Rating: 
Summary: "Tightwadding" more than just a cold, hard cash-saver
Review: Many readers have swooned with starry-eyed admiration and wastemonger guilt over the Gazette's innovations -- page after page of Tightwad recipes, unconventional uses for throw-aways like breadbags and juice can lids, miniscule price calculations, and even a dryer-lint substitute for papier-mâché could make anyone feel like an uncreative spendthrift. Many other readers scoff at her "eccentricity," dismissing her cost-cutting strategies as "problematic for most of us in the real world" and snicker contemptuously at her holey socks and experiments in "dumpster diving." Indeed, some of the Gazette's ideas are simply not universally useful.But the point of Dacyczn's books is not to convince us that every family ought to eat food frugally retrieved from dumpsters, ignore the evil lure of "unstable" stock market investment, and string winter-time clotheslines in their attics for the sake of saving a few cents. Dacyczn encourages readers to rethink the way they spend money and the way they prioritize their reasons for spending. Naturally, all this comes with a little commentary on American socio-economic values in general and and amateur ventures in economic theory. She even suggests that readers seeking information on the workings of a successful economy should thumb through works by the widely discredited H. Ross Perot. But she confesses she is indeed an amateur and certainly no financial expert. She cautions her readers not to take anything they read for granted -- "not even The Tightwad Gazette." She also firmly states that she does not practice every idea that comes her way, that some ideas are better-suited to certain people, and that none apply to everybody. Rather than a catalog of absolute commandments, her brand of thrift is an open-ended game of creativity to sharpen the mind and discover what life can really be worth. When my family was poor from low income, I was too young and easily-contented to notice. When my family came into an upper middle-class lifestyle, we lived a little more comfortably. When my family lost our footing to divorce, our attempts to maintain a life of ease with a drastically reduced income swallowed our finances and made us feel our very poorest. But this book, for me at least, made me feel proud to wear my socks and undies to pieces, unafraid to reexamine life's "necessities" (like the subscription to a newspaper we never read...), and inspired to live well -- with a little old-fashioned ingenuity -- despite scarce financial resources. It also fed my compulsions for hoarding scratch paper and boxes, picking up stray clothing on the sidewalks, and cafeteria-leftover scrounging. Yet through it all, I still take indulgent twenty-minute showers with brand name liquid soaps. The consequences of all-consuming, compulsive thrift are good and bad. But thrift need not be bad -- or all-consuming. It's all about financial and personal balance, knowing what's important to you -- knowing what's "worth it." This is Amy's message. Bless her for sharing it.
Rating: 
Summary: A new way to look at life
Review: I really enjoyed this book when I read it - it's very inspirational. With the help of this book and others like it, such as "Your Money or Your Life" (another must read!), I've gone from being in debt and constantly over my credit limit, to having $0 credit card debt, and a completely new attitude towards money. I don't agree with all of Amy's suggestions, such as eating a lot of cheap foods. I tend to spend a lot of money on organic produce and health foods, because in the long run, what is more valuable than your health? But other than that, who cares? Do you really need the latest and greatest gizmos? Probably not. Too bad we need a book like this to bring us to our senses - being conscientious of money should be common sense, but sadly isn't in our culture of manufactured wants and desires. Okay, I've said enough - buy this book and experience your OWN attitude adjustment towards money!
Rating:
Summary: Sheer Genius!
Review: Amy Dacyczyn is a domestic genius! I work as a credit counselor and I want to give this book to all my clients. This book is such a powerful tool. It has the potential to save homes from foreclosure, marriages from an untimely end, and families from the misery of financial insolvency. It will make you rich in ways you literally never thought of!
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Summary: Everything you'd want to know to save money at home
Review: This is an excellent book that is full of ideas on saving money in the home. I was raised by tightwad parents, but I had slowly turned into a typical suburban housewife never knowing where my money was being spent. I definitely haven't had any extra to spare. Fortunately, with the Tightwad book, I now can go back to my roots, and really save money. My priorities are back where they belong, and with the help of Amy Dacyczyn's book, I too, can have fun while being frugal. Yes, I'm looking forward to a better way of life, thanks to Amy!
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Summary: The Next Step after a "Let's feel better spending less book"
Review: If you or your spouse want to stay home with the kids. or retire early or just get through a period of unempolyment(like us) this is the book and if you can't afford it check the library and buy this book later.
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Summary: The Successful Conversion of a Die Hard Spendthrift
Review: Although corny, it is no understatement to say this book helped save my marriage, my home, and my bank account. Amy Dacyczyn's inspirational advice on focusing priorities, trimming costs, and viewing "tightwaddery" as a fun challenge instead of a dreaded necessity helped me to move from buying at least $600 of unnecessary and/or overpriced anything-- food, clothes, brand new toys for the kids, new furniture-- a month, to socking away $1000 a month in savings and investments. She also articulates the direct positive effect cost-saving measures have on my family's health and the environment. Her tips include recipes and how-to-do-it-yourself advice ranging from very simple to relatively complicated.
Rating:
Summary: Useful, and gets you thinking
Review: You don't have to follow every bit of advice but you will be inspired to think up some ideas of your own, which is part of what she aims to do. But there are a lot of good ideas in it, and it would be wonderful if Americans cut down on what's going into landfills. City dwellers just need to adapt the info to their needs. And even if all it does is make you hesitate before you waste money, it's worth it. But I bet you'll get a lot more out of it than that. And for the person in MA, keep an open mind about things.
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Summary: Required reading
Review: When people tell me how lucky I am to be a stay-at-home-mother, I respond, "luck had nothing to do with it!" The Tightwad books changed my attitude about money and 'stuff,' but I was trying to live with less anyway so it would be easier to move. Before I buy anything, I think to myself--do I want to maintain this? Dust it, worry about it, clean it, fix it, etc? Some people have written bad reviews about TTG--I live in D.C. and know people like this. They are fun to watch! They don't know the price of anything! I wave to them as they trudge off to work (must have two incomes to pay for childcare) while I sip my coffee and watch my children play, and tell them about the vacations we take. They tell me about the cool television shows on cable and how well their SUV's handle the D.C. traffic, but gripe about the high monthy payments. I don't begrude the spendthrifts--I just love their castoffs! Let me add that we make half of what our neighbors make. They just throw half of theirs away!
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Summary: The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn
Review: I would give this book 10 stars! I bought the Complete Tightwad Gazette over a month ago and cannot put it down! I now think VERY carefully before spending and feel I've already made some progress toward improving the environment! I take the book with me everywhere and have bought several copies as Christmas gifts for friends! I know Amy would have wanted me to borrow it from the library, but I just couldn't imagine ever being without it as a reference tool and have written notes in the margins, so I just had to buy it!
Rating:
Summary: A great book
Review: I started reading these books years ago. A friend and I became tightwad buddies. We would make meals, freeze, dry, and harvest together. If you want to know how to save every penny possible, avoid holiday overspending, or anything in between this is your book. This is an easy to read money-saving bible for anyone, but really great for people trying to work toward a finacial goal such as becoming a stay at home mom.
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