The Tightwad Gazette III

I have all three of the Tightwad Gazette books, and they are all fabulous. True, some of Amy's ideas are a little extreme, but, then again, do we all decorate our cookies with as much precision as Martha Stewart? The point is to go through the book and pick out the ideas that work for you. Using Amy's tips, I have managed to sock away enough money to fund an emergency savings account and pay for a trip to Paris.

Anyone who has ever felt a little envious of a neighbor or said "Gee, I wish could afford a house/staying home with the kids/starting a business/traveling/etc." MUST read one of Amy's books. The basic philosophy as I understand it is just this: skip the temporary, one-time expenditures and spend the bucks on a more lasting investment (house/kids/business/early retirement/whatever YOU dream of). I received an economics degree not too long ago, and I recognized Amy's philosophy immediately as essentially the basic "guns-or-butter" discussion from ECO101, the basic problem of limited resources and economic choice. The idea in class, as in real life, would be to MAXIMIZE the VALUE received for the dollars, not just buy whatever until you're broke and then figure out what you got for it.More than any other author I have seen, Amy challenges her readers to examine their own values and utilize all of their creativity and intelligence to maximize the value they receive for their money. This is NOT a "don't shop when you're hungry, use coupons, and gee, try to pay down your mortgage" book. Amy provides an impressive array of real, creative, effective methods to slash waste of resources: money, time and the enviroment. The books teach you to THINK in a "tightwaddy" (economic) way and take real control of your future according to your own value system, instead of just throwing out a handful of one-time-only "tips". I can honestly say it brought microeconomics home to me and changed my life.

Other tightwad books are out there. Most of them are not by Amy Dacyczyn. Therein lies tjhe difference. Her books are original, well-researched, and full of ideas that will HONESTLY save you money. It's clear from the choices the Dacyzyns have made that they practice what they preach. The books are not padded with recipes, but those that do get included are usually good. I sorely miss the newsletter but reading through this book and the other two vols. is always a tightwad boost.

Anyone that is tired of having "more month at the end of the money" needs this book (and the other Tightwad Gazette books). There are many helpful money saving ideas in all 3 books. This book (and the other 2) are VERY MOTIVATIONAL when my "tightwad resolve" is slipping. I read these books over and over and over again. They will help the "budding" tightwad and the "old-hand" tightwad with new ideas or just remind you of things you already knew but forgot.

As the successful founder of "The Tightwad Gazette," a penny-pinching newsletter, Amy Dacyczyn is the most dangerous woman in consumer America, the land where anything new is good, anything old must be thrown away, and you can't be too rich, too thin, or too much in debt.The Gazette is a combination of practical advice and investigative reporting, spiced with Dacyczyn's essays explaining her philosophy behind tightwaddery and debunking cultural myths. But the book is more than a collection of ideas on how to cut your family's food bill, shop for inexpensive clothing and in general obtain more for less. Dacyczyn's tightwadist philosophy is a unique mixture of New England make-do spirit -- epitimized by the phrase, "use it up wear it out, make it do or do without" -- and the consumer desire to have what we want. Being a tightwad does not mean doing without everything, Dacyczyn explains, but if you choose to do without things you do not care for, you can afford the things you want. Simple trade-offs like packing your lunch instead of eating fast-food, buying clothes at consignment shops, and haunting yard sales, can help you afford that car, that house, that trip that you really want. It becomes apparent from reading the Gazette that penny-pinching can be a full-time job, but one that can yield astonishing rewards to those willing to take the trouble to investigate it. Dacyczyn's books offer promising, even heart-lifting advice that can help families find the road to financial security. -- Bill Peschel