperate. Advice was recycled tips available anywhere for free (which the author would have recommended anyway so we could save a buck!). Can't say I'd recommend this title.

[Martha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure if this was meant to be helpful, or humorous. For me, it was neither.

[Madeline Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book wasn't what I thought it would be based on the title. It started off being the way I was expecting and then slid into a different style, the latter being more a memoir of the author's journey through her 20's without having a lot of dough or dignity and ended in a lament that we weren't shown a more realistic ending of those high school kids from 'Grease.' Not that they shouldn't have left in a flying car but the apparent 'happy ever after' part. Hmm...

It was funny-ish but I'm not a fan of gratuitous f-bombs, and her stories were littered with them. I mean, if she were, say, a veteran recalling her time in the trenches then okay, I'd get it. But her language combined with the way she put on airs made her seem like an entitled broke person with odd priorities.

For example, she was pretty smarmy and dismissive of people who choose not to frequent salons for $$$ hair services that they can't afford. She then recommends that they, who can neither afford those prices and who don't have a family connection or other hook up, should feel free to waltz into a salon and haggle/barter on service prices upfront, because don't we all deserve to rock professional salon-level looks as opposed to one resulting from a $5 bottle of shampoo?

Maybe she has a point. I mean, why wouldn't hard-working hairdressers want to give away their services for possible "exposure" to a client's network? It's what she did for her discount and she's now friends with her hairdresser from sending him so many referrals. And yet she changed his name in the book so now no reader will know who he is. Oop.

Fortunately she doesn't give much real financial advice in this book aside from the obvious make coffee at home and don't play the lotto if you can't afford it, but unfortunately with the advice she does give the life she and others aspire to live will likely remain a dream until they adjust their expectations and learn to live below/within their means.

[Mezzie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Neither funny nor helpful.

[Michaela June · Rating 2 out of 5]

***Bin, Borrow, or Buy?***
Bin.

TL;DR for the review: Could have been condensed into a Buzzfeed listicle, taken 90 seconds to read, and still would have been a waste of my time. Author is probably better at writing columns and articles and should stick to those.

The Bad
Essentially, this book is more of a mediocre memoir than a book of financial advice. It is advertised to be stories about the author mixed with financial tricks/tips, however the book was 90% stories and only 10% money tips. What tips and tricks she shared were mostly obvious, impractical, or ridiculous. She recommends sneaking into hotels or apartment buildings to use the pool for free (immoral and tacky), don't buy luxury items you can't afford (no duh), don't buy coffees you can't afford (again, duh), and house sit for your wealthy peers if you can't afford rent (not practical at all for most of us).

The whole thing is very unfocused. I was never sure who the target audience was. Mostly it seemed to be for middle to upper class people who are wasting their disposable income, other times for broke college kids and recent graduates who aren't earning enough to live, and occasionally for the working poor. The writing was rambling and repetitive, especially her descriptions of specific items (she called a drink "an elixir of carrot juice, grey goose, and bile" and that is funny...unless you describe two things in each chapter with a trio of 'funny' adjectives or nouns). There is lots of filler and the book ends with an awkward and unnecessary screenplay thing that is particularly cringey if you are listening to the audiobook as I was.

Final complaint: She isn't fun or interesting to read about, which makes reading a memoir styled book nearly unbearable. She is outright mean or hypocritical at times. For example, she disses on life coaches selling advice in chapter 3 but is selling a book of advice.

The Good
Chapter 43 stood out and was about her time being laid off. The narrator was sincere and I think this chapter could be very validating and encouraging to anyone who has been laid off. Chapter 32's advice on conscious purchasing is solid. Overall, she tries to encourage you not to shame yourself when you mess up or don't make the most practical financial decision, and I appreciate that.

[Kyle Nicholas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Skip this one. You'll thank me later.

First, she assumes she's hilarious. She's not. Most of her jokes are lame ducks, leaving you with a sense of, "If there's not a laugh-track like on TV, was I supposed to chuckle?"

Second, the advice she gives should be common sense. Here's a rundown: Don't overspend. Don't use credit cards. Get free stuff when you can. Couch-surf if you want to travel or save money. Get a sugar-daddy/sugar-momma for those inconvenient times when you're sleeping in your van and it's raining and cold outside. Yard sales are your friends, as are thrift stores. Seriously, if you start out your adult life not knowing at least one of these things, you deserve to join a tent city.

Third, her writing style is more like "word salad" than anything legible. How many times can you use the term "stealth ninja" before someone wants to assassinate you?

Finally, she makes recommendations in here that will get your ass arrested. You think swimming pools are a human right? No, sneaking into private pools *will* get you arrested; just try it on my rental property sometime and you'll be talking to county sheriff. Ask the entitled little homeless girls who lied their way into our property in August of this year and used our pool as a bathtub. Look, putting that aside, if you think having free access to anyone's swimming pool should be a human right, you are just one entitled, self-centered, narcissistic little douchebag who needs to meet Big Jim in the slammer and take you down a peg or two. If you want to talk about human rights, let's work on getting every human on earth clean drinking water FIRST... *THEN* we can discuss whether you want to win the right to dunk your poopy ass into someone else's drink.

Til then, pick up Larry Winget for financial advice and beg for an ass-kicking, then put this book in the trash where it belongs.

EDIT: Nobody gets to insult the Moody Blues as has-been hacks. You young people are just jealous that nobody in your generation has any talent. The only claim to fame you have are a bunch of sluts who are only famous because of their willingness to use auto-tune and sleep with the producer.

[James Pritchert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a funny little book. It is intended for younger people, probably twenties or even late teens. She delivers sound advice on just about every topic while liberally interspersing her personal stories in the book. She is a very funny author and has a way of relaying her life's experiences that made me laugh out loud. Although I am well past the age where any of the advice might be useful, I was able to reflect back on my own life journey and summon some bittersweet memories of some good and bad decisions. I can highly recommend this book to anyone who is young and in need of practical financial advice. I can also recommend it to us more mature individuals who have learned from our mistakes and would like a good chuckle at the author's expense.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to agree with previous reviewers. While highly comedic, this guide is in no way comprehensive if you're looking for worldy tips on how to live cheap in this economy. I liked some quotes referenced, and there was some humor involved (ie stealing toilet paper from your employer), but it's not by any means a guide you can follow for advice, more a humorous way of looking at the economy and some outlandish things people do for money.

*I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

[Annice22 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Borrowed from Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review.

There was not really a lot of money saving tips in this. Brokenomics was more about the author sharing humorous stories about her experience with money than really informing the reader about ways to save money.

[Louise Behan · Rating 1 out of 5]

juvenile humor, and others have done it better.

[Zach Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I suspect that if this book were named something like 'The Sassy Girl's Guide to Living like a Queen Without Breaking the Bank' than its rating would be higher. It's not a bad book per se, it simply was marketed toward a crowd which is generally used to books like Freakonomics, Fubarnomics, or Spousonomics which are lighthearted, but are also packed with data and economic ideas. The advice in this book is generally not bad, but it is all personal from the author. Not a single study or scientific finding was cited.

If a book called Brokeonomics appeals to you, than don't read this one. If you would never in a million years read a book called Brokeonomics but are interested in tips to avoid being jealous of people with nice things and stories about silly people in LA, than by all means, read away.

[Dave Heberer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm marking it read, although I didn't actually get to finish the book. I went in thinking it would be practical advice about living frugally but it was more of a reminiscence coupled with folksy wisdom on random topics. I wouldn't say the advice was bad, a couple of bits stick out as quite solid (Don't carry credit card debt, take the plunge on a long foreign trip when young, others). But I felt like the book read more like a mildly interesting reflection on the author's life instead of practical advice. This was very different from my expectations, and also I don't like even themed autobiographies that much so I don't rate it very high.

The writing was fair, it doesn't feel too dated, but it wasn't what I was looking for.

[Lillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

With multiple pop culture references, and how many middle-class teenagers probably thought/behaved, Dina Gachman offers many tips for trying to survive and achieved personal goals without losing it all (home, loved ones, and sense of self). She uses humor which does help make the bitter reality of balancing the checkbook easier to handle. While I did know many of these things, I just didn't know them when they were relevant in my life.
I do have two suggestions to further survive in a difficult economy: use only bank cards instead of signing up for multiple credit cards (this way you know how much you can spend), and learn to cook like it's the Great Depression.
By the way, the copy I read came from the library.

[Cat · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is mostly anecdotal and has tips so general and college-age-oriented that she doesn't even talk about saving for retirement, and her only mention of investments is how the stock market is evil and will make you lose $20,000 in a month and so it's better to just buy shoes (wish I was kidding - and she also doesn't explain or possibly doesn't know that day trading is a particularly high-risk version of investing). There's common sense here (well, in some chapters - there's also weird stuff like advice on sneaking into a hotel pools when you're not a guest), and an entertaining conversational tone, but nothing of substance.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a book about money. And should not be classified as anything financial. Definitely full of humor and quirk though.
However about halfway through I began losing interest. There are too many judgemental observations going on. The author starts to come off as being rather snobbish to me & I can no longer relate at all. This book may be SOMEWHAT useful to a fresh out of college person or someone who seriously does not know how to deal with money and life.
Otherwise save yourself the waste of time!
I do not recommend this book at all.
I am rating it at 2 stars instead of 1 because it did make me laugh several times.

[Adriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dina Gachman turns giving economic advice into a fun, anecdote filled romp thru bad decisions and how not to make them. The 50 points she lists are mostly things people should be able to figure out on their own, but I laughed a couple of times while reading her take on them and how she figured them out.
It doesn't hold the secret to becoming an overnight millionaire, but it does have some very good advice on how to save a few bucks for rainy days or unexpected situations.
Mandatory note: I got my copy thru GoodReads' First Reads.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book was fun, witty, and well-written for a book I picked up at the thrift store, but I didn't feel like it had much concrete, clear, or useful advice on how to pinch pennies. For example, the book gives you rules about things you should haggle in price for and other things you shouldn't and I felt that this was common sense, but maybe that's just me? I enjoyed that the book focuses on being satisfied with what you have in life and to not compare yourself to others, but I felt it was weak in the area of providing advice that I could apply to my current financial situations.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not quite sure how to rate books anymore. By how I feel about them at the end? This was funny - lighthearted writing style that motivated me to read till the end. But not everything is sound advice, they’re just tongue-in-cheek, although of course some wisdom is present. Appreciate her struggles, would have liked to read more of those - she managed to gloss them over towards philosophical chick lit, which is no mean feat. Reminds me of my book binges on decluttering. I love those too

[Naomi · Rating 1 out of 5]

was debating to give one or two stars. Like other reviews mentioned, nothing at all to what I thought it would be. I thought this would be a practical book about finances and money but rather it was a comedic book. I didn’t laugh at most of the pages and was looking to get it over with as fast as possible. A book version of what you’d read in a teen magazine column for opinions. I wouldn’t recommend this book.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The overall idea of the book was great. I could not understand some of the comments and reactions of the author because I didn't grow up in America. I haven't thought before that different cultures have to deal with different types of problems. Maybe problems are the same but values and priorities are different. I think overall it was decent read.

[Keisha Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Utter waste of time.

Closer to a memoir/collection of dumb decisions in 50 short stories than anything resembling coherent financial advice. Ranges from things like 'don't be a klepto' and 'nice shoes are a better investment than stock market' to 'Web MD isn't a doctor, you should see a real doctor'.

I could not place the tone of the book. Is any of it supposed to be legit advice?

[Molli · Rating 2 out of 5]

At best, a mixed bag of advice, much of it unhelpful (don't date the beer bong guy) and some of it suspect (stealing from your employer, sneaking into hotel pools). What helpful advice there is kinda gets lost in the shuffle.

[Aja Marsh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was with it in the beginning and then it really started to fall apart for me and I think that is because it *seems* like it is more geared towards college students and recent grads, as the advice was mostly on that level. Meh.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

There wasn't a lot of meat to this book, but it was refreshing and pretty funny. Most personal finance books focus on not drinking expensive copies and then focus on what percentage of your investments should go to large cap -v- small cap. It does focus on those who are in their 20's and 30's but she has more applicable, real world advice than most books.

[Divyesh Sheth · Rating 2 out of 5]

not the book I expected

Author is funny, however she has bunch of topics that will resonate may be with high schoolers who have never read a book or done a job in high school. Some of the advise is good, most of it is irrelevant.