The Complete Tightwad Gazette

Rating:
Summary: The best collection of Money saving advide I have found
Review: I originally bought my Tightwad Gazettes at used book stores and going out of business sales. And even at over half off for each htis collection is still less money. I am planing on getting the Complete Tightwad Gazette soon. I have read the one in the library and there is even more info than is in the first three books.
I have read some odd negative reviews about this book and have to wonder if the folks actually read it.
Why yes she does cover some over the top tightwad ideas. Ussually she is discussing the results of tests she has done on ideas that readers sent in. The dumpster diving even she says she isn't into. But she offers the whole range of tightwad ideas that are out there. She calculates numbers extensively to see the actual truth of the matter, because she had a business of finding out the cheapest way for her readers.
And some have complained about her suggesting bread crumb cookies. You should try them sometime. I found a recipe for them in an old Hershey cookbook. Those things are GOOD! Very rich so you want to cut them into small squares.
Her kids must have a wonderful time. She only takes them to two scheduled activities a month. Much less stress than these poor kids whose parents pick them up from day car run them to scheduled activites every day and then have them doing their homework until 10 pm because they were at some practice for 2 hours and then never got any free time to relax. I hated my 2 hours of drill team practice 6 days a week when I was a kid. I wish my mom had let me spend time with my friends instead.

And the tips are wonderful. I use the bread recipe that is in the last issues every week (you can make any sort of bread you want with it). I also make the crustless quiche all the time. Only takes 2 eggs and you don't have to ake a pie crust (I haven't learned to make a good pie crust yet). All the recipes are easy! She calculates the hourly wage for each activity to determine if the idea is actually worth the time it takes. Some low wage things she does anyway because the results are more rewarding.
But while she gives a wide range of tightwad ideas she also repeatedly states that every idea isn't for everyone and that you have to decide for yourself which ideas suit your life. Which is why she discusses some thigns that she doesn't do herself.

And just to let you know I live in a small suburban house with a tiny yard and still found this book to be very useful. I read it every day that it isn't loaned to a friend.

Rating:
Summary: Useful, interesting, eye-opening
Review: Of the books that I bought last year, this has proven to be the most useful. I find myself constantly referring to it. It is a very good reference book, and I recommend it to everybody. The book is loosely structured, but it has a good index at the back, so it is not really a problem. The author covers not only the obvious topic of thrift, but also more general topics such as how to set goals, how to be creative and so on. It is really more than "just" about how to save money. Reading this book made me realize that I have far more options concerning what to do with my life than I thought before.

I have read the book from cover to cover once, but I read bits and parts of it almost everyday. Everything in it is not for me, but it is interesting to read about, and it makes me think in a new way. It instructs the reader, as the author writes, not only in specific ways to save money, but also explains the method of saving money, which makes it so much more valuable.

The book has some really good "universal recipes", that I have tried with much success. It is also, in a sense, a good book about home-keeping. The attitude of the author is wonderful and priceless. The most important thing to learn from this book is that you are, actually, in control of your own life, and you have the possibilities you wish, you only have to recognize them. No, you cannot have everything, but if you prioritize, you can have what is important to you. This is really a book about how to live the good life.

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Summary: If only I knew then what I know now!!!!
Review: I have learned so much from reading this book. I saved over... in the first two months! I quit my job to stay home with my children after numerous daycare disasters, and this book has paid for itself numerous times. I am sure if you ask her kids if they prefered to be raised by their parents and have nice, clean, gently used assests or raised by strangers in a daycare environment and have new things......not really an issue is it? This book teaches things we should already practice; our children need love and strong family ties, not the newest and coolest with seldom seen parents.

I am a only child and all my possessions were bought brand new so I speak from personal experience....I can not remember one thing that was ever purchased for me that was better than it would have been to have my mother home with me instead of being in daycare! For parents fortunate enought to stay home, this book give you the know how to make it work. True not all of her ideas are usefull for everyone, but this is a ONE-SIZE-FITS-MOST kinda book.

She also teaches you how to cook from scratch and gives you facts to back up her advise. When she writes "this" is cheaper, she tells you how and why, as in pre-packaged vs homemade. I could go on and on, but get her book and read it instead.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely fabulous book!
Review: My mother introduced me to the first Tightwad Gazette. At that time, I wasn't interested. Then, after experiencing several life altering experiences which were very unpleasant, I read the book again and was completely transformed!! This is a book which needs to be sent to every CEO in the U.S. I bought all three books as each was released, loaned them to a friend, never saw them again. I was thrilled recently to see this book in my local library and immediately purchased it. I'm just disappointed that she is no longer publishing the newsletter and also that I never let her know how much she changed my family's life! The book contains something for everyone, if you take the time to read every page. If you skim through, you'll think she's nuts, but if you carefully read each chapter, you'll find that this is the advice all grandparents would give today's grandchildren; waste not want not, a penny saved is a penny earned, etc. As a result of this book, I have also begun reading many simplicity books and have made significant changes in my life which has greatly improved my life as well as that of my family. Whatever you are doing now Amy, I'm sending you my thanks!! Oh, by the way, I was raised the same way you are raising your children. It's not child abuse!

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Summary: This book helped change me!
Review: I have read this book from cover to cover five times! The newsletter format in which it is printed is actually a good thing, because instead of skipping over to the points which I thought would help my spending habits the most, I was forced to read the entire thing...which enabled me to change many more aspects of my spending. Each time I read it, I absorb something new. This book has helped change my life for the better! I highly recommend to everyone, those deeply in debt, or just considering subtle lifestyle changes.

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Summary: She's got a farmhouse with abarn you know.
Review: I really did not like this book.I got sick of reading about the farmhouse and barn (you only have to mention it once).I don't know why she had six children if she can't feed them,maybe she had them to fill up her barn.I agree with another reviewer who said she is giving her kids the idea that they are not worth it.It's ok for kids to have second hand clothes and toys but it's also nice for them to have new stuff to (she could buy things in the sales).She has no balance.
There are better books out there to save money I say buy one of them instead.

Rating:
Summary: The best money I ever spent on any book
Review: This book changed my life. I read it seven years ago, when I was an undergraduate and had no money. My future husband and I changed our consumption patterns dramatically and were able to save a tremendous amount of money. Now we own our own home with a very low mortgage and have adopted a superfrugal lifestyle. Both of our cars are paid for, and our bills are the lowest of anyone on our street. Amy Dacyzyn's works are not for people who are not open-minded. The most valuable thing in her books is getting the reader to change their orientation towards money and material goods, and to see possibilities that exist but are overlooked. When you see how cheaply you can buy practically anything (books, clothing, furniture, cars, kitchen stuff)used (usually for 1/10 the price new, or less), and how many alternatives there are to spending money (I am working at the grad school at which I am getting my master's, thereby saving $15,000 a year),you realize how foolish it is to spend your hard-earned money when you don't have to and on things that have no capacity to retain value. Amy says herself that not every idea is for every reader. Different people will embrace different parts of this work. This book is especially useful for people who have not been reared or were only partially reared with the cultural knowledge to become blackbelt tightwads.

Rating:
Summary: I had a hard time putting this book down!!!!
Review: I couldn't believe it, I thought I knew about everything on how to save money, and that it just wasn't working for me. Well I was wrong! This book has so many great ideas, I don't know how I ever lived without it. It has changed my way of going about things, and I don't mind saying, actually taught me we did have money we could save, we just had to change a few things. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is struggling to make ends meet. Expecially if you either want or have a family. It shows you that you can raise kids and still have fun without spending so much money to do it.

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Summary: Not only the *hows* of saving money, but the *whys* as well
Review: This is a great book to own if you need advice on how to save money. Amy Dacyczyn gives tons of money saving ideas. Many readers may feel she goes overboard in her quest to save money, but for those in a really tight spot, her "overboard" ideas may prove extremely helpful. Not all her ideas are "overboard" though; many are things anybody could do.

This book is a compilation of the author's newsletters she published for several years. There are also three separate volumes of this book available; Tightwad Gazette Volumes One, Two, and Three. This book contains all three of these volumes, plus about ninety pages of additional articles.

I like this book because it not only gives tips for saving money, the author also goes into *why* you should save money. When I bought this book I thought I wanted to save money; what I didn't know is that I wanted a more simple life. Many money saving practices lead to a more simple life, which I discovered after reading this book. If you want a more simple, slower-paced life than what you have now, you may want to get this book because it will give you lots of ideas on how to do that. I don't think the author intended to lead people in this way; that's just how it worked for me.

It's also a valuable reference book. If you have a specific problem, you can look it up in the index for potential solutions. For example, last year my washing machine started to leak. Instead of running out to buy a new one or calling a repair man, I turned to the index of this book and found a solution to fixing the leak: a $3 tube of "liquid steel" which I bought at a hardware store and my husband applied that night! Worked great!

The author has a straighforward and yet humorous writing style which I find refreshing. This book is well worth the price.

Rating:
Summary: an eye opener
Review: This book is amazing. Packed with tons of advice, extremely entertaining, incredibly useful and most importantly INSPIRING.

This book showed me a whole new way of thinking about how I spend my money. It truly opened my eyes. I always thought I lived in a thrifty way (I don't typically blow cash on new gadgets etc like some of my friends and relatives do!) but I was shocked at how many areas in my life were 'leaking' money without my even being aware of it! Suddenly, as a result of reading this book, I realized I was living on a slowly sinking ship, throwing big buckets of water overboard (not making unecessary big purchases etc) but oblivious to the countless leaks that had sprung and were leaking water (money)! It took a close inspection of all areas of my life to find those sneaky leaks and I still continue to look for more. Some obvious examples are unneeded phone services I was paying for, using my bank's 'bank online' service for $[money] a month when I could just go to individual company websites and pay my bills for free etc. Just by making a few changes (the biggest being cutting down on buying snacks etc outside of home) I'll save approx. $[money] a year, and I've only just gotten started.

I also found this book to be extremely entertaining- I probably spent WAY too much time reading through it when I first bought it (time that I should have been studying- I'm a college student). It's a pleasure to read and a pleasure to put into practice.

I highly recommend this book!