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$9 Therapy: Semi-Capitalist Solutions to Your Emotional Problems
A tongue-in-cheek collection of the tips, tricks, and recipes that will fix your life without busting your budget.
$9 Therapy proves that it’s possible to take self-care seriously without taking yourself too seriously.
Self-professed lifestyle gurus Nick Greene and Megan Reid know that sometimes it takes as little as spending nine dollars on an act of self-care to turn your day around. While working their first, low-paying jobs out of school, Nick and Meg learned to spend wisely—and fabulously—and firmly came to believe in the radical potential of simple pleasures. In $9 Therapy, they use their hard-won wisdom to show how small, inexpensive treats can elevate your adulting whether it’s mindfully repotting a plant to finally drinking from a decent wine glass (even if you can afford only one), to recipes you’ll actually want to cook, to design tips to make even the tiniest spaces look like Instagram-bait.
With enthusiasm and sass, (and featuring 30 colorful illustrations), $9 Therapy brings together the lifehacks and mini-upgrades that encourage you to make your life a little bit easier, a little bit less stressful, a little bit better, a little more loving toward yourself and the humans around you.
149 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 11, 2020
23 people are currently reading
163 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
January 20, 2020
Thank you to Morrow Gift Publishers for giving my an advance reader copy of $9 Therapy in exchange for my honest review.
I really wanted to like this book. I liked the premise of making your life less stressful with items that are $9 or less that won’t break your budget. I feel like that is a goal that would resonate with a lot of people; everyone has stress. Unfortunately, this book was not a fun read for me. The book seemed entirely haphazard, going from one idea to the next without any transitions or connections whatsoever. There were many recipes and diys, but no images to show the reader what they would have looked like once finished. I was not a fan of the artwork that was pictured either, it has a rough, unfinished appearance. I just imagined the book in general would have had a bit more research on how small changes or items would make a big impact on mood or emotional stress.
There were some interesting ideas in this book, such as having a “get shit done day,” and ways to use a glue gun to fix some pesky problems (I will try the idea of putting some glue under slippery rugs). But there is also some extremely impractical advice such as when traveling: “ALWAYS PACK A SWIMSUIT IN CASE A SEXY PERSON APPEARS WHO WANT TO WHISK YOU AWAY TO ACAPULCO.” This isn’t a rom-com and that is never going to happen.
I really wanted to like this book. I liked the premise of making your life less stressful with items that are $9 or less that won’t break your budget. I feel like that is a goal that would resonate with a lot of people; everyone has stress. Unfortunately, this book was not a fun read for me. The book seemed entirely haphazard, going from one idea to the next without any transitions or connections whatsoever. There were many recipes and diys, but no images to show the reader what they would have looked like once finished. I was not a fan of the artwork that was pictured either, it has a rough, unfinished appearance. I just imagined the book in general would have had a bit more research on how small changes or items would make a big impact on mood or emotional stress.
There were some interesting ideas in this book, such as having a “get shit done day,” and ways to use a glue gun to fix some pesky problems (I will try the idea of putting some glue under slippery rugs). But there is also some extremely impractical advice such as when traveling: “ALWAYS PACK A SWIMSUIT IN CASE A SEXY PERSON APPEARS WHO WANT TO WHISK YOU AWAY TO ACAPULCO.” This isn’t a rom-com and that is never going to happen.
June 27, 2020
Do not recommend. This is not not what was advertised in the synopsis and was not well-written. I saw in the author information one of them had previously written for Buzzfeed. This information made how this book was written and its style made a lot more sense.
March 1, 2020
i didn’t hate this by any means but it is just a buzzfeed listicle in book form. the illustrations and the aesthetic of the book were nice though. as expected, though, because it’s basically millennial bait.
February 11, 2021
1.5 stars. Contains some nuggets of new (to me) advice but ultimately digging through the struggling millennial- can’t -get-their- shit- together-but- still- a - total- #girlboss verbiage was a lot to go through. I would say this book is a product of its time, but it was published in 2020. Here I am a year later and cringing at the tone. It reads less as open and honest and relatable and more as a ‘what do you mean every person fast approaching their 30s doesn’t live in a city and have a problem with money, alcohol and just can’t seem to get this whole ~adulting~ thing figured out!’ It’s certainly not for the new adults of gen z, considering how different the culture is- this is literally the kind of stuff gen z pokes fun at millennials for. I think this book would have done well if it came out in 2014, but the youngest millennials are in their mid 20s now and those who wrote or benefited from this type of stuff when it was big are 30+. As in, focused on mortgages and 401ks and making sure our investment portfolios are diverse. They know how to feed themselves and the importance of professional therapy. Call it a post covid thing, but I think we’re over this nonsense.
February 23, 2020
To read this and get anything out of it you must be very young, stupid and very poor. Book sucks. Waste of my money.
December 19, 2022
Basically should just send this to people in lieu of doing my job. Such good stuff and only slightly millennial at times. Highly highly recommend!
August 4, 2020
I thought it was honest and entertaining, and I liked Amy Beager’s illustrations enough to google her. Joan Didion’s packing list! I loved that part.
Read
January 3, 2024Short read. Probably not for someone of my “advanced” age but I enjoyed the spirit of it
February 16, 2020
look...i know i need therapy. almost everyone does. i picked this up because i was interested in exactly what it promised: $9 solutions (and/or insight) for much more expensive and heavy issues. it didn't make me run out to the store to snatch everything up, rather just take a look at my life and see what little fixes i could make.
it's a short book and didn't really take me two whole days to read it, but i would read a little and get motivated enough to DO something, so i'd take a break. it was also really easy to read because of the tone, a mix of breezy women's magazine and snarky twitter, that didn't change depending on the topic, so everything felt like it had the same weight. one minute you're considering micellar water ($9) and the next you're finally understanding the whole witch trend and breaking it down into the mindset that would work for you (therapy).
i've never watched/read marie kondo, or really any sort of self-improvement book. i don't think i'm ready for those, in that you really need to already be making changes in your life and then using mass-market advice as a motivator and loose guide. i'm not ready for therapy yet either, even though the book closes with a a hearty recommendation for it. but i really appreciated the easy suggestions and small accomplishments that would let me build an argument for actually talking to someone and addressing my root problems. i'll start with a foot peel and work my way up.
it's a short book and didn't really take me two whole days to read it, but i would read a little and get motivated enough to DO something, so i'd take a break. it was also really easy to read because of the tone, a mix of breezy women's magazine and snarky twitter, that didn't change depending on the topic, so everything felt like it had the same weight. one minute you're considering micellar water ($9) and the next you're finally understanding the whole witch trend and breaking it down into the mindset that would work for you (therapy).
i've never watched/read marie kondo, or really any sort of self-improvement book. i don't think i'm ready for those, in that you really need to already be making changes in your life and then using mass-market advice as a motivator and loose guide. i'm not ready for therapy yet either, even though the book closes with a a hearty recommendation for it. but i really appreciated the easy suggestions and small accomplishments that would let me build an argument for actually talking to someone and addressing my root problems. i'll start with a foot peel and work my way up.
February 14, 2020
Delightful
February 14, 2020
I think I’m too old for this hot mess of a book.
Did Not Finish
February 13, 2020When this book suggested:
"If You haven't read The Life Changing Magic of Tiding Up, by Marie Kondo, drop this book and read that one"
Well, we all know MY thoughts on Kondo and her mad-wack theories... Anyway, that was a poor suggestion. Very poor indeed.
So yes, I totally DID drop this book. Because I can't put any credit in something that subscribes to such wonky theories.
"If You haven't read The Life Changing Magic of Tiding Up, by Marie Kondo, drop this book and read that one"
Well, we all know MY thoughts on Kondo and her mad-wack theories... Anyway, that was a poor suggestion. Very poor indeed.
So yes, I totally DID drop this book. Because I can't put any credit in something that subscribes to such wonky theories.
October 19, 2020
This was like a series of semi-useless blog posts and had absolutely no business being published as a book.
November 23, 2020
Was this book written for me, a 53-year-old who owns her own business and has an IRA? Almost certainly not.
Will this book transform your life? No.
Will it add some different options to your quarantine self-care routine? Likely.
Did I like it? Yes. Yes, I did.
As far as I can tell, this book is written for the youngest Millennials and the oldest of the GenZ crowd, with tips and sections best suited for internet listsicles, but reminiscent of what my age cohorts used to read in Mademoiselle and Glamour. Divided into sections on beauty, fashion, travel, "adulting," and general self-care, this little book isn't designed to be read cover-to-cover as a guide to living, but offers a conglomeration of little solutions for feeling better in a world where you may feel you don't have enough money, enough love, of enough self-esteem to achieve what you want.
I particularly liked that it wasn't all self-centered advice. One section, on making a difference in the world touched on the political (phone banking, registering voters, poll working) as well as the personal (calling out racists, misogynists, transphobes, etc., offering to babysit for friends whom you know need some time and space) and societal (getting your company to take steps toward recycling, using your skills to promote a library book drive or food bank).
I'm not going to look here first for a deviled egg recipe, but the DIY beauty recipes are easy enough. I'm not likely to follow Meg and Nick's travel packing advice (even when we are safe to travel again), but I'm grateful for the recommendation to read Joan Didion's essay collection, The White Album in which her famous packing list appears. As the sub-title reads, this book offers "semi-capitalist solutions to your emotional problems." The investment (in dollars and time) is minimal.
This book was part of a stash of birthday present books. I probably wouldn't have purchased it for myself, and it's not targeted for someone of my age and life experience. But there were some fun little takeaways from its chipper, egalitarian authors. I think this book would be ideal for new graduates and 20somethings who might be feeling a little lost. (And for those of us who area bit older and feeling lost? Well, like their chicken soup recipe, it'll certainly do no harm.)
Will this book transform your life? No.
Will it add some different options to your quarantine self-care routine? Likely.
Did I like it? Yes. Yes, I did.
As far as I can tell, this book is written for the youngest Millennials and the oldest of the GenZ crowd, with tips and sections best suited for internet listsicles, but reminiscent of what my age cohorts used to read in Mademoiselle and Glamour. Divided into sections on beauty, fashion, travel, "adulting," and general self-care, this little book isn't designed to be read cover-to-cover as a guide to living, but offers a conglomeration of little solutions for feeling better in a world where you may feel you don't have enough money, enough love, of enough self-esteem to achieve what you want.
I particularly liked that it wasn't all self-centered advice. One section, on making a difference in the world touched on the political (phone banking, registering voters, poll working) as well as the personal (calling out racists, misogynists, transphobes, etc., offering to babysit for friends whom you know need some time and space) and societal (getting your company to take steps toward recycling, using your skills to promote a library book drive or food bank).
I'm not going to look here first for a deviled egg recipe, but the DIY beauty recipes are easy enough. I'm not likely to follow Meg and Nick's travel packing advice (even when we are safe to travel again), but I'm grateful for the recommendation to read Joan Didion's essay collection, The White Album in which her famous packing list appears. As the sub-title reads, this book offers "semi-capitalist solutions to your emotional problems." The investment (in dollars and time) is minimal.
This book was part of a stash of birthday present books. I probably wouldn't have purchased it for myself, and it's not targeted for someone of my age and life experience. But there were some fun little takeaways from its chipper, egalitarian authors. I think this book would be ideal for new graduates and 20somethings who might be feeling a little lost. (And for those of us who area bit older and feeling lost? Well, like their chicken soup recipe, it'll certainly do no harm.)
September 8, 2020
I don't dislike this book, but it certainly isn't as in-depth or semi-serious as I thought it was going to be. I did like the humor on occasion--not everything has to be so serious, but the writing sometimes seemed barely tethered to the topics. Then there is the haphazard jumping between ideas that already were very short, which left a disjointed feeling. I'm also not sure why it is called $9 Therapy when a lot of the content has nothing to do with money and then some other parts would require way more that $9 (with some cheap DIY ideas that are not unique).
Where I really stopped hoping that the book would offer me something was when, like so many pop/new age/trendy books do lately, is appropriate witchcraft ideas for truly ingenuin purposes. Which is funny because the book states that "there are ways to bring more magic into your life without being an asshole to, you know, ACTUAL witches." Please, please, please stop conflating claiming your power, feminism, or self-improvement with witchcraft. While they can and often do overlap in ideology, you should not be claiming and appropriating witchcraft rituals, practices, and the cultures that its many forms flows from.
In any case, some people may still find this enjoyable to go through. But if you've read one of these small quick-self-help-ish books, you've probably seen all of these ideas.
Two notes that I found quite ironic: this book costs $12.99(USD) and that, while in all honesty and sincerity (and to my agreement), the final thought is that you should probably talk to a real therapist.
Where I really stopped hoping that the book would offer me something was when, like so many pop/new age/trendy books do lately, is appropriate witchcraft ideas for truly ingenuin purposes. Which is funny because the book states that "there are ways to bring more magic into your life without being an asshole to, you know, ACTUAL witches." Please, please, please stop conflating claiming your power, feminism, or self-improvement with witchcraft. While they can and often do overlap in ideology, you should not be claiming and appropriating witchcraft rituals, practices, and the cultures that its many forms flows from.
In any case, some people may still find this enjoyable to go through. But if you've read one of these small quick-self-help-ish books, you've probably seen all of these ideas.
Two notes that I found quite ironic: this book costs $12.99(USD) and that, while in all honesty and sincerity (and to my agreement), the final thought is that you should probably talk to a real therapist.
December 24, 2021
Why I chose this book: I checked this book out because the name and synopsis appealed to me.
Brief summary: This book is about cheap ways to have a little luxury. It's also a book about "how to adult."
What I didn't like about this book: Someone else's review wrote "digging through the struggling millennial- can’t -get-their- shit- together-but- still- a - total- #girlboss verbiage was a lot to go through," and I couldn't agree more. I'm not the target audience for this book, but the synopsis, which does not hint at the actual tone of the book, led me to believe I was. The book was not only poorly written, it was unorganized and not entirely congruent with the title.
What I like about this book: The authors suggest a "get your shit together day" as a monthly day in which you get all those pesky little things done: scheduling appointments, canceling subscriptions, sorting through mail, etc. It was one of perhaps two useful bits I culled from this book, so, I plugged a "get your shit together day" into my calendar.
Brief summary: This book is about cheap ways to have a little luxury. It's also a book about "how to adult."
What I didn't like about this book: Someone else's review wrote "digging through the struggling millennial- can’t -get-their- shit- together-but- still- a - total- #girlboss verbiage was a lot to go through," and I couldn't agree more. I'm not the target audience for this book, but the synopsis, which does not hint at the actual tone of the book, led me to believe I was. The book was not only poorly written, it was unorganized and not entirely congruent with the title.
What I like about this book: The authors suggest a "get your shit together day" as a monthly day in which you get all those pesky little things done: scheduling appointments, canceling subscriptions, sorting through mail, etc. It was one of perhaps two useful bits I culled from this book, so, I plugged a "get your shit together day" into my calendar.
August 18, 2020
This is a super fun book designed for young adults. As a grown-ass woman in my 30s I feel like I already knew most of their tips and tricks but it was still an entertaining read. I am a tech service librarian so I get to read all the new releases before they even hit the shelves and recommend you save the $9 and get it from your local library if you can. However, I think the book is cute and so I am going to buy a copy for my 22-year-old sister and my 22-year-old nephew. They are young enough that this book will really benefit them, it is short enough to keep their attention and small enough that they can add it to their collections with no worries about space limitations.
March 4, 2020
1/3 DIY pro-tips in the form of twitter-esque quips, 1/3 cookbook, and 1/3 personal anecdotes from their pre-successful millennial lives, this books tops itself off for making the case for therapy while acknowledging the clear roadblocks our society has put in the way of accessing real mental health care. If this were the 90s, this book would make a wonderful collection of zines - but it's 2020 so book it is.
It's a cute book with pop-y art that I will happily loan out to friends and then regret the next time I remember wanting to try my hand at their Cure-All Chicken Soup.
It's a cute book with pop-y art that I will happily loan out to friends and then regret the next time I remember wanting to try my hand at their Cure-All Chicken Soup.
March 28, 2020
What happens if Urban Outfitters was an author and had a (Millennial) voice and talked to you, showing you stuff from her Pinterest and Tumblr, and hastagging things along the way? This would be it. One of those light reads you can throw on your coffee table and flip through from time to time when you need a hint to do something that the only 3-things you do while in self quarantine (context, it is March 2020 and practically everyone is practicing self-isolation or so they should).
Read
July 14, 2023The subtitle here gives away the content: “Semi-capitalist solutions to your emotional problems.” That said, it is full of practical wellness and self-care ideas that really don’t cost a lot but can have big impact on mental health. There are some typos and unfinished bits that make me suspect the book was a bit of a rush job—but the content gets better as it goes on. Thankfully, they end the book with a ringing (and deeply honest) endorsement for real therapy.
October 8, 2020
Perused while half-listening to the VP debate. Yeah, I’m what makes America suck I guess. Really liked the illustrations and generally ok advice about low-cost ways to chillax and pamper yourself on a budget. Did you know you can make a “baby foot peel” with aspirin and lemon juice? I don’t know if it works, but maybe?
January 18, 2021
A fun, casual read, with a bunch of helpful little tips. This book does not take itself too seriously which is nice and more enjoyable. It's real tone and funny little side notes help the ideas stick in your head more.
If you get offended easily by the use of "curse" words in colloquial language, then this book is not for you.
If you get offended easily by the use of "curse" words in colloquial language, then this book is not for you.
November 7, 2022
A small book full of cute, shallow ways to make your life a little better. In the authors' own words: "We know consumerism won't solve all your problems—because, like, late capitalism IS the problem. ... But if spending nine bucks helps you get started towards happier living? That's not a bad deal."
July 11, 2020
Cute, but know that it's to be taken as a stereo-typical hot mess version of therapy and offers little day to day tips to get through life. Authors have Buzzfeed backgrounds, so go into this ready for a little humor and snark- not actually looking for deep mental therapy help.
December 3, 2021
I know I am not the target age for this book but that wasn't a big deal. In fact, it is good to check into what is going on with the younger generation. IMO, this could have been longer. I would have enjoyed even more suggestions.
February 12, 2020
Very funny and practical
April 24, 2020
I adore this short book, it's great for all millennials and more.
June 21, 2020
The snark and sarcasm of this book was funny, but overall, I did not like it.
October 15, 2020
I came across this book while checking in book drop and the premise sounded funny and refreshing.
However, it felt like scrolling through Pinterest but without the visuals.
However, it felt like scrolling through Pinterest but without the visuals.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews