Cambridge Business Association
Do More, Spend Less
Book

Do More, Spend Less

The New Secrets of Living the Good Life for Less

Brad Wilson
Wiley, 2013
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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

Do you usually pay retail prices? If so, you are not shopping smart. Brad Wilson – the ebullient founder of Brad’s Deals, a money-saving website – knows better ways to buy and describes them in detail in this semiautobiographical consumers’ manual. Wilson amassed five million frequent-flyer miles and persuaded financial services firms to lend him money at 0%. He knows how to buy new cars at below factory prices and how to add 120 points to your credit score. He shares his secrets on how to get the lowest price on just about anything. All Wilson’s suggestions are clever. A few are brilliant. Some are impractical. Some may push the good-behavior line. For instance, he warns you fair and square that selling cars online without a license isn’t legal in some US states, but then he tells that you can make money doing it, “misdemeanor or not.” While he doesn’t exactly say you should transgress, he is a cheery wheeler-dealer, so exercise some judgment as well as some frugality, and watch your conscience like Wilson watches your pennies. With that note, and a caveat that most of his cost-cutting advice applies in the US though it’s adaptable elsewhere, getAbstract recommends his multitude of tips to those who want to save serious money.

Summary

Most People Don’t Know How to Shop

What you think about how to shop and get the best deals is wrong. Don’t worry, this is not your fault. Mighty marketing forces align to persuade you to buy the way they want you to buy. In the past, the odds were stacked against the consumer. Retailers, credit card companies, banks and other businesses called the shots. But thanks to the remarkable power of the Internet and the commoditization of commercial offerings, consumers are in charge today.

This can include you – if you know what you’re doing. You can leverage innovative methods to get great, low prices and amazing deals just about everywhere. This goes beyond saving a little by using Orbitz or Travelocity to compare fares, by scoring quick cash from your credit cards, or by clipping coupons. You cannot really win with those small-change tactics. Those worn-out methods mean that you only are losing less than you normally might. New techniques can help you come out on top when you shop. You just need a little inside knowledge on how to score big.

Shop Around

As a college student, back in the days when most computers did not have Wi-Fi, author Brad Wilson could...

About the Author

Brad Wilson runs Brad’s Deals, which he started as a college student. It is now one of the 500 most visited US websites.

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