Da Ultimate Hookup: Free Things for All Canadians

Everybody loves free stuff. And why not? With the cost of living rising all the time, why not take advantage of the perks that companies put out there for us. The companies get free publicity and hope to get a new customer, while we get to save a little bit of money. It’s a great concept…and one that I would have liked to read about in this book.

The full title of this book is Da Ultimate Hookup: Free Things for All Canadians. Unfortunately the subtitle sets the reader up for disappointment. The majority of the deals and tips listed in the book are not free. While many of them provide useful information, you won’t necessarily find free stuff or save any money. A lot of it isn’t even tips on how to save your money. This book seems to be less about how to find deals than it is a list of a few things the authors found on a rudimentary search. 

The book is split into four sections: Home, School, Play, and Life. The Home section is slightly disappointing, especially since there are so many discount clubs available out there. Websites like save.ca and websaver.ca aren’t even mentioned, and the rewards programs section only lists Air Miles and Shoppers Drug Mart Optimum program, forgetting programs like HBC Rewards. The School section is probably the most useful, with a list of available scholarships. The Play is probably the worst, listing iTunes, notoriously known for not giving discounts, as a good place to purchase music, and only listing sports league websites in the sports section. The media sections only even shows a few links to the CBC website for television, when almost every leading television station hosts their shows online. While the Life section still does not live up to the subtitle, the services section is actually quite helpful, teaching the reader how to find services such as counselling and legal aid.

Websites like eBay, Craigslist, and Kijiji are useful for finding discounted merchandise, but they are mentioned too many times throughout the book. While not completely useless, this book was entirely disappointing to a reader who was expecting to find some great deals and free stuff. This book may be useful to the beginner bargain hunter as a place to start. Not recommended.