If you are into a frugal lifestyle or saving money at all, I am sure you have heard of Amy Dacyczyn and her book The Complete Tightwad Gazette. In the early nineties, she published a newsletter The Tightwad Gazette, and this book is a compilation of all those newsletters, filled with frugal advice, articles and tips on how to save money with everything you do.

 

And with everything, I really mean everything! There's no area in life where Amy doesn't have a way to save. Some of the advice is really extreme - I know many people who wouldn't dumpster dive or ever only buy used clothes, even if they were in a tight spot.

 

But that's ok. This book is not the Bible on how to live frugally, but a collection ov advice and inspiration. Every person can choose the ideas they feel bring the most for them.

 

For me, it was the inspiration I got from this book that made me read it twice in a few weeks' time (it's over 900 pages). I first just read through it, and the second time round I marked the pages I found especially valuable. I tagged pages with great, inspiring articles like "The Time and Money Chart" (counting the actual monetary savings per hour per activity) or "Selective Squeamishness" (on how silly out selective fear of germs is - think of buying used sheets "gross" and sleeping in a hotel in their sheets "perfectly normal").

 

I also tagged many recepies like Homemade Chili and the Universal Quiche and some good tips like how to make potholders out of old blue jeans.

 

But the best this book really gave me is the feeling that a frugal lifestyle is not weird, and it can help you reach your goals. I grew up in a very thrifty home where saving money from everywhere was a standard practice. After getting a good job and moving together with my DH who doesn't come from a frugal home, I've let many of my frugal ways go. I'd like to get some of them back, and that was one of the reasons I bought this book. I have goals for which I am saving money for, and I am sure frugality can help me get there sooner.

 

This book is a keeper for me. I don't have many books in my library anymore, but this one stays! It's fun, it's inspirational, and even though a lot of information only applies to the US or is outdated, the vast majority is still useful today. I like this book and plan on browsing through it many times more!

Blog categories