The Tightwad Gazette: Big Money - Saving Guide

by Amy Dacyczyn

Having discovered that frugality is good for the bank account and the environment, Amy Dacyczyn started a newsletter for skinflints in 1989. Within a year, 50,000 cheapskates had subscribed to The Tightwad Gazette. Now Amy has collected all her wisdom into a book, and it's as good a deal as you'll find in these inflationary times. Line drawings.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Finance, Self Help, Personal Finance, How To, Money

307 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Years ago, my mom and I saw this book at a garage sale...but she didn't get it for some reason. I didn't even know what a "tightwad" was; my mom explained to me that the name was sort of a joke.

Since then, I have been known for finding items on the cheap at various places: discount stores such as the Dollar Tree and Ollie's, shops that sell used media like MovieStop (RIP) and 2nd & Charles, library sales, thrift stores, eBay, and especially garage sales. My dad and I even got our picture in the local paper browsing a nearby yard sale, which was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream; many of my friends and others I knew were featured in the newspaper, and I always wondered when I'd get my chance...and I finally did!

While this book has some good advice, much of it either doesn't apply to me or is über outdated. Since I've never wanted kids, all the discussion about children's clothes, cloth diapers and such is like talking about Mac OS X Catalina to someone who doesn't care to own a computer. Also, there is a lot of information available for free online; however, back in 1992, when this book was written, the Internet was nothing like it is today. While you likely will have to pay to go online at home, these days, you can browse the Web for free with a library card. I was glad to see that this book spoke highly of using your local 'berry; still, most public libraries now loan out eBooks, DVDs, and CDs for free, and some even have video games, believe it or not. I also didn't care for the author's bashing of some of my favorite television shows, such as Jeopardy and Ninja Turtles. That may be her opinion, but, it has nothing to do with being frugal.

So...this was a mixed bag.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a compilation of newsletters, published in the early 90s. So yes, some of the ideas are dated. Also, some of the articles don't resonate with me at all - I have no interest in cloth diapers vs disposable, or how to host a kid's birthday party for $25. The author had a lot more space available than I have... her frequent advice of "check your stash first" for art or building supplies doesn't really apply to me as I don't have room for a "stash". It's really more about the mindset. Find a way to use things you already have, rather than buying something new. Learn to repair items you might otherwise discard. Know the typical prices of the grocery items you buy, so you'll know if a "sale" is a true bargain.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is filled with so much useful information, but it is funny to read prices of items, such as food, and bemoan the fact that prices have risen in the 25 years since this books was put together. I highly recommend it to anyone trying to thrive while living within their means, rather than living the American dream of debt.

[Hardcover Hearts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is extreme. If we do go into a depression, I will be using this as my bible. The woman turned saving into a sport and I was amazed at how anal she was in her quest to save pennies. Some good ideas and then there are a lot of out there ones too.

[Abigail Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love The Tightwad Gazette! It makes me want to be thrifty, and makes me feel good about saving money, when I feel like I might be missing out.

This is a very entertaining read (at least for me. I will admit that I might not be the average reader when it comes to spending habits). Amy frequently spices up the articles with humor and personal stories, plus letters from other tightwad readers.

Some of the information is out of date (it was written in the 1990’s after all), but the basic principles are still the same, and it has some very applicable ideas (who knew you could make a postal scale from a ruler, pencil, and five quarters?).

I also like that she addresses the moral issues of some tightwad ideas, and tells you why to tightwad, not just that you should.

Overall a very enjoyable read!

[R. C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this many years ago, when I was a young mom with just one baby, and I had incorporated many of the tips and tricks into my routine. Re-reading was not as valuable as I hoped. I'd say a third of the tips are no longer relevant because of changes caused by Craigslist, eBay and the like. What was useful I was mostly already doing. I did jot down a few recipes, casserole ratios and the like.

I'd warn also that maybe twenty percent of the still modernly relevant ideas are not doable outside the middle class. Someone living under the poverty line without a car from paycheck to paycheck can't buy lots of meat when it's on sale or drive out to the burbs to go yardsaling.

[Laura]

While the majority of the tips and tricks in this book are out of date and the remainder I’d already seen on Pinterest, the spirit of the book was still helpful. Amy D. did a good job of encouraging readers to think creatively, not waste anything, and find ways to save resources in every area of life.

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The main take-away message from this book is the importance of the change in mindset that is most important when choosing to live a happy, debt-free life. Every successful journey first begins in the mind.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative.

[Fiulz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good tips. I loved the recipes.

[Michele Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Out dated, and at points extreme. But I got my idea for my free potato planter and my awesome homemade iced mocha powder from here, so...totally worth the read.

[Camille Michiko Gica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it! There are many suggestions that I may not be able to use, but there are some that are GOLD. This book also inspires me to live frugally and to especially not be wasteful.

I have significantly increased my savings in the past 3 months and would continue to do so! I have stretched out our resources for a really long time, for example, we used to buy a 12-roll toilet paper at least once every month. We are now on our 4th month and we haven’t bought toilet papers yet, we still even have extras (it’s unbelievable how teachable kids are sometimes)! Our electricity bill used to be around $300 per month but surprisingly (and half-expectedly), it now is just around $130 for the past month (we’ve cut it to more than half!!!) The kids are on board with it and we give them incentives so they help keep electricity bills down and are more mindful in using it (not in the book, but the frugal fever spreads wide and fast). And I have made a $100 grocery last for 3 weeks! I couldn’t believe it myself. We live in the Philippines (thus the different pricing) but I’ve converted the prices. Our food waste has gone down to almost nothing! Makes my heart happy. 🤩🤩🤩

In my imperfect attempt at a zero-waste lifestyle, this book pairs well with because the author values the environment and puts it into consideration as well. I am grateful to have found this book. Got it as USED, of course! 😉💖

[Anastasia]

I actually own all 3 volumes of the Tightwad Gazette, and re-read all of them 8/2019. More like "skimmed" all of them, so I'm only counting this as one book for my 2019 reading challenge.

I grew up in a tightwad house - my parents were tightwads by necessity, my dad having been laid off in the early 1980s recession. Laundry hung up to dry on the basement clothesline. Buying cases of generic corn when it went on sale at ten cents a can. Wearing hand-me-downs, garage sale finds, and cheap stuff from Meijer's that I got teased mercilessly for at school.

So, anyway, not a lot of surprises in these books for me, but every so often I re-read them and rediscover some gem that I can put into practice in my adult life.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent resource for lifestyle inspiration on living below your means. I did learn a few specific tips I will be implementing, but they real value here in in her creativity and philosophy fueled by the belief that “saving money is the means to an end... not the end itself”

I detracted a star only because the information is noticeably dated and therefore unusable in places, and while this is not the book’s fault, context does matter.

[Star Merrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a tightwad, and her ideas are right-on. So what if some of them are dated, the philosophy of waste not, want not still holds true today. Also, I read all three books. If nothing else, the recipes inside are well worth it.

[Sarah Jedd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Character research and an amazing vintage romp.

[Jean MacLeod · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book.

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Queen of Thrift!

[Cathy Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite or if date now but lots of useful bits of starting a frugal life style.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read overall but some topics, like finding the address for a company to write a complaint letter is really out of date.

[AS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series : )

[Kym · Rating 4 out of 5]

Old, but there are still many good tips for frugal living.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this back in the 90’s when it was first published. I decided to read it again as a refresher. Some things are still useful but lots of things are outdated. Wish there was a 2021 version.

[Faith Creed · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a really amazing book!

[Lori Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book! Such great ideas!

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Tightwad Gazette started out as an actual gazette – a series of newsletters written by author Amy Dacyzyn. The book is basically just a compilation of these news letters with dividers indicating the different seasons. Some of the advice is seasonal, such as creative ways to do meaningful but cheap Christmas presents. Other advice is much broader, touching on the ethics of being a tightwad and the creativity required to solve problems cheaply. The rest of the advice is somewhere in-between, discussing topics that will only be useful to people in certain situations. This includes everything from advice about raising kids cheaply to having a good yard sale to finding creative uses for old milk jugs.

Unfortunately, I don’t have kids, I’m not holding a yard sale, and I don’t buy a lot of milk. So for those and many other reasons, large sections of the book were often not applicable to me. Some of them might be eventually (for instance, I’ll definitely buy more milk when my boyfriend is around starting in December) but I’m not entirely convinced that I’ll remember such advice existed. And given the nearly complete lack of organization, I’m certain I couldn’t find it unless I knew to look for it and could use the comprehensive index.

Although a lot of the book wasn’t applicable to me now, I still scribbled down nearly a full page of topics and page numbers I think I should reference later. If you have children, even more of the author’s clever suggestions could be useful for you. Personally, I enjoyed the author’s writing style fairly well. She has a clear, straightforward manner of writing that makes her advice easy to understand. Occasionally she’ll also be really funny, although not often enough to make me excited about reading straight through the book. Usually I would still give the book a slightly better rating and put it in the category of “reference book no one else would be silly enough to read through”, but it also wasn’t well-organized enough that I could see using it as a reference book. Instead, it may be something I come back to in the future if I remember it having advice relevant to my future situation.

This review first posted on Doing Dewey.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Update February 2020: It had been a while since I'd read this book and I wanted to read it again. It did not disappoint. The review below--which I wrote six years ago--still stands.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've read this book--and the rest of the series--before, but it had been many years, so I pulled them off the shelf to read again. Even though some of the suggestions are outdated, this book never fails to spark new ideas and give me plenty to think about.

If you try to take each piece of advice at its face, you are going to be disappointed. Some suggestions are no long relevant due to changes in technology, and some were never relevant to those without large families, those living in smaller spaces, and those who live in urban areas. But to view the book in this way is missing it's overarching point.

Thrift is not about doing the specific things recommended decades ago--although some of these are timeless and hold up well--it's about seeing things in a different way. It's about rethinking all the little things you do throughout your day, and trying to figure out a way to do it more efficiently and/or at slower cost. It's about figuring out what your values are, where you can scrimp, and where you want to spend. It's about thinking outside the box when it comes to holidays, parties, gift-giving, cooking, shopping, working, investing, and just living.

There is something here for everyone, and because the books are a compilation of articles and letters from the newsletter of the same name, it's easy to skip the articles of little practical value if you so choose. However, if you are serious about being a better steward of your financial resources, I urge you to at least skim through all the articles. Often articles about a topic not particularly relevant to my situation sparked an idea about something similar which is relevant.

[jimtown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember reading parts of this years ago, and now although I didn't read every word, I've finished with it. Published in 1992, many of the ideas presented here are still viable today, but some are sadly outdated and no longer usable, such as any mention of gas prices and free, commercial paid TV, which through no fault of the author, is what took an extra half star away from this book.

I enjoyed the introduction and the writing style and that many of the ideas came from readers of Dacyczyn's original newsletters titled The Tightwad Gazette. They call her the Frugal Zealot and she will refer to herself as FZ in the book.

The ideas presented here all depend on the readers own feelings, morals and judgement as to weather they save time and money or not. I'm a word and art person, so you won't find me calculating any numbers, I'd rather go by feel than think to hard these days. I have copies of both the second and third Tightwad Gazeette books which I'm looking forward to checking out soon.

I've noticed a lot of changes in the past two years and people near me who have always been much thriftier than the rest of the country, are hurting, so it's a good time to take a refresher course in ways to stretch the dollar and pinch the penny these days. I don't mind doing without some things. I've contemplated what days without the internet would be like. It's hard to be given something and then have it taken away, but I think I could do it. Maybe go back to nature...
I'd reccommend this reading for anyone who feels the same.

[Steven Gauthier · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admire author Amy’s energy but 1992 solutions are often sadly out of date today. Still, there are occasional bits that may still work for you and Amy is fun.

Don’t be surprised if this one is never finished.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many great ideas on how to save money. You can basically sum it up as using your imagination to save money and make use of what you have. I especially like the ideas of using milk cartons as mini green houses for your plants and many other great and practical ideas.

I got a kick out of all the talk of savings at the post office. It's amazing how, in so few short years, it has become completely irrelevant. They talked a lot about letters vs using long distance. It's amazing how that has become irrelevant too. Now that Google Voice has made it so everyone can have free calls (with high speed Internet) and even if only have a land line and no Internet you can still use it for free long distant calls. It's amazing how everything but a public education and medical care goes to zero.

This book is a good follow up to "Your Money or Your Life" my current favorite for personal finances (even though it does have some major flaws). "Your Money or Your Life" would be the theory and "The Tightwad Gazette" would be the practice.