Kate Sullivan's Frugal Living Playbook

How it works

1You pay

Through Gumroad's secure checkout: card, PayPal or Apple Pay. I never see your card number.

2The book opens

The download link comes up right away and lands in your email. Phone, tablet or computer.

3It stays yours

Keep it, print the shopping list and the weekend plan, and open it again whenever you like.

Nothing ships, and you don't need an account or a password.

The honest math

Four small leaks most of us have, next to what it takes to start doing it Ruth's way.

What the leaks cost in a year

Shopping without a sale planabout $240 a year (Lesson 34)

Leftovers that get thrown outabout $180 a year (Lesson 18)

Buying chicken piece by pieceabout $180 a year (Lesson 15)

"Sales" that aren't really salesabout $140 a year (Lesson 7)

Four leaksabout $740 a year

Ruth's way, today

The starter pantry, the must-havesabout $46, store by store

A spiral notebook for the price bookabout $1

What to do, in what order, every seasonthis book, $29.99

Monthly fees, apps, membershipsnone

Onceabout $77

Figures are the book's own typical numbers for one person at today's US prices, with the math shown in each lesson. Yours will differ, and some lessons save waste or worry rather than money; the book says so.

Look inside

Real pages from the real book. This is exactly what opens on your phone. The type is set big on purpose.

Lesson 1, the $50 starter pantry — Page 6: the $50 starter pantry, five categories, shopped in order.

Lesson 7, the grocery price book — Page 41: Ruth's spiral price book, and how it catches a fake sale.

Lesson 10, one shelf, one eye level — Page 57: Ruth's way, the honest verdict, and what it saves a year.

Lesson 15, one chicken, four meals — Page 87: one chicken, four meals, from her "Sunday Bird" card.

The shopping list — Page 271: the shopping list, store by store. Start with these.

Lesson 12, the overnight supper pot — Page 69: the one old way you should never do again.

← swipe to see more pages →

I want it, show me the price ↓

What's inside

Stock, store and stretch, then fall, winter, spring and summer. Every lesson opens on what my mother did, then the honest verdict, then today's way and what it saves.

The $50 starter pantry, five categories, shopped in the right order · p. 6

Reading the unit price, and the "bargains" that cost you more · p. 13

Protein off the shelf, beans, lentils and cans that stand in for meat · p. 35

The grocery price book, Ruth's spiral book, for today's prices · p. 41

Freezer for one, buying the family pack and never wasting it · p. 74

One chicken, four meals, and the soup pot that costs almost nothing · p. 87

Leftovers, renamed, so the second supper gets eaten · p. 102

What fall puts on sale, and the same for winter, spring and summer · p. 125

Cooking from the shelf alone, a real supper with no trip to the store · p. 173

The fridge on your electric bill, the four checks that bring it down · p. 179

The pantry ledger, writing down what it really saved this year · p. 264

And that's a fraction of it. 48 lessons, 297 pages, all four seasons, one shopping list by store and a plan for your first weekend.

Get your copy

Instant PDF, on your phone the moment you pay. Nothing ships.

Every dollar, the way my mother did it

Kate Sullivan's Frugal Living Playbook

48 lessons, 297 pages, all four seasons
What each lesson saves a year, with the math shown
Ruth's way and an honest verdict on every old trick
One shopping list by store, and a plan for your first weekend
7 days to change your mind: email me for every cent back

$29.99one payment, no subscription

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Kate Sullivan

I grew up in Terre Haute, Indiana, the oldest of three, in a one-paycheck house. My mother, Ruth, never had much left after the rent, and I don't remember us ever going without. She kept a tin of index cards by the stove: recipes, her shelf list, and a little spiral book with what everything cost.

I live on my own now, and groceries cost what they cost. So I went back through that tin card by card and checked each of her ways against today's prices. Most still work exactly as they did. Some need a small change. One you should never do again. This book tells you which is which.

Kate

Questions, answered honestly

Is a paper book coming in the mail?

No. It's a digital book, a PDF. Nothing ships. It opens on your phone the moment you pay, the link sits in your email, and you can print any page you like. The shopping list and the weekend plan are made for printing.

I'm not good with computers.

You don't need to be. You press one button and the book opens. There's no account and no password. If it doesn't open, write to me and I'll walk you through it or refund you. You won't be left stuck.

Is this a subscription? Will you charge me again?

No. One payment, one time. No membership and no monthly anything.

I live alone. Is this for me?

That's who it was written for. Every lesson is sized for one or two people: halving recipes, freezing single portions, buying the case only when it really pays.

Is it just a cookbook?

No. There's cooking in it, but it's mostly the habits around it: what to buy and where, how to store it so nothing spoils, when each season puts things on sale, and what your fridge is costing you.

Will I really save money?

Each lesson shows its own typical number and the math behind it, from a few dollars a year to a few hundred. I won't promise you a total; it depends on what you do now. You can check every figure yourself.

Thirty dollars for a book?

The first lesson alone is built to save more than that. And if it doesn't earn its place in your kitchen, you have seven days to tell me, and you get every cent back.

Stock it. Store it. Stretch it. My mother's way.

How it works

The honest math

What the leaks cost in a year

Ruth's way, today

Look inside

What's inside

Get your copy

Kate Sullivan's Frugal Living Playbook

Kate Sullivan

Questions, answered honestly

Is a paper book coming in the mail?

I'm not good with computers.

Is this a subscription? Will you charge me again?

I live alone. Is this for me?

Is it just a cookbook?

Will I really save money?

Thirty dollars for a book?

Ready when you are

Stretch every dollar, Ruth's way