Small Change, by Sheila Roberts

Ah, more recession chick-lit. There is something amazing, epic, haunting, and large-scale going on in following fiction trends, it's like seeing the delayed ghost of our national psyche dancing around in dreams or something. You have to take the time it took to write it, get it sold, get it published, cover art, reviews, then you have it in your hand, and it's what was in someone's head (probably many people's heads) 2 years ago or so. I can only imagine there's a lot more where this came from.
Much like The Penny Pinchers' Club, this novel follows a group of suburban housewife friends trying to wean themselves off retail therapy. Much like The Penny Pinchers' Club, there is a lot of rue over waste and excess. Unlike Penny Pinchers', this one had more than a sprinkle of God, etc, like so much nutra-sweet, but for the sociological impact of its very existance, this kind of mid-list, Christian-lite, "recessionista", finding-the-good-in-the-free-things book is worth its weight in gold.
Forswear Starbucks, and you too will find harmony! Avoid the Pottery Barn to find true freedom! Grow rhubarb and know thyself!
And so on.
Man, we are DOOMED.