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The Complete Tightwad Gazette (Paperback)
by Amy Dacyczyn
| Category:
Frugal living, Way of life, Money & values, Family life |
| Market price: ¥ 228.00
MSL price:
¥ 208.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
MSL Pointer Review:
A great fun read with a full spectrum of tips and philosophies. Recommended to poor and rich.
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Author: Amy Dacyczyn
Publisher: Villard; 1 edition
Pub. in: April, 2008
ISBN: 0375752250
Pages: 976
Measurements: 9 x 7.2 x 1.7 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BA01298
Other information: ISBN-13: 978-0375752254
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- MSL Picks -
This book has had a huge, positive influence on my life. I read this book right before I quit my job to stay home and Amy Dacyczyn helped convince me I could do it. But if you are contemplating reading this book, be warned: it is highly addictive and potentially life-changing.
I was already fairly frugal before I read The Tightwad Gazette. My husband and I used cloth diapers, shopped at thrift shops, bought secondhand and had only one car. Many of these actions came from our concern to live lightly on the earth, but had the side-benefit of saving us money. But when I read this book, Amy made me see how wasteful I was being in other parts of my life--throwing money away needlessly by spending too much on groceries, overinsuring my car, and overlooking the wealth of things that can be purchased very cheaply at yard sales. After I read this book, I immediately chopped about $100 a month off of my grocery bill, and IT WAS EASY! And I spent less time running back and forth to the grocery store and more time at home enjoying my family. I was so smitten with this book, that in the first few months after I read it, my husband got really sick of hearing about it. And he was a tightwad, too!
For the last few years, I've been able to use some of Amy's recommendations for saving money, but I really had only scratched the surface in what I could accomplish. I was able to stay home and we were doing okay financially, but just okay--not great. Then earlier this year my husband and I got a wake-up call. Throughout our marriage, we had always managed to save money, even if only $100 a month. Our wake-up call came when we realized that for the first time in our marriage, not only were we not saving money anymore, but our hard-earned savings were slowly being depleted. Consequently, my husband was feeling a lot of pressure to work harder and harder, spending more time away from home and making our family life more strained.
Re-enter the Tightwad Gazette. When I realized that we were losing money, I went into TOTAL frugality mode. First, I used Amy's suggestion to list everything we were spending, then I went over our spending with a fine-tooth comb and looked for places I could cut (fewer long distance calls, cutting back further on groceries, etc.). When I looked at the numbers, I estimated that we could be saving $500 a month. And we live near the federal poverty line! And we pay for our own benefits! Then I reread Amy's book (for about the 4th time), and this time I TOOK NOTES! When I was done, not only did I feel empowered, but I had 4 pages of ideas for new money-saving ideas to try--everything from new recipes to energy-saving strategies. I also realized some mistakes I had been making that Amy discusses at length. First, I had failed to realize that desparate circumstances call for desparate action. Second, I had been justifying a certain amount of wasteful spending on the basis of how hard we worked and how much we deserved it. Third, I had failed to set clear financial goals. Amy talks about the need to set goals repeatedly, and she is right. My new goal was to save $3000 by the end of the year. With this new goal in front of me, I felt completely motivated to start saving money.
To make a long story short, in the 2 months since I have become (in Amy's words) a "Black-belt Tightwad," my family has saved approximately $900, with no dramatic difference in our lifestyle. And lest you think that the lifestyle that Amy promotes is one of drudgery and deprivation, think again. As Amy will tell you in these pages over and over, the life of a tightwad can be full and complete. My kids wear designer clothes (albeit second-hand). My home is filled with nice stuff (most of it bought at yard sales or 'treasure-picked' from the curb). My family eats healthfully--lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, many of them organic, with delicious home-baked goodies thrown in. And we even go out to eat from time to time (although not as often as we once did). Most people who would see my family on the street or visit us in our home would be shocked if they knew how well we do with so little income. Plus I have the added benefit of sleeping more soundly at night, not worrying that we will run out of money.
This book is for non-tightwads, too. I've recommended it to some friends who are spendthrifts, and even they have loved it. So if you are at all interested in saving money or living a simpler, saner life, by all means read this book. But make your first truly tightwad move and don't buy it--go to the library first and read a copy. Amy even recommends that you do this. Then, if it is worth it, you can go ahead and buy it.
(From quoting a reader, USA)
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- Better with -
Better with
The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed and Overworked- 21st Century Edition
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From Publisher
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．
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Amazon.com (MSL quote), USA
<2008-04-02 00:00>
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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bluereef_auctions (MSL quote), USA
<2008-04-02 00:00>
Admittedly, the author is the diva of frugality, taking tightwaddery to a high art I wouldn't care to achieve...but she also discusses how the way we spend our money should--but doesn't always--reflect our own priorities, values, and goals. The author makes it clear that the book contains a full spectrum of tips for saving money to accomodate a wide range of frugal styles, and that not every idea in the book is for every person. There's no preaching, just cheerleading!
Probably the most pleasant surprise in this book were the essays discussing the tightwad philosophy. The author addresses gratification, temporary vs long-term fulfillment, learned perceptions about "clean" and "dirty", the true "cost" of a double-income household, hourly "wages" based on money saved, and other interesting aspects of money attitudes.
A recurring theme examines how frugality isn't about living a deprived scrimping lifestyle, but rather how to spend and save money in ways that reinforce your financial goals. Practical examples give tips for getting good deals, finding hidden treasures within your budget, and how to think "outside the box" when it comes to obtaining goods and services.
In all, while this book contains a wealth of "how-tos", it is also a springboard to help you launch your own ideas on how to meet your life goals and find creative ways to do it.
A fantastic and truly entertaining read.
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R. A. Ward (MSL quote), USA
<2008-04-02 00:00>
Folks, it's called the Tightwad Gazette for a reason. Frugality is such a foreign concept in the United States that obviously many people were horrified at what they found here. Some were also extremely critical of the way Mrs. Dacyczyn raises her children. While they are entitled to their opinions, frankly, that's not the subject of this book.
The reason for this book is to save money. You don't have to do everything that appears in it. Amy doesn't do everything in the book. There are so many tips in this tome that if you can't find one thing that will do your wallet some good, you never really wanted to save money to begin with.
Which brings me to why I think many people have a problem with this book. I believe what they expected were "quick and easy" (i.e. painless and instant) ways to make money magically appear. Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way. If you want to save money, you are going to have to spend less of it - which means yes, you are going to have to sacrifice.
I believe this book is very focused, very practical, and way way too honest for most people to handle. If you actually are serious about saving money, then dive in and enjoy. If you're not, I suggest watching late-night television for a real-estate selling infomercial.
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Yarden (MSL quote) , USA
<2008-04-02 00:00>
This book is the culmination of six years of Amy Dacyczyn's "The Tightwad Gazette" newsletter, a paper dedicated to all things thrifty. The book is organized into three sections (each section was originally its own book), that each cover two years of the newsletter's run, as well as some extra bits here and there. The structure is loose - reading like a huge stack of back issues of the newsletter, and includes feature stories, editorial-style comments, and letters and tips from readers.
The author's tone is friendly, practical, and logical, and the book goes far beyond simple tips for living a frugal life. In fact, Dacyczyn extols the merits of living life on your own terms, instead of on society's terms, using frugality as a vehicle to get fulfillment out of life. On the way, she dishes out some sound suggestions for things like quality of living, child-rearing, and of course, tons and tons of demonstrations of HOW to cut costs in your own life.
I was amazed at how detailed some of Dacyczyn's comparisons and plans were - some demonstrating how you could save a few pennies (they add up), or some larger and more dramatic strategies for saving a lot more money. Through all, Dacyczyn's committment to complete ethics within the framework of frugality (never practice frugality at the expense of others) is emphasized.
Although reading the entire book in a few sittings may feel a bit overwhelming (it is six years' worth of info, after all), there are some core strategies that are very worth the price of the book. If nothing else, this book will cause you to evaluate how you spend your money, what you spend it on, and what you could be using it for, as well as perhaps motivate you to tighten up your budget a little (or a lot).
This book is highly entertaining, very inspiring, and extremely motivational. And although I am making it sound rather theoretical, the book is actually mostly hands-on and practical.
Frugality is an extreme art, but one that has afforded many people with the means to truly live and enjoy life the way they choose to. Both the book and the lifestyle are definitely worth taking a look at.
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