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The Best Frugal Tool Ever
When I opened the Christmas present from my mother, I was touched, but not
entirely enthusiastic.
"The Complete Tightwad Gazette... ?"
"I know you've been really trying to save money lately," she said. "As soon as I saw
it, I knew it was the perfect gift."
And it would have been, had I not already read every book on the topic at the library
with little luck. Indeed, most books on saving money seemed to leave out the
practices that had saved me so much money--like hanging out laundry, mending
instead of tossing, developing a repertoire of vegan dinners--and focused instead
on clipping coupons, mowing your own lawn, and ideas that I imagine most
middle class families had already implemented long ago. Plus, the title was, well,
dorky.
But I can never resist a big, fat book for long, so I spent much of January cozied up
with the heavy tome and found myself enthralled and inspired. This book was
written by a veteran mom who kept a huge house and six kids comfortably on a
military retirement income. Educated and analytical, she tried every idea in a
strictly scientific manner, then calculated savings vs. time spent. In the end, this is
an enormous book with money-savers on every page. After several years of
owning The Complete Tightwad Gazette, I use it as an encyclopedia (its index, by
the way, is very user friendly) and read it straight through occasionally when I feel
like I need inspiration.
It would be blasphemous to call this the Bible of frugality, but it is the closest thing
to it. The Complete Tightwad Gazette is, in my expert opinion, the only
money-saving book worth owning. Amazon offers it new and used, both for
excellent prices. So buy the book already! You'll save its price and then some in
the first week.
While you wait, check out my Frugal Habit of the Week Archives.
When I opened the Christmas present from my mother, I was touched, but not
entirely enthusiastic.
"The Complete Tightwad Gazette... ?"
"I know you've been really trying to save money lately," she said. "As soon as I saw
it, I knew it was the perfect gift."
And it would have been, had I not already read every book on the topic at the library
with little luck. Indeed, most books on saving money seemed to leave out the
practices that had saved me so much money--like hanging out laundry, mending
instead of tossing, developing a repertoire of vegan dinners--and focused instead
on clipping coupons, mowing your own lawn, and ideas that I imagine most
middle class families had already implemented long ago. Plus, the title was, well,
dorky.
But I can never resist a big, fat book for long, so I spent much of January cozied up
with the heavy tome and found myself enthralled and inspired. This book was
written by a veteran mom who kept a huge house and six kids comfortably on a
military retirement income. Educated and analytical, she tried every idea in a
strictly scientific manner, then calculated savings vs. time spent. In the end, this is
an enormous book with money-savers on every page. After several years of
owning The Complete Tightwad Gazette, I use it as an encyclopedia (its index, by
the way, is very user friendly) and read it straight through occasionally when I feel
like I need inspiration.
It would be blasphemous to call this the Bible of frugality, but it is the closest thing
to it. The Complete Tightwad Gazette is, in my expert opinion, the only
money-saving book worth owning. Amazon offers it new and used, both for
excellent prices. So buy the book already! You'll save its price and then some in
the first week.
While you wait, check out my Frugal Habit of the Week Archives.