Book review: Even LEANER Times Ahead

Now on to a new ebook, Even Leaner Times Ahead (And How To Survive Them).

This has been created by the bargainous lady behind The Lean Times blog, and it’s a handy document to help you beat the coming VAT increase and combat rising food prices.

It contains all sorts of information about which foods and other goods have VAT added to their prices, and you might be surprised at how complicated some of the government VAT rules are. For example, I learned that ordinary fruit juice does have VAT added to its price, but the gooey treat of millionaire’s shortbread does not. Slightly strange, and very counter-intuitive to say the least, but it does reflect the slightly disturbing power of the UK food lobby to influence government policy.

The book is about keeping general household costs down too, so there are clever ideas for saving on clothing and cleaning bills, items to stockpile or buy in bulk, and little treats that are worth spending the extra money on.

There are some really tasty looking recipes too, including chocolate sorbet, gnocchi and home made granola bars. These are all affected by VAT and/or ingredient shortages if you buy them ready-made, so you can save some cash and enjoy some additive free goodness too.

The cost of the ebook is a teeny weeny £2.50, and if you followed most of the tips in it this would probably pay for itself in less than one average weekly household grocery shop. If you get one now, before the VAT increase it will also help you stockpile a few things before the prices go up.

The Even LEANER Times Ahead (And How To Survive Them) ebook is available to download from The Lean Times website, priced £2.50.