[Scribe]

So I'm reading Tightwad III. I have a copy of the first one and haven't read the second (because my library oddly had I and III but not II). And I just can't keep it to myself any longer.

Amy Dacyczyn bugs the crap out of me.

At first, I was totally with her. Realize the vale of your time, and how much work really costs you. Got it. But she's SO preachy, and she makes this equation between "not frugal the way she is" and stupid that I just can't handle. She also seems to sort of fudge the truth on some things to make it seem as if all options are equal and it's just a matter of being smart enough to save. Um, no. Powdered milk and real milk are not the same things.

I think there's a line between frugal/thrifty (good) and cheap/miserly (bad), and I think she crosses it.

Does anybody else here really not care much for her? If so, are there other people who write similar books you prefer? I could use a recommendation.

 

[mightymoo]

I just take what I think is useful and drop the rest. I don't really care if powdered milk costs less, I've tried it its awful. I guess I agree, she does go further than I would, but I just discard what I don't find useful.

 

[Em T]

I agree about sorting out the ideas that make sense to you & ignoring the rest which is indeed miserly & cheap. What I would love to see or read is an update on how her family is doing now & if they're all still with the program or have revolted.

 

[mightymoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Em T I agree about sorting out the ideas that make sense to you & ignoring the rest which is indeed miserly & cheap. What I would love to see or read is an update on how her family is doing now & if they're all still with the program or have revolted.

Yeah, that would be interesting!

 

[BetsyS]

An update would be interesting. I love Amy Dacyczyn, but I can see how she'd get on folks' nerves.

For me, powdered milk and real milk are the same. Awful, yucky, smelly stuff that goes in baked goods. (no cereal gets eaten in this house

)

 

[mightymoo]

Thought I'd google and see if I could find an update article or something, I did find that she is listed in the phone book as still living in leeds, maine. My bet is that they are financially independant, so since she no longer needs the income, we haven't heard from her. You could always call and ask

 

[susienjay]

One of the "tips" in the Tightwad Gazette is someone mentioned finding a carseat set out for trash and then trash picking it. The person called the manufacturer and didn't know if it had been in an accident so the company sent out a new seat. I consider this dishonest, not a frugal tip. There's a few others in there that bug me.

I do like the Tightwad Gazette books overall. They are the first books that really made me think about how I spend my money. You may like Miserly Moms better. It didn't seem as extreme or preachy to me.

 

[nadia105]

There were some things I found very useful in the Tightwad books, but Amy Dacyzyn does kind of get to me too. She does seem to cross the frugal vs. cheap line on a lot of things, there were a TON of things in the books that I found myself saying 'no way!' to along the way.

 

[MsElle07]

She totally crosses the line for me as well. I took away a few tips, but most of it was highly annoying to me. The ways she chooses to spend her time is not the way I would ever choose to spend mine. I think I put the book away for good when she got to the "give Christmas gifts that come from trash/yard sales" part.

 

[papschmitty]

I'm reading one of her books right now. I've been trying to like her, I really have, but I have to admit that I find myself skipping over more and more in the book. I'm trying really hard to be committed to a frugal lifestyle but a lot of her suggestions are just too cheap for my tastes. I'm trying to read the entire thing and happily take what works and leave what doesn't but it's hard. I'm looking forward to finishing the book and moving on to something that speaks to me in a more profound way.

:

 

[siennaflower]

I personally found most of her advice dated and unhelpful. I was more motivated after reading Miserly Moms.

 

[dharmamama]

I think that her nutrition advice is terrible. Her sole concern is cheap, and generally with food, you get what you pay for. I would not want to have to eat her food.

dm

 

[SMC_to_be]

I remember seeing her on Dateline (or whatever) years ago. It was kind of sad. Her teenage daughter said that she got anything new ever. She had never even had a pair of shoes that hadn't been used by someone else first. She said "I just want to have one new thing just once." I just thought, Lord help her when she gets her first credit card one day.

 

[SMC_to_be]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dharmamama I think that her nutrition advice is terrible. Her sole concern is cheap, and generally with food, you get what you pay for. I would not want to have to eat her food.

Yes! The show I saw her on also followed her as she bought food at a government outlet (like 50 cents for a box of 3-year-old cereal). The food was waaaay over expiration. She said it was still okay because there was no way the government would sell food that was bad. Yep, gotta have full faith and trust in the good ole' government.

 

[1happymom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMC_to_be Yes! The show I saw her on also followed her as she bought food at a government outlet (like 50 cents for a box of 3-year-old cereal). The food was waaaay over expiration. She said it was still okay because there was no way the government would sell food that was bad. Yep, gotta have full faith and trust in the good ole' government.

PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE KIDDING?????????????

 

[gargirl]

I love her. She got us through some times when I thought there was NO WAY we could make it through. Following her suggestions and ideas got us out of debt, repaired our credit and helped us buy our first house.

The success I had with small things she suggested helped build my self confidence and helped me believe that I could takle bigger things too. I could never thank her enough for all she has done for me through her newsletter/books.

 

[LaffNowCryLater]

I kept hearing about how great her books were so I went to the used bookstore and found I and II for $4 each. I flipped through them and they looked unuseful to me- like stuff I would never do (guitar picks out of credit cards?!?!)

- so I figured I would be a tightwad and not purchase them.

ETA: Also I noticed they were published in 1992. I was only 8 then and times have def. changed!! Maybe if she made a more current edition...........

 

[Sailor]

Honestly, she annoyed me too. You're not alone!

If it's one thing I will not compromise on, it's food. I will buy from farmer's markets, and most of it is organic. I will, literally, skimp on everything else but not food. Because I think my health is really important in the long run. So, all her food saving tips just bugged the heck out of me!

I go out of my way to walk/bike so that I only take a trip to the gas station 2 times per month. I use baking soda for everything from cleaning to laundry to my hair to my body wash to my teeth. I don't buy anything processed - including breads and crackers. I make everything from scratch. I go to bed close to sundown to avoid using extra electricity. So, I am extremely frugal ... some might say miserly when it comes to everything BUT food. That goes for my dog as well. I will not feed myself crap or my dog. I HAVE to be miserly in everything else in order to pay the bills and still purchase the healthy, whole foods.

So every time I read a frugal tip on food from her, I felt like she should have prefaced it with: Warning - medical bills might ensue if you eat like this for the rest of your life.

:

 

[bwylde]

I casually browsed through the books but found nothing that either I didn't already know through experience or wouldn't want to do. I wouldn't actually go out and buy the books, reason being I am truly frugal

: .

 

[Leylla]

I have just I, and am thinking of buying the complete guide...

I consider it good fiction.

:

But no, there are a few things I have picked up and taken to heart. Just like AA, take what you need and leave the rest.

I too found the car seat thing icky, as well as her homemade formula recipe. However if a child is not getting BM, I am VERY leary of homemade formulas.

Steph