Amy Dacyczyn

The Complete Tightwad Gazette has got to be the best purchase I have ever made, with the possible exception of my kindle, and I didn't even pay full price. Thanks to a gift voucher I won for Powell's Books, I was able to acquire this book for the cost of postage.

When I first received this book, I was advised to read it cover to cover first, then go back through it with a notebook and write down all tips I think are relevant to my family. I have just finished reading it for the first time and show more I can understand why I was advised to read it this way. This three-in-one book is so chock full of useful information that I would have quickly been overwhelmed if I had started copying tips from the get-go.

The Complete Tightwad Gazette is not a dry, boring list of hints and tips. Rather it is a seemingly random selection of articles, written in an engaging and personal style that keeps the reader entertained and prevents boredom. The length of book seems daunting at first, but the articles capture the imagination so well that, despite the more than nine hundred pages, one is left hungry for more.

Off the top of my head, my top ten tightwad gazette tips are:

• The universal recipes. I love these because they are so easily adapted to utilise whatever I have in my cupboard.
• Selective Squeamishness. So your potato has a brown bit on it. Cut around it - the rest of the spud is still good. Same goes for fruit that has had one or two bites taken out - no need to discard the entire thing.
• Dumpster Diving (or scrounging trash piles left out for pick-up). It is absolutely amazing the stuff people will throw away. We have found some perfectly good toys, clothes and furniture this way - some with minor faults (such as a missing draw handle), others in brand new condition. We even got ourselves a perfectly good working vacuum cleaner this way.
• Thrift Stores and Garage Sales. Second hand does not mean second best. Plus, your wallet will love you!
• Price Book. Having a price book is a great way to keep track of when and where various food items are cheapest.
• Learn to Sew. Knowing how to repair that small tear will make your kids' clothes last so much longer - and you will be able to utilise the material when clothes are no longer useable.
• Make time to cook. Even if it means getting up a little earlier in the morning. Home-cooked snacks are a lot cheaper than store-bought and your kids will like them much better.
• Libraries. Join your local library. They generally stock the most popular books. If, like me, your tastes are a little less common, you can still save money by getting what you can from the library and only buying those books they don't have.
• Re-use. With a little imagination and a small amount of effort, almost everything that comes into your home can be re-purposed. Turkey nets can be used to drain bath toys, a bunch of six pack rings tied together are strong enough to make a hammock, old milk cartons can be used to make dog toys or toss-and-catch games.
• Use Less. Products (like laundry detergents, shampoos and so on) generally have a recommended amount per use. However, these are not always accurate. There are two reasons for this. First, they want to sell more product and the more you use at one time, the sooner you will have to replenish. Secondly, they are unable to take account of your individual circumstances - how dirty your hair is for example or how hard or soft your water is. Experiment with different amounts of products until you find the minimum amount you need to do the job. Doing this will save you loads of money.

Not every tip in this book will suit every reader, but I challenge you to read it without finding a single article useful. show less

A collection of e-mail newsletters, written informally with a great sense of humor. Practical advice for the poor, cheap, debt-ridden, and anyone looking to improve their quality of life, reduce their carbon footprint, or go to work less!

This book is pretty darn comprehensive if you're looking for tips and tricks to save money. I would suggest it to folks with kids, as many of the tips were about bringing up children (cloth diapers, cheap toys, how to feed kids for less, etc) or home/car owners (how to fix your cars and homes as cheaply as possible). The book is a compilation of newsletters written by Dacyczyn in the 90s, and it definitely shows in the many anachronisms in this book. Hilarious to read about 29c stamps, show more earning 5% interest in savings accounts, and saving on "long distance" phone calls! show less

As many other reviewers have said, this book is compilation of frugal tips, and some tips are quite dated (the "whether you should buy a personal computer" article is a particularly good laugh). Also, some tips seem excessive - washing Ziploc bags, writing a letter rather than making a phone call (cannot even imagine trying to tell my mother-in-law that one!), never buying cold cereal, etc. And while many of these tips will be over-the-top for your average person, what I enjoyed was the show more author's tone and her explanations of how she raises her children with a frugal lifestyle. It's certainly made me think about my spending decisions, so I'd recommend this as more of a "one way to be completely frugal" rather than a "do this exactly" book. show less