Mary Ostyn

I'm on a quest to conquer my grocery budget, so I checked this out from the library.

It's cute, clear, and straightforward. I really like how Ostyn gives a recap checklist at the end of each chapter to remind you of the action steps you can take to become more of a frugalista in the kitchen and grocery store.

I didn't really learn a whole lot of new information about how to cut costs, but if you're not into scouring the internet and message boards for these tips and tricks, this is a great show more one-stop place to get great cost-cutting tips, like creating a price book and menu planning.

I would have given this a higher rating, but even though Ostyn gives a lot of lip service to including meatless meals in her menus, she really doesn't deliver in the recipes section. There are a handful, but none are really that new. This was really disappointing to me, because of all the ways to cut down on your grocery bill, going vegetarian is such a no-brainer! Not saying this should have been a vegetarian book, but I was hoping that at least 1/3rd-1/2 would have been. OR as an alternative, having vegetarian options for some of the "regular" recipes would have been a really easy way to include more people AND show omnivores even more ways to cut down on buying expensive meat.

That's my beef (ha ha!). But overall, I really appreciated Ostyn's tips. She gives a lot of useful information in a way that's not overwhelming to the reader. show less

I was a little disappointed at first look, because this book was mostly recipes, with a few good tips for saving money. But they seem like pretty decent, easy recipes that would be practical and economical for our family, so I consider it a book worth having.