The Complete Tightwad Gazette | Amy Dacyczyn | THE money-saving idea series

The Complete Tightwad Gazette | Amy Dacyczyn | Love this book

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The Complete Tight...

	The Complete Tightwad Gazette Amy Dacyczyn Villard, 1998 - 976 pages average customer review:based on 215 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

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!

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THE money-saving idea series

I've had the original series since they came out, and I still go back to these books for information. Not only does she give advice, she shows how she came up with it and how to modify it to your life.

I use her recipes all the time (have the granola one memorized, we use it so much). It's worth having this just for the recipes. These books are how I was able to stay home with my kids, even though I made twice what my husband did.

Although I gave this five stars, there are a few things you might want to know (if it matters). The index in the originals was not that great. I don't know if they've improved that in this combination or not. Since the books were set up from a magazine, there are many very short articles, so it doesn't read like a book. But I found it very entertaining. Even though the pricing is from the 80's in many cases, you can make up your own price lists using her principles.

If you like being told what to do, this probably isn't the book for you. If you like having the information to figure it out yourself to suit your life, you'll love these.

I've read about twenty 'save money' books and this series is the best.

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Love this book

I enjoyed this book tremendously. She has a great style of writing and a lot of the information was helpful. Perhaps even more than the specific ideas, I think it helps me come up with my own ideas, be more conscious of unnecessary spending and less wasteful in general. I have already bought another one for someone else, who also loved it.

Love This Book!

Brilliant ideas that anyone can use to save money. More than just a how-to, it teaches a whole new mentality, and a creative viewpoint that spills over into every area of life. Once bit by the Tightwad bug, you will never go back to wasting your money. Amy Daczyczyn also has a wonderfully whimsical sense of humor that makes me wish she lived next door. Good reading.

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best money saving book ever!!

This book has SO much information on how to save money. I don't think I could ever apply all the tips, but the ones I have applied have really helped! I like to open the book and find one tip to do for the week rather than trying to apply everything at once. You can save money with a bit of time and creativity.

Well worth it...

I am leading a frugal life these days after getting out of the rat race and finding that I have a great desire to not be a working stiff. Working part-time means an iron fisted budget. "Your Money or Your Life" is what got me started on this path, and "The Tightwad Gazette" was published with people like me in mind. I had heard about the newsletter for years, and finally thought to read this book.

As other reviewers have noted, frugality isn't a religion. You can pick or choose how involved you want to be. For me, the crucial discovery has been that there are many things I can abstain from without noticing a huge difference in the quality of my life. I will never give up travel... it is an essential part of my life. But there are other day-to-day things I don't miss at all. Since reading this book a few months ago, I have started making my own pizza and bread (VERY good suggestion; it cuts the price in half and is surprisingly easy to make, even without a food processor), I'm more conscious of turning off lights, and I've assembled a price book. None of this was difficult and it was fun. In the first two months, I managed to save $300 from an already meager budget.

What is difficult about this? Like any habit, it is a discipline. I have lost hours making bread dough, bargain hunting, and making my own tomato sauce. But I find that I enjoy the feeling of taking care of myself and not wasting money. I had great fun assembling the price book. I now know the lowest prices to expect for a lot of items, and it's fun to be on top of things.

As a single person, a lot of "The Complete Tightwad Gazette" did not apply to me. I skimmed over sections on kids' craft projects and clothes issues, of which there are a lot. I would say I picked up only a few ideas I'll implement over the long term, but it was still fun reading about others' habits. This is a fun book, well worth the price.

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