VEG’s Adam Grubb has co-authored another book with Annie Raser-Rowland, and this one’s a genuine pleasure. The Art of Frugal Hedonism is a lyrical guide to a life that makes sense
It’s published by our friends permaculture co-originator David Holmgren, and Su Dennett of Melliodora Publishing.
Here’s what some nice folks are saying about it:
“The Art of Frugal Hedonism is an absolute joy. It is good-natured not pious, humane not self-righteous and a guide to ethical living that makes the impossible possible. I am happy to make this my bible.”
~ Christos Tsiolkas, author of The Slap“…funny, wacky, wordy, poignant, philosophical and unexpectedly personal and inspiring along the way. This is WAY more fun and has WAY more heart than a budgeting app. Anybody with spending ‘issues’ – or with big dreams that may take some dosh to achieve who ain’t a natural born ‘saver’ – this is highly recommended!!”
~ Ella Hooper via Instagram
And here’s some promo material:
It sounds too good to be true. You can save money and the world, inoculate yourself against many of the ills of modern life, and enjoy everything more on both the sensual and profound levels? Preposterous!
Yet here is a toolkit to help you do just that. A tweak here, a twiddle there; every strategy in The Art Of Frugal Hedonism has been designed to help you target the most important habits of mind and action needed for living frugally but hedonistically. Apply a couple, and you’ll definitely have a few extra dollars in your pocket and enjoy more sunsets. Apply the lot, and you’ll wake up one day and realise that you’re happier, wealthier, fitter, and more in lust with life than you’d ever thought possible.
Convinced already? You can pick it up direct from the authors below.
Price: $25.00 (AUD) + free postage within Australia.
Also available as an ebook at the authors’ website.
What is Frugal Hedonism?
A lot of stuff we spend money on actually makes life less enjoyable in the long run. And a lot of cheap and free stuff is very enjoyable indeed. So why choose the stuff that requires us to work all the time and get stressed about bank balances? The stuff that leads to looking in the mirror and seeing your dear face grown all puffy from too many pad Thai takeaways eaten mid-commute, because finding the energy to cook at the end of the day often feels impossible. To gazing at your house full of random possessions that seemed wonderful when you bought them but now seem to demand more care, organising, and storage space than you have the capacity for. To finding yourself at the gym, or maybe on the therapist’s couch, suspecting that you wouldn’t need to be there if you just had the time to sleep in more, or to go out dancing, like you’d love to.
“This is not a good scene!” declares the Frugal Hedonist, and opts for ditching some pricier habits and lifestyle expectations in favour of less stress. They focus their spending where it provides maximum bang per buck, and become connoisseurs of free pleasures. Then they kick back and reap the rewards.
What the heck are we talking about already? Let’s get example-y.
A Frugal Hedonist might often catch up with friends by taking a long walk together and raving about the week’s thoughts, rather than by buying drinks at a bar. They’ve noticed that the passing scenery adds just as much to the conversation as assessing the merits of the latest craft beer. They probably also go to bars now and again, but the simple act of frequently choosing the walk, means that over time layers of saved money and improved butt-tone add up to make the Frugal Hedonist enjoy other aspects of life more. Like being able to afford an extra week of unpaid holiday time over the summer, or wearing tight pants. And their friends associate them as much with the sound of birdsong or having seen a cloud in the shape of a gorilla doing push-ups, as with waking up with a blurry head and an empty wallet.
We could go on. But there’s a book that does that. It’s called… The Art of Frugal Hedonism.
Yours,
Annie and Adam
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