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The Complete Tightwad Gazette | 
 enlarge | Author: Amy Dacyczyn
Publisher: Villard
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
Buy New: $14.09
You Save: $8.86 (39%)
New (29) Used (16) Collectible (1) from $13.35
Rating:  217 reviews
Sales Rank: 4619
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 959
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.5
Dimensions (in): 9 x 7.2 x 1.7
ISBN: 0375752250
Dewey Decimal Number: 640.42
EAN: 9780375752254
ASIN: 0375752250
Publication Date: December 15, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
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
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!
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| Customer Reviews: Read 212 more reviews...
 Guide to being very frugal October 30, 2008
This book is for all of us who get pleasure from saving money. It is for people who get more of a thrill out of walking out of a grocery store having saved $30 on their food bill than they do when the spend $100 on a new pair of expensive shoes. If you prefer the smell of retiring early from a job you dislike to new car smell, you have found your book. While this book is a little extreme with homemade Halloween costumes for kids and going through piles of your neighbors curb side throw outs to repair and use. It has excellent ideas on cooking at home to save money, and a great philosophy on how to stop relying on convenient foods, convenient stores, and conveniently spending all your money on things that add no value to your life. Whether it is buying 10 pairs of the exact same color and type of sock so when one wears out or is lost you lose one and not a pair, or putting a gallon jug of water in your toilet to save a gallon of water on every flush, this book is packed with ideas that will save you the cost of the book itself very quickly. Stock up on items you use frequently when they are on sale, take your time when buying a car or house so you get the best deal possible, negotiate big ticket items. The bottom line is spend money on what is most important to you, a nice house, quality time with your children, or early retirement and stay away from single serve pudding cups, lunch-ables, restaurants, fast food, and grocery items not on sale. Escape the consumer spending trap and the corporate rat race all at one time through spending smart to live more free.
 Good For A Laugh October 29, 2008
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
Overall I enjoyed this book as a comedy piece. It seemed on every page there was something my husband and I could giggle at. There were a few good money-saving ideas in here, but some of it was downright ridiculous.
This might be a good book for you if you are absolutely desperate to find new ways to save a penny or two here and there, and don't mind looking tacky in the process.
In her defense, the author warns herself that some of these suggestions are unsanitary if not downright dangerous. Re-using styrofoam containers from raw meat comes to mind, as well as the whole section on dumpster diving. In short, you have to read through a lot of junk to get to any helpful advice. (Hopefully most parents would opt to go on welfare before digging through other people's trash for food!)
As we are looking for a new house I had hoped to find some good advice on that but her advice is dangerous; old houses can have anything from lead paint to asbestos to gas leaks or lead in the pipes and so on. Some things are simply not worth the savings.
Many of the other ideas were very outdated and no longer true. For example nowadays with the rising price of cheese, a homemade pizza will run you at least $8.50. Several of her other tricks I calculated myself and did not come up with any savings. So on most things you will have to do your own math if you want to know the true cost with today's prices.
The only other complaint I have with this book is that it's very unorganized. It's not broken down by subject at all, just short newsletters on various topics which I found irritating.
I reccomend you check this book out at the library before buying. You might find some gems amongst the muck, and you WILL at least have a good laugh. But if you want to buy a more useful book on this subject, I reccomend Miserly Moms as it is much better (and smaller!!).
Inspiring Book! October 14, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is a collection of articles from Amy's 1990-96 newsletter by the same name. It is written in short, easy to read sections with a sense of humor. A lot of great suggestions to save money - not at all preachy! You decide how far you want to go to save money and how hard you want work at it. Amy's point is it's your money and it's your decision how to make it work for you. Whether you want a farmhouse in Maine with six kids or a Lexus in your garage - why spend money on things that aren't fulfilling to you?
I think a lot of the negative reviews of this book have more to do with guilt over their unwillingness to put in the effort required than any advice in the book. I haven't heard of a child yet who turned into a sociopath because he/she didn't get a $200 pair of sneakers, $100 jeans and a happy meal everyday. Haven't heard of one that died from being made to try a vegetable either. I have seen too many children, who after following their parents examples of excess, have no idea of how to live within their means. If you're serious about getting your life and your spending under control there's no better guide to doing it than this book and Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover.
THE money-saving idea series September 27, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
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.
best money saving book ever!! September 10, 2008
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.
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