What I'm Reading: The Complete Tightwad Gazette

I just finished reading The Complete Tightwad Gazette. If you're already frugal or you're looking for ways to really save money, this is a must read! It's not for the faint of heart though. Many of the ideas in here are extreme, but even more ideas are completely reasonable.

The author, Amy Dacyczyn, a mom of six, used many of the methods in this book to save up to pay cash for her dream home in Maine. She published a newsletter from 1990-1996 about thrifty living, and this book compiles all of the newsletters from that time period.

She also tests great ideas. Do front load washing machines really save money? Do you have to fill up your dishwasher to the fill line? What's cheaper: Generic hot cocoa, a reader's recipe, or Amy Dacyczyn's recipe? She gives a cost benefit analysis of all of her topics. By the way, her last name is pronounced "'decision,' as in, 'I made a decision to marry a guy of Ukranian ancestry'" (TZ, page 7). That's the kind of humor that's peppered throughout the book. It's not just a helpful read, it's also an entertaining read!

Some ideas are completely outdated. For example, she wrote one article about how no one would ever need a home computer. Obviously, she was wrong on that one, and I think she saw that in the later years of publishing her newsletter. And of course her prices are incredibly outdated, thanks to the huge increase in food costs in recent years. But the vast majority of her ideas are not outdated, and she shows the reader how to calculate cost per meal so that we can do it on our own, regardless of the higher prices in 2010. The best part about reading this book is that it is HUGE and takes a long time to get through. Why is this a good thing? It's great because every day, I read a few more pages, and it forced me to look at my home and my life in a new way. Most of us, myself included, have a consumer mindset. When we need something, we run to the 24-hour Wal-Mart and pick it up, instead of making do with what we already have. Our moms and grandmothers had to be crafty and creative, which is why my mom can make a peach cobbler at least 5 different ways, depending on what ingredients she has on hand. It's a lost art. Reading The Complete Tightwad Gazette helped me to completely change my perspective on purchases.

If you're a true tightwad, then borrow this book from a friend (I did) or check it out of the library. If those options aren't possible, buy it used. It's worth every penny.