Book Review: Save, Make, Do by Lyn Webster

Borrow a book about saving money!

I love borrowing library books about living a more eco friendly and sustainable lifestyle. And I love them even more if they also have tips about ways to save money!

Recently I borrowed the book ‘Save, Make, Do’ by Lyn Webster. Lyn is a dairy farmer living in New Zealand. You may have heard of her when she set herself a grocery budget of $1,000 for the whole of 2018. Lyn appeared on TV interviews, and has a website Pig Tits and Parsley Sauce about living cost effectively and sustainably.

The Publisher’s blurb about this book

This is the information from the back of the book, to give you an idea of what it is about:

If you want to get ahead in life, both financially and sustainably, budgeting guru Lyn Webster can help.

In Save Make Do, you will learn:
– how to shop smarter
– what to grow in your garden
– the magic of baking soda and vinegar
– 30 handy recipes (meals, treats and snacks; cleaning products and cosmetics)
– clever ways to save, save, save

With a Save Make Do attitude, you’ll soon be on the road to financial freedom – by making simple, healthy and sustainable choices. Make a little go a LOT further.

This book was previously published as Pig Tits & Parsley Sauce

What did I think of this book?

It’s good to read an inspirational story about a person who has successfully reduced their grocery bills, and I felt that this book was authentic and believable. I have seen Lyn in an interview, and her voice and style came through in this book.

The book has some great general information about saving money, such as setting a budget and sticking to it, and making your own cleaning products. The cleaning product recipes are useful, and rely on basic, cheap ingredients such as baking soda and white vinegar.

I would say that as Lyn is a dairy farmer, she does have access to milk, meat and some vegetables from her garden. This would help her stick to her budget, and would not be applicable to everyone who reads this book. Still, she has obviously changed her shopping habits pretty radically. I would say she shops differently to the way that the supermarkets would like us to shop – she is not buying big brands, or buying lots of processed and over-packaged food.

The book is smaller than a regular paperback, and contains some illustrations and pull out quotes, so it is a short and easy read. I did find it hard to read some of the headings, as they were in yellow on a white background. Overall, it was an easy book to read over a few nights. And it definitely gave me some ideas for ways to save money, especially around household cleaning products.

Final thoughts on ‘Save, Make, Do’

I would recommend borrowing this book from the library, and then deciding if you wanted to buy it. It could become a book that you refer back to, if you are on a mission to reduce your spending and eliminate processed and packaged products from your grocery shopping.

I would also suggest that you check out the Pig Tits and Parsley Sauce website, for more tips on saving money. There is also information there about MAKE workshops that Lyn created, some of which are run by other people around New Zealand as franchises. These are workshops that show you how to make the cleaning and beauty products that she now uses instead of expensive shop-bought products.

Have you read this book or visited the website? Please comment with your thoughts.

If you enjoy books on eco friendly living, check out my post on ten of my favourites: