At one point I had the 4 Tightwad Gazette books, but I seemed to have lost them when I moved. Last year I purchased II and III used online. You can find them for as little as a few dollars on Ebay, Half.com or Amazon.com. You can probably also find them at your local public library.
Each book offers valuable tightwad tips, strategies and recipes. One strategy that is a real money saver is using meat as a condiment, rather than the main part of the meal. Kind of like homemade Hamburger Helper to stretch the budget. (Think of Spaghetti with Meat Sauce or Beef Stroganoff.) I try sneaking in this strategy once in awhile and am successful, depending on what the dish is. My family easily threatens mutiny when I go to extremes.
Lola's Victory Garden
©2009
4 comments:
I really love the new blog Lola. Some wonderful tips here.
Jodi
Oh, I used to get Amy's Tightwad Gazette Newsletter--years ago, before she sold the name off. Are these books written by Amy (I can't remember how to spell her last name, but it was pronounced "decision")? I kinda drew the line when she wouldn't buy her kids new shoes--ever. I'm thinking used shoes aren't the best for kids. Or she would save the last remnants of the ketchup jar and make soup out of it. She was one frugal babe, I tell you.
@ Jodi -Thank you!
@ Lin - Amy Dacyczyn. They were all written by her. The books date back to 1992. The most recent tightwad book is "The Complete Tightwad Gazette" which was published in 1998. "America's Cheapest Family" was published in 2007. It depends on the condition of the shoes. When my kids were little they went through shoes like water and I did get some shoes at resale shops that looked brand new. I've also gotten adult size shoes from my local freecycle that were brand new. People buy the wrong size and scuff them and can't return them so they either freecycle them or garage sale them. I got my daughter a brand new pair of Nike's sneakers, 2 brand new pair of designer flats that went for $90 and $160 new. Sadly only the Nike's fit my daughter so I freecycled the others on to someone else. I would never use someone else's very used shoes, but the ones that are new or like new are ok.
I was just thinking about these books the other day. I used to get the newsletter. I wonder where we put them?
Looking for the books used is a good dea, though.
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