Bitches on a Budget: Sage Advice for Surviving Tough Times in Style

by Rosalyn Hoffman

A witty, recession-era guide to being thrifty while not forgoing the fabulous.

Today's woman may have a dwindling stock portfolio, but that shouldn't make her bite one well-manicured nail with worry. Rosalyn Hoffman dishes up the wisdom women need to get perfect style without busting what's left of their bank accounts.

The author is a recession-era fashion guru, travel agent, grooming consultant, therapist, sommelier, and life coach all rolled into one, and with this book vows no coupon clipping, Prada depriving, carb hating allowed. Because it doesn't take oodles of moola to live well- and that's one trend that will never go out of style.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Money, Finance, Fashion

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Jenny Garone · Rating 1 out of 5]

Supposedly this book will be useful no matter what your budget, but unless you had previously been dropping coin on liposuction & $450 blazers, this probably ain't the book for you. I quit reading around the time she mentioned how toxic coloring your hair is...and then pages later gives suggestions on how to get the most out of your botox. Yep, just shoot that poison directly into your face. THAT'S smart spendin'!

[Kara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not worth your time. This author seems to think cutting back is shopping at J Crew instead of Saks... Or buying that must have item at $900 rather than $1800. She states you should never shop at the Goodwill, because that's just pathetic. I've bought furs, Manolos, Burberry, and Hermes from the Goodwill. Oh and those cute J Crew clothes, they cost me $5.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just graduated from college and thought this would be a useful 'establishing myself' book. If you can get passed her annoying writing (she constantly calls you a bitch throughout the book), she offers good advice.

What I found most helpful is that she provides examples of cheap stores, products, entertainment, and services. She believes that the best place to buy jeans is at Banana Republic, underwear and bras at GapBody, t-shirts and workout clothes from Target and Wal-Mart, accessories from Forever 21, and etc. You should avoid clothes from JcPenny and Kohls due to cost and lack of stylish options. She also provides great ideas for cheap entertainment (book club with friends, volunteering). I appreciated her idea that we need to go back and start using the library again.


I've already started using some of her ideas. Recommended if you don't mind being calling a biatch the whole time.

[JH]

I gave this book a chance for 84 pages. I'm really not sure who the audience was here, but probably not someone I would ever care to hang out with. The reader was referred to as a bitch on AVERAGE once per paragraph. The assumption was made that before the recession happened you were buying $1200 Armani suits and Prada bags, and you shouldn't skimp now- just pair them with t-shirts from Target. The chapter on nutrition baffled me- what does staying at a good bmi have to do with budgeting?

Final thought: to the author I say, "shut the hell up, bitch, you have no clue what the average American woman is buying."

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh, not so much what I expected.

The advice seemed to run the spectrum...either very obvious ways to save money, or "saving" money on such ludicrious items that it made me wonder who this book was really written for. If you have to debate which kind of plastic surgery to get to save money, then you really aren't a bitch on a budget. And suggesting coats in the $300 range to save....most people just don't buy anything.

[Cassidy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I quit reading at the beginning of the "health" chapter when the author said that trying to be skinny is to be a "starving, unemployed refugee that you just might be." I love my body and I've never suffered from an eating disorder myself, but trivializing something as serious as eating disorders is incredibly offensive and insensitive. The chapters leading up to this excerpt weren't helpful to say the least but this remark made me shut the book and toss it once and for all.

[Rachael · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book was witty and had some sound advice to stay fabulous in down economic times, i didn't really care for it that much. It didn't talk anything about keeping or sticking to a budget. It talked about spending money in thriftier ways....but on items that are of no real necessity. I gave it two stars because it was entertaining but wasn't anything i thought it would be.

[Desiree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the fact that this book was absolutely not written for me (she considers Prada a god-given right and talks about the 'good old days' of spas and vacations in the Bush era (yeah, um, I was homeless?), I really enjoyed this. I love her snarky sense of humor and the way she belittles the materialism and excess that has become the American lifestyle. A really fun read.

[lucy :) · Rating 1 out of 5]

There was something really off about this book. The tone of the writing and the content didn't seem to match. The whole thing was just so shameless; you're not allowed to be pretentious and rude if you're buying designer knockoffs and begging for freebies everywhere you go.

Strangely, the few take-aways I got from this book will probably end up costing me more money...

[Jillian · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm fairly certain that this author had a very expensive and fancy lifestyle prior to having to cut back...funny at times, amusing at others, and there are only a few spots so far with useful information. It's apparent that she lives in an entirely different universe than I do!

[Monica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Who did the author write this book for? The 1%? First, I don't miss anything about Dubya. AT. ALL. Second, not only do I not go to the spa on a regular basis, I've never been at all. And third, 99 dollars is NOT a good deal on jeans.

[Jacqui · Rating 1 out of 5]

The "sage advice" for tough times includes not buying any more $2000 Chanel boots and buying cute outfits to pamper your dog when you can't afford to pamper yourself. I'll admit I skimmed this after the first 30 pages or so. I didn't want to waste my time on it.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

Her idea of bargain tips is telling people to shop at J Crew and Target instead of Barney's. This is pointless - if you don't know these things already then there's something wrong with you.

[Alexis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh, if I read the word "bitch" one more time..!

In all seriousness, I've never had the luxury of "spa days" or Chanel bags so this book was a pretty pointless read.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

The tips in this book just didn't seem practical. I skimmed it and brought it back.

[Nellie Neal · Rating 1 out of 5]

The weird politics that are thrown into this book were off-putting. Not to mention that it seemed like the author had a lavish lifestyle that was completely unrealistic.

[Amber Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm so disappointed in this book. I bought this because I'm always interested in personal finance advice and I really expected this to give me interesting and creative ways to save money.

I have never met a person in this target audience. The author is writing to someone that was fabulously wealthy, but obviously had no savings accounts or class. I can only describe this person as being an overpaid devorcee with two kids living in the Bronx who just lost their job in the 2008 financial crisis. Why does the author not advise her readers to build a healthy savings account instead of plastering her walls and buying Balenciaga purses??

The author comes off especially trashy. Rosalyn Hoffman is to bitch as Gatsby is to Old Chap. Most of this advice is less than sage (unrealistic for women that are legitimately on a budget) or has nothing to do with finance at all (uh, BMI?). She makes SO MANY cocaine comments. What garbage women did this author spend time with? Why does this 50 year old woman think we're all on cocaine? And if she thinks this, that should have been the first thing in the budgeting section: 1. Stop putting "snow up your nose" as Rosalyn calls it.

I don't relate to this and I don't find this to be relevant or helpful. Rosalyn is far from qualified to give financial advice.

I'm 126 pages in and I'm tossing it in the trash after the gym.

[The Couch Wanderers · Rating 1 out of 5]

***For the full review go to thecouchwanderers.com***

I hate giving a book a bad review.  I admire all writers for doing something that I haven't done.  They saw a need or had a story and wrote a dang book.  That takes dedication.  But this was not the book for me. I gave Bitches on a Budget one out of five stars.  It may be the perfect book for someone else, but it's not the book for anyone that I know.  

[Logan Ashley Weare · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn’t make it 20 pages. This book is horrible. The overuse of “bitch” every sentence just killed what could have been a semi-decent how-to guide for people looking to reign in their spending habits. A shame, I was hoping this book would have potential, but unfortunately it was a train wreck from the first page.

[Kelli · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't finish it.

[Junemarie Brandt · Rating 2 out of 5]

When you write something trendy, expect it to be meaningless 8 years later.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good advice though a tad simplistic.

[Liz · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this book up because it was on several book lists aimed at women in their mid twenties. Well I am a woman in my mid twenties and I figured out this book was not for me in about 5 pages. I am not sure what this author's idea of a budget is, but I can tell you it is in a totally different universe from mine. I might suggest this book to a well-off family who has come upon hard times and needs major cutbacks, but for my lifestyle all the tips that I skimmed were so far outside of reality. I actually want to smack whoever put this on a book list for my age group since it seems so unrealistic for most people I've met.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

My friend recommended this book as I was talking about really trying to budget my life while still being able to have some fun. Unfortunately I found this book to sort of make fun of trying to save money. The use of the word bitch was overplayed and by the middle of the book I found myself skipping large parts just to avoid having to read yet another sentance with the word bitch in it. Some of the ideas were great, they were just ideas that I have already heard in many other budget type discussions.

[Final✘Girl✘Magick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um... it was alright. It would have been better if I didn't already know all of the advice that they gave in the book. (and was already practicing). I think this book is more geared to woman who are just shopaholics and they NEED the most expensive brands out there. People who aren't being careful with their money. Over all, I think this is a budget 101 book for people who don't have a clue how to do it bc they are too busy spending their money on lip injections.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting. It gave advice on what stores to go to and which to avoid. I pretty much read it only to see if there was good advice on which stores had the best fashion cheap. Unfortunatly I probably won't use alot of it because I don't have a set style and mix match too much.

But it does give good advice for girls entering adulthood.


Although the bitch could of been toned down a little.

[Hailey Garbee-Coles · Rating 2 out of 5]

So much wrong with this book

I will give this book that there are a few good ideas. But this is not the book for you if you are serious about becoming debt free. It doesn't tell you how to save on essential, it talks about getting luxury items at a lower price. Some of the info in it is just wrong. It's poorly researched, disrespectful to many industries (the section on the farmer's market it just plain offensive), and on the whole not very helpful.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good vacation read... funny and with a few good ideas on spending less. It's not really about saving money, just spending less. It's like a guide for women who used to buy Lanvin and Chanel... so some of the advice won't save me any cash. But I did find the clothing/style part pretty helpful.

[Kristen Romanelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bitches on a Budget provides some good advice and interesting tid-bits on how to make the most of your budget, but I found much of what was written to be simple common sense. I may refer back to it for some of its resources but it served best as a financial pep-talk, reinforcing what I already knew.

I'd recommend borrowing this book rather than buying.

[Danielle Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only reason I even started reading this was because it was on two book lists I was reading from. But this book was actually awesome, it's written in a funny and witty matter that will make you laugh out loud, I know your thinking this is a budget book, but I'm telling you the truth! It has some sound advice and some awesome shopping ideas with lists of essentials every fashionista needs.