Teen Reviews Central

"10,001 Ways To Live Large On A Small Budget": savvy money-saving advice to keep your budget up while the economy's down

Times are tough. The economy is down, money is tight, and everyone is cutting back on their personal spending. Tips on how to extract a little more value, fun, and happiness from every dollar spent are like gold. So then here's the gold mecca: "10,001 Ways To Live Large On A Small Budget," a personal finance book filled with innovative ideas for squeezing the most juice out of any budget. It's written by the authors of Wise Bread, a widely popular and often comical personal finance blog. The book plays off of the blog's online tips and the motely crew of personal finance gurus behind them. The book chucks aside phrases like "cutting back" and "making sacrifices" for a richer, fuller (sometimes crazier) approach to getting more bang from every buck and having fun along the way!

The advice in the book is clever, creative, usually practical, and relevant, especially in these tough economic times. The book is comprised of two parts: a Frugal Living section and a Personal Finance Section. Both sections are broken down into more specific spending categories. Frugal Living covers food & drink, travel, beauty & health, shopping & bargain hunting, green living, education, and entertainment. The Personal Finance section delves into more serious money issues, which include financial planning & budgeting, credit cards & debt, investment, housing & home improvement, and even career & money making ideas. 

Some of my favorite tips and insider knowledge from the book include a professional chef's essential kitchen ingredients, how to find hidden discounts on cell phone bills, answers to the great car windows vs. A/C gas-saving debate, inexpensive kids birthday party ideas (throwing a nacho party is one of my favorites!), using multipurpose dish soap as the all-in-one kitchen cleaner, ways to eat for free in college (working at bake sales is one!), six cheaper ways to great hair, and checking super market original prices to see if that discount is really worth it! I will warn you that some of the tips require courage, daring, and stepping out of your comfort zone to complete, such as asking a boss to finance your college education or trusting yourself to follow their homemade sunscreen remedies right (at risk of ineffective sunscreen and resulting sunburn!). Most of the tips, however, lead to money-saving results that are worth the effort. Many of the tips are even easy-to-follow and don't require much work at all, like simply turning clothes inside-out and zipping up zippers before washing to get a lot more wear out of clothes. 

This book covers the major money-spending endeavors and provides loads of useful and surprisingly clever advice for having fun and living well while spending little! The book sparks creative thinking on even more ways to save and the little tips, tricks, and tidbits of advice come in handy on a day-to-day basis. This book stands by a basic principle: small lifestyle changes can make a big difference in tough times. 

Mom Central's Teen Review Central is giving away one copy of "10,001 Ways To Live Large On A Small Budget" by the writers of Wise Bread.

Here's how to enter to win:

1. Please comment below on this post (make sure to leave your e-mail address)

2. Bonus entry if you Tweet about the contest

3. Bonus entry if you link to this post from your blog or website 

Contest ended as of Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

Interested in more giveaways? Browse through the Mom Central Giveaways & Freebies Roundup!

Mom Central received a review copy of "10,001 Ways To Live Large On A Small Budget."

Lorraine Hopping's "World of Inventors: Leonardo daVinci": a fascinating book, but a floppy, faulty flight

Lorraine Hopping's "World of Inventors: Leonardo daVinci" book for ages 8 and up has beautiful illustrations and interesting information on the Renaissance, daVinci, and his inventions and inventor mindset. The promised daVinci ornithopter that you build and fly on your own, however, is cheap and disappointing.

The first part of the 40-page book introduces the Italian Renaissance and daVinci's life. The second part focuses in on his inventions, machines, and ideas. The third part emphasizes inventing in modern times and inspires kids to invent on their own using daVinci as a role model.

The book displays vibrant photographs, drawings, and recreations of daVinci's famous notebook, his inventions, his sketches, his art (including the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper), and other historical images of his time. The book discusses the scientific method, daVinci's biographical background, the Renaissance as a whole, daVinci's thought process, and daVinci's effect on and link to the world today. The book emphasizes daVinci's multifaceted impact that has stood the test of time and how kids can get involved in inventing, too. This book inspires kids to explore questions about nature, blur the lines between art, math, science, music, and literature like daVinci did, and invent something of their own.

This message is a little ironic, though, as behind the book there is a make-it-yourself ornithopter...with complete step-by-step instructions (more monkey do, monkey see than any inventing or creativity).This ornithopter, which is supposed to be the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (the book) is a rather cheap and disappointing model that doesn't really fly.The tab that must be pulled out for the ornithopter to fly gets stuck after winding the rubber band up; I had to use a pair of scissors to ply it out! Also, it takes 40-45 turns of the tail winder to wind up, which is a lot of wrist-turning. It also takes about 15-20 minutes to assemble and wind up. The book has other recipes for inventions, like egg-tempera paint, a paper helicopter. and a cotton ball catapult (cool, but also completely structured: REcreating, not creating). 

Though the ornithopter is fun and easy to assemble and looks cool, it has serious flaws and is made of cheap material, making it frustrating instead of fun to use. It's flight is choppy -- it doesn't really work. The book, however, is much more valuable and inspiring than the ornithopter; it is interesting, surprising, educational, and even engaging. It's too bad that the ornithopter doesn't hold up to the writing that lets kids delve into daVinci's world of inventing. 

Aside from the floppy ornithopter, the book is a great read for kids and inspires them to be creative and invent! Maybe they can even use their newfound inventor skills to get the ornithopter working! You can buy it at www.amazon.com.

Mom Central received a review copy of "World of Inventors: Leonardo daVinci." 

Fodor's Family "New York City With Kids": a big guide to the Big Apple

The Fodor's Family "New York City With Kids" guide isn't physically big, it's big on ideas, tips, and inside knowledge for parents planning a family trip to New York City. The guide is almost pocket-sized, so it is easy to bring along and use to plan as you go. 

This guide includes trustworthy advice and ratings from local parents who know the city best. The guide covers everything from age ranges to admission prices to telephone numbers and e-mails for easy booking in advance. The guide gives ratings on hotels, restaurants, and sights. It even contains a treasure map and other games to keep kids entertained during waits or downtime (although this guide could keep you going on your feet all day!). 

The guide covers the basic, touristy sights of NYC with some off-the-beaten path finds that only a local would know about and that you shouldn't miss! Whether it's your first time to New York City, your fifteenth time, or your first time with kids, this guide makes a handy sidekick to your trip, full of unusual surprises on where to go and what to do with kids. The guide also has where to stay and eat on any budget, with cost icons next to each hotel or restaurant. 

The guide begins with a list of icons and symbols that are used throughout the book to represent ratings of a place, what credit cards are accepted there, directions, and other important information, such as meal plans in a hotel and whether or not reservations can be made at a restaurant. The guide allows you to structure and pre-plan your trip down to the minute or just look up helpful tips while you explore.

The book begins with when to go, displaying a chart of monthly average temperatures, what to do if the weather turns bad, top sightseeing spots, and even a whole page on what to do for free! The guide then gives an introduction to the Big Apple for first-timers, with descriptions of each area and easy-to-follow maps to get you familiar with the city as a whole. The more detailed maps are clear and conveniently located next to the area being discussed. Each map only take up a page so you can focus in on where you're going and glance at it as you go. The maps also have snack spots and playgrounds for stops between your plans.

The guide gives fun suggestions for kids with special interests, such as the princess or the techno-gadget zealot.The guide then goes into detail in a few different sections: exploring Manhattan, side trips, museums, performing arts, shopping, eating, where to stay, and traveling smart...it really does cover everything a trip entails! The guide also has an index to look up specifics on the fly and transportation tips, especially when traveling by subway, bus, taxi, or car. 

The Fodor's Family "New York City With Kids" guide is like the in-the-know friend that you just can't go on your trip without! This guide covers everything from tourist attractions to secret finds. It's easy-to-follow, concise, organized, and can be used as a planning tool before you leave or an on-the-spot reference guide for where to head next when you're already there. This all-in-one guide can make a family trip to NYC fun and adventurous -- without the stress or chaos.

You can buy the "New York City With Kids' guide at www.amazon.com.

Mom Central received a review copy of "New York City With Kids."

Joanne Kimes' and R.J. Colleary's "Teenagers Suck": could it be any more blatant?

When I first picked up this book and read the title, a few things flashed through my brain:
1. Wow. That title is quite self-explanatory.
2. As a teen, I am just A BIT offended.
3. These women must have some serious things to say about teens.
Being a teen, I thought it appropriate to share my view on this book...the view from the other side. Perhaps, as the authors may see it, something similar to the story of the three little pigs as told by the Big Bad Wolf— a teenage girl!

I decided to give the book a chance, despite the completely inaccurate teen cell phone display on the cover reading "I H8 U MOM," which has several problems on its own, including the complete exaggeration of texting shortcuts. That kind of exaggeration is a good indicator of a misunderstanding of teen culture, a pretend comprehension of a teenage mind, as if these authors have the teen of today all figured out. But, of course, one cannot judge a book by its cover, so I proceeded to page 1.

Unfortunately, the book eminated its outer message; an all-around hatred for all things teen...an explosion of feelings and words angrier and meaner than any teen could be!! The book is a parenting guide targeted towards raising a teen. It addresses issues ranging from bras to boyfriends to cigarette butts to curfew to wardrobes. The authors try to approach raising a teen with a comedic air and an empathy towards parents raising teens, but in this whirlwind of advice and humor, a nastiness becomes apparent. Although the humor is funny and sharp, multiple unassumable assumptions are made about teenagers, such as their having a constant need to rebel and a general scheming and hatred towards their parents. Kimes and Colleary hype up a completely exaggerated, overwhelming depiction of a stereotypical teenager that turns "teen" into "untamable beast." And although I would love to see this act performed on broadway for a good laugh, it is a terrible guide into the real teenage world. The humor and exaggeration overwhelm the hints of insightful advice for parents raising teens.

But if you're up for an exaggerated, funny read, you can buy "Teenagers Suck" from www.amazon.com. 

Mom Central received a review copy of "Teenagers Suck."

Inspiration oozes out of Shaun Robinson's "Exactly As I Am"

In Exactly As I Am, Access Hollywood weekend co-host Shaun Robinson shares the personal stories and advice of women celebrities and young girls. Through her interviews with celebrated women and her involvement with Girls Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring young girls, Robinson has discovered the insecurities and self-doubts that plague every woman and girl. Actresses, businesswomen, athletes, and scientists, including Oprah Winfrey, Eva Mendes, Kelly Clarkson, Céline Dion, and many other leading women of the world, open up and share their own insecurities and how they overcame (or simply accepted) them.

Exactly As I Am reveals the universal female struggles over beauty, self-image, confidence, goal-setting, stress, sex, responsibility, and friendship. This compilation of stories, confessions, and advice illustrates that the world's most admired women carry self-doubts and vulnerabilities that make them real. The stories also encourage every girl to rise up and find her inner strength and beauty....while also accepting and loving the skin she's in. The stories teach girls to believe in thesmelves and to feel confident. The combination of quotations from young girls and revealing celebrity stories of hardship makes for an inspirational read. Exactly As I Am shows girls that other girls just like them—and even the most accomplished women out there—have faced internal struggles of confidence and self-worth. This book serves as a handy life guide for any woman or girl looking for a surprising, real story from a favorite celeb and an extra boost of confidence!

You can buy it from www.amazon.com.

Mom Central received a review copy of "Exactly As I Am."