Harlequin 

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Publication Date: January 2011

Young, single and gainfully employed as a journalist, Natalie P. McNeal enjoyed a life of shopping, traveling and partying with her friends. Then one January, she had a rude awakening when she opened her credit card statements and realized that she was more than $20,000 in debt—nearly half from credit cards. She had only $1,000 in savings. How did a college-educated professional wind up living like the working poor, she wondered. And how could she get out of debt without sacrificing her social lifestyle?

            McNeal realized that the only way that she—a self-described spending slut—would get out of debt was to “stop putting out. Stop spending. Stop buying. Stop consuming. Stop shopping. Stop charging. Stop wanting more stuff.” Her Frugalista plan was born. In THE FRUGALISTA FILES: How One Woman Got Out of Debt Without Giving Up the Fabulous Life (Harlequin; January 2011; $14.95 U.S.), McNeal chronicles her first year of living frugally, sharing her inspiring message—and a trove of Frugalista tips—with the millions of other single women just like her who work hard and want to play smart

            McNeal started her new Frugalista lifestyle by making February a “no-buy month.” Working at the Miami Herald as a reporter, she offered to blog about her experience for the paper, launching The Frugalista Files. Though sacrifice was in order, she soon discovered some of the secrets of living well on a budget. She trimmed her food bills by eating simple, but nutritious meals at home. She began to choose her social engagements based on what it would cost her to attend—including hidden costs like parking. Once a shopaholic, she learned how to find bargains and “closet” shop. Her addiction to beauty products and visits to the salon for hair treatments and mani-pedis was sated with budget cosmetics and at-home hair care.  She searched for lower-interest credit cards. At the end of the month she had saved $400, and decided to take a permanent “vow of frugality.”

            As the year progressed, McNeal discovered that with some tweaking and a steady eye on the bottom line, she could maintain a fabulous, yet frugal, lifestyle. Through the blog, McNeal’s Frugalista message was embraced by innumerable readers in the United States and beyond. She was soon a guest on CNN and NPR, spreading the gospel of frugality. With her rising profile, she was asked to cover the historic presidential election day, and Frugarella even got to go to the ball—theRoot.com’s inaugural ball in Washington during President Barack Obama’s inauguration.  Initially, Natalie launched her blog to get out of debt, but surprisingly it helped her launch a new career. When the option of taking a buyout from the Miami Herald became available, Natalie ultimately made what was a wise decision and decided to finally take a risk and go out on her own. Though still in debt, she already had cut it by a third. Two years and four months after that first no-buy month, McNeal became debt-free.

            As readers share McNeal’s penny-wise journey, THE FRUGALISTA FILES will teach them the secrets of a frugal, but fabulous life. Her unique brand of personal finance in peep-toe pumps allows fashionistas across the land to continue to live the good life—without going broke.

About the Author

Natalie P. McNeal is an award-winning journalist who launched her personal finance blog “Frugalista” in February 2008 on The Miami Herald website.  Oxford University Press named “Frugalista” as a finalist for Word of the Year because of Natalie’s savvy style of teaching people how to live the frugal and fabulous life. As a journalist, she writes extensively on personal finance and lifestyle
issues for a number of publications and websites. Her work has been published in The Miami Herald, TheRoot.com, Dallas Morning News, Raleigh News and Observer, Newsday and the Detroit Free Press. McNeal’s coverage of immigrant communities earned her an United Nations Fellowship to Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and she is a Don W. Reynolds business fellow. Natalie regularly speaks on college campuses, and she has served as a guest speaker for the Women in Technology trade group, the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Council of Negro Women. A Chicago native, Natalie is a graduate of Howard University’s John H. Johnson School of Communications, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in news editorial.

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