by Amy Dacyczyn
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Product Description
At last--the long-awaited complete compendium
of tightwad tips for fabulous frugal living!
In a newsletter published from May 1990 to December 1996 as well as in three enormously successful books, Amy Dacyczyn established herself as the expert of economy. Now The Complete Tightwad Gazette brings together all of her best ideas and thriftiest thinking into one volume, along with new articles never published before in book format. Dacyczyn describes this collection as "the book I wish I'd had when I began my adult life." Packed with humor, creativity, and insight, The Complete Tightwad Gazette includes hundreds of tips and topics, such as:
¸ Travel for tightwads ¸ How to transform old blue jeans into potholders and quilts ¸ Ten painless ways to save $100 this year ¸ Picture-framing for pennies ¸ A comparison of painting versus re-siding your house ¸ Halloween costumes from scrounged materials ¸ Thrifty window treatments ¸ Ways to dry up dry-cleaning costs ¸ Inexpensive gifts ¸ Creative fundraisers for kids ¸ Slashing your electric bill ¸ Frugal fix-its ¸ Cutting the cost of college ¸ Moving for less ¸ Saving on groceries ¸ Gift-wrapping for tightwads ¸ Furniture-fusion fundamentals ¸ Cheap breakfast cereals ¸ Avoiding credit card debt ¸ Using items you were about to throw away (milk jugs, plastic meat trays, and more!) ¸ Recipes galore, from penny-pinching pizza to toaster pastries ¸ And much much more . . .
Three books in one--a $38.97 value for only $19.99!
Amazon.com
Though tightwad seems like a derogatory term, author Amy Dacyczyn wants to assure you that it's okay to be a penny-pincher. This self-styled "Frugal Zealot" wrote and published The Tightwad Gazette for over six years to spread the frugal gospel. Each issue contained tips from her personal experience and from her many readers. The wealth of information contained in all these issues has been compiled into one volume for the first time. You'll find literally thousands of ideas for saving money, from the simple or practical to the difficult or bizarre. On the simple, practical side, Dacyczyn advises would-be tightwads to keep track of price trends at several stores in a "price book" and to buy in bulk when prices are low. Other, stranger offerings include tips for turning margarine-tub lids into playing-card holders, old credit cards into guitar picks, and six-pack rings into a hammock or volleyball net. More helpful are inexpensive recipes for making homemade versions of pricey, well-known products and ingenious ways to fix broken or damaged items. The book's disorganization encourages browsing, but the detailed index will point you to the exact page for specific items. Dacyczyn's occasional "thriftier than thou" tone is balanced by the friendly support for frugality that infuses every page. She even reminds her readers that it's okay to "sweat the small stuff"--because this small stuff is the essence of frugality. --C.B. Delaney
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Average Customer Review:
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Had to Own My Own Copy, 2008-06-02
I checked this book out from the Public Library here in Medford, Oregon. While it is a little dated in some ways I decided to purchase it from Amazon.com anyway. Most of the book contains useful approaches to saving money that are quite relevant today. With 969 pages of well indexed and helpful advise, every home should have one for reference - and use it before making purchases.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
TEN star awesome, 2008-05-26
Loved the book and was so pleased to see that many of her ideas are the same ideas my friends in Berkeley, the Sierras, Hawaii, NYCity etc also have used and recommend. Anyone who enjoys the No Impact Man site, should appreciate this book. And so many of her suggestions are what my parents taught me growing up, since these were common sense ideas from the Great Depression and WW2 and then again for me, during the 70's gas rationing.
Then low and behold on The Compact group I am on, I see more and more ideas long those of the author. And we are not uneducated, poor people, but simply people who want to live by the adage use it up, wear it out, find a need or do without.
And trust me, in 2008 with gas and food prices going up so fast, I bet more people will use what information she shares.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
 This Book Changed My Life, 2008-05-18
This book is one of a kind. It changes your thinking and is highly informational.
Why only four stars?
-The binding. It is burdensome to hold, and the covers fall off the book pretty quickly.
-It is dated. Though it's only ten years old, much of this book is in dire need of updating. For example, the articles on computers and phone service can be disregarded, and in the internet age, there are a lot of new money-saving sites out there. (Can I give a shout out to Zenni Optical and eTrade!)
Seriously, though, that's all I have as far as criticism is concerned. This is a fantastic book.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Applicable even now, 2008-05-06
Written from 1990-1996, this complete Tightwad Gazette is a little dated in some areas. I laughed when she talks about saving money on encyclopedia sets, or writing off to a company to get more info. LOL. The internet has truly changed how we do things. However dated, the overal strategy to saving money and being frugal applies. I've gotten so many ideas that are usable today. I've already cut my food bill in half, in the last month since reading the book. I look at money in a whole new way now. There are so many ideas, that reading the book once, isn't going to cut it. I've decided to buy the book, instead of checking it out at the library. It's a worth-while investment.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
no other book necessary for a true tightwad, 2008-04-25
Amy Dacyczyn changed my life. In a good way. (:
There are many books out there about living frugally, but I have yet to find one that covers so comprehensively the everydays ways that we have to save money. The authors dry wit, the informative newsletter articles, and the comprehensive index in the back make it easy and enjoyable to use. I have dogearred my copy so much, it looks like the family bible!
I would recommend the Complete Tightwad Gazette as an excellent gift for a newlywed couple or for someone who earnestly wants to cut back on their expenses and will need a permanent reference around the house to help them make economic decisions. (Or, if it is just for you...perhaps the library is your best choice? I know Amy would approve!)
The only other book about frugal life that I have found helpful ( and mainly for the monthly grocery shopping/meal planning suggestions that they make) is "America's Cheapest Family".
Concerning investments...I would recommend anything by Dave Ramsey or Beth Kobliner.
You buy "Tightwad Gazette", "America's Cheapest Family", Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peach Univeristy" together and you will have a trifecta of frugal happiness. (:
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