The Thrift Book: Live Well and Spend Less - Tapa dura

Feeling poor because of recession? Feeling guilty because of global warming? Feeling like you'd quite like to tighten your belt, but aren't quite ready to embrace DIY macramé handbags?

No need to panic. Put down the economy mince and buy this book instead - it's a blueprint for living beautifully while saving money and easing your conscience.

India Knight (no slouch when it comes to extravagance) shows you how even a dedicated consumer and child of the more-is-more 1980s can mend her ways, embrace the New Thrift, and find her life - and bank balance - dramatically improved in the process. She will show you: How to make wonderful dinners with very little money; How to grow things; how to make jellies, chutneys and pickles and how to can vegetables and fruit; How to dress on a budget and still look fabulous - and what to do with your mum's old sewing machine; How to make the most of living in a community, from borrowing preserving pans (that's right, we're making jam) to starting a toy-swapping group; How to holiday in new and imaginative ways - with only the merest whisper of a carbon footprint; How to make your own fun, from crafts to making presents, from parties to affordable pampering; and finally...How to manage your money - because, frankly, it's about time we all got a grip.

Above all, India Knight will show you that saving money and tightening your belt doesn't have to feel like a penance - it can be both fun and glamorous (and a great deal more satisfying than buying the latest It-bag).

Try it - you have nothing to lose but your overdraft.