How to Survive Without a Salary: Learning How to Live the Conserver Lifestyle

This book was laugh out loud funny in several places, but also has some interesting ideas about how to live one's life in an enjoyable, but far less expensive way. Much of it I had heard before, but never seen in such an easily accessible and funny/easy to read format. As simple as much of the ideas here are...and ANYONE can use them...living the "conserver" lifestyle is not for those already living at or below the poverty line...as his "method" points out you need to be out of debt and have savings and investments set up to live this way practically. So, really...like several other books I've read recently (most notably The Joy of Not Working) this is really a book for people making 30,000-60,000 (or more) and are tired of the rat race and looking for a new and "better" way to live and enjoy life. I also think it's important to point out that How to Survive Without a Salary is NOT about living with out a job or some other form of income, it's really about taking a few steps away from the strangle hold of corporate America and living for one's self and one's family...this book isn't so much about dropping out as it is about opting out to another type of job that is more conducive to living a good family life and comes with a lot of funny anecdotes if you do it "right." I think maybe the average person working at poverty level MIGHT able to do this, but it would most likely take 5x as long as he predicts and would be a serious hardship for families (not so much for single people or married without kids couples). What I think this book does best is demonstrate an alternate way of thinking about how we live and how we spend our money. Some of the best advice here is the logical and oft repeated, don't buy it on credit...but also he admonishes us not to run out and buy things RIGHT when the need arises (if at all possible), because often, an alternative solution will arise (sale, used item given, ect...) that winds up saving the person a great deal of money. Also a warning...the author is Canadian and this book does not deal with the health care dilemma that most of us in the US are faced with, so from that perspective, this book would require some serious thinking for the average American working class family to undertake...because we don't get health care for free. That said, I would definitely add this to my library...but as I am currently living at poverty level, I am at a place where I have to figure out extra income to make this type of life a reality for myself, at least the parts that I would like to incorporate into *my* plan.

I have followed Charles Long's two books on living outside of the "normal" suburban grind for years and have purchased the latest editions as they are printed. He is an extremely well-written author, a pleasure to read, with thoughtful and incisive comments on living a life without a salary (NOT without money). Quite a few people you know are living without a salary: those self-employed tradespeople, lawyers, doctors, etc. count on their own skills to bring in the money, not a salary from a company. These books give me many new ideas, no matter how many times I've read them. I've heard variations on his past themes from countless other sources. A very good read, indeed.

I really enjoyed this book, because I've read all kinds of books about simplifying and cost-cutting. This is a great companion to Your Money or Your Life, because it deals specifically with Canadian dollars and cents. Dozens of suggestions on how to reduce daily living expenses.I'm a back-to-the-lander myself, but in the beginning of the book, Long says it isn't about BttL, but rather about living within your means, wherever you are.

A little over three years ago I picked this book up at a public library book sale. I was enamored at that time with saving as much income as I could by applying the strategies and insights I learned from various resources to my vision of "retirement" which I hoped would take place sometime in my early 30's. At the time I was a Senior Financial Analyst for a small company that was about to issue it's shares to the NASDAQ exchange (Symbol: AHLS). I was working sixty to seventy hours a week performing tasks and writing proposals that gave me little to no gratification or fulfillment. In retrospect, I was working WAY too much and sacrficing my near term well-being in the process. This book didn't change my life. But it did help guide me down the road that lead me to a much better quality of life. Thanks to many of the practical ideas and well-thought insights within this book I slowly began a new path towards what Maslow called "Self-Actualization" (a.k.a. Doing what you want to do rather than what other people/society/addictive behaviors persuade you to do.) I left my overpaid and overworked job for a free ride through grad school, and eventually found a new passion which had absolutely nothing to do with my Educational Technology degree. I became... an auctioneer.These days I work three auto auctions, two days a week, and spend the rest of my time launching new business ventures (would any of you like a popcorn beanbag?), fishing, taking long walks, and generally making better use of my time amd creative thoughts. This book is not the holy grail. But if you really want to get more comfortable with a self-sufficient lifestyle Charles Long's thoughts will certainly give you new ideas and original insights.

This book first caught my eye because of the title, and once I opened the book, I couldn't put it down. Not only does it have practical tips, it contains many humorous stories. One of the best things about this book is that it will teach you a different way of thinking. Instead of always buying what the media wants us to, you'll learn to analyze your real needs and find alternative solutions. You don't have to be unemployed to read this gem. This is a must-have for anybody who wants to save money!