Buy Ketchup in May and Fly at Noon

Customer Reviews

• Fun Read is a Good Guide Too  Oct 7, 2009 (23 of 23 found this helpful)

  This book is great for more than just lovers of trivia - it is a practical guide to life and full of "who knew" surprises that you can put into practice. The writing makes it entertaining and fun to read, but it's obvious that real research went into it. I like the way it's organized into areas of life. I grew up in California and it's true - Fall is the best time to go to Disneyland!

• The MUST Have Guide to Best Time To Buy, Go, Do and More  Oct 8, 2009 (18 of 18 found this helpful)

  'Buy Ketchup In May and Fly at Noon' is a fun read packed with information that can settle long-standing arguments on WHEN to water the lawn, when to list your house or buy one, when to book a flight, when to fly to Europe, when to ask for a raise, when to send an email, when to adopt an animal, when to apply to college, when to take a foreign language, and so many other money saving, time saving helpful tips from experts world-wide. Will be in all the holiday stockings this year!

• Want to save 15% on a lot more than car insurance?  Nov 1, 2009 (7 of 7 found this helpful)

  If you enjoy saving money, increasing your efficiency, or outsmarting the world, this is a great book for you.
  
  Buy Ketchup in May is a fun book that lets you in on the secrets of how and when to do many of life's common activities, from when to eat dinner out (Tuesday) to when to apply ice to sunburns (never).
  
  The book is written in a short question-and-answer format that is easy to follow and remember. I appreciated how Di Vincenzo refers to the research methods behind his answers, so the reader knows where the answers are coming from. I recently found myself quoting the book in a conversation with friends about when to buy airline tickets. And the book covers so many different topics that it's hard to imagine a month going by without using at least one of his recommendations. For me, the book paid for itself right after I got it. The book pointed out that pants often go on deep discounts after back to school. So when October came around, I decided to test out this claim. I ended up buying a pair of nice $70 pants for $35!
  
  So if you like useful information that will help you save money and increase your efficiency, definitely get this book!
  
  
  

• Worth the price  Nov 9, 2009 (1 of 1 found this helpful)

  For [...] bucks this book is definitely worth the price. There is plenty of useful information though not a lot of detail. Don't expect to sit down and read this book word for word as it is more of a reference book. I like it and would recommend it as a good general guide for when to do things.

• A Not-so Good Read, Some Not-so Surprising Insights, All in a Perfectly-timed Gift Package  Nov 16, 2009 

  Could be the perfect gift book as the holidays approach, and its no coincidence that it just showed up on NYT's How-to Bestseller list. To coin a phrase, this is the kind of thing a person on your gift list will really like, if they like this sort of thing.
  
  Really there is not much insight here, and after having heard Di Vincenzo pitch the book on NPR, his methodlogy is not exactly the rigorous stuff or peer reviewed economics research (or even journalism for that matter).
  
  There are just not enough (or enough interesting) stories-behind-the-stories for his tips. The ketchup gambit is titleworthy, but much of the rest is common sense.
  
  Get the first surgical appointment of the day? Fly midday, midweek and you'll save money? Buy stuff when the people selling are inclined to make better deals? No big surprises.
  
  The book might be the perfect gift for that reader who loves quirky insight and the trivial made useful. It may even inspire ten minutes of communal reading and good conversation around the tree when unwrapped. For those reasons, its a three; but, this is really a two-star read with perfect timing.