I finally own a copy of the Complete Tightwad Gazette, bought cheap of course!...

[tkkmasky]

I bought it at Half.com for $11.12 including shipping. It is a huge book, brand new and still in original wrapping. Yippie!

Ebay was selling the same book used for over $20 with $5-$10 shipping. So I think I did pretty good!

It is a great book, a must have for any cheapskate. My local library doestn't have it but even if it did I would have still bought it.

BTW....how do these frugal book publishers expect to make money selling books to tightwads? LOL.

[jcs]

Funny thing about these books for cheap,... er..., I mean frugal folks...

I went to three local public libraries a while back looking for several "frugal" titles to check out.

Every one of them (all copies, all editions) was listed as "Lost" or "Missing" or "Unavailable" (which is different from Checked Out or Reserved, somehow).

So, I think I know how lots of really cheap people get them. They steal them from the library (and of course they never pay for the book, because it costs a lot to replace a lost library book, much more than list price).

Shoot. I thought I was being "really cheap" by going to the library. Little did I know that even cheaper people would beat me to it.

[AndersonGal]

Lucky you tkkmasky!
I have always enjoyed these books.
Some of the hints are very useful and some I have to admit are too frugal for even me. But those are the ones that give you a good laugh. I have read and reread them several times (from the library & I always returned them ).

I just bought one of those Better Homes & Gardens how-to-fix-everything books at a Goodwill. I always tell my dh that I save more money by reading or owning these books then they could ever cost me.

Enjoy!

[lauseng]

How do cheapskates save money buying these books? I dunno. I'm hooked on them. I have tons of them. Of course, wouldn't you know....after the Tightwad Gazettes 1, 2, and 3 came out, they just HAD to come out with the "complete" version with extra stuff in it. So now I have 1, 2, 3 and the complete version. At least the complete version is easier to reference. The books are great, but soooo disorganized. The complete version indexes all the books together, so that's nice.

Of course, in addition to my TG collection I have most of Mary Hunt's books, other frugal living books, financial advice books, and gobs of cookbooks. Ugh! At least I use most of them.

Jackie

[kimberlY]

lauseng,

You might consider selling your original Tightwad Gazette books through Half.com. I sold my originals (volumes 1, 2, +3) for a total of about $45. I just purchased the combined volume through Half.com for $9.98 (Like New). Pretty good since I'd spent a total of $12 for the original 3!

[whitequeen96]

I LOVE the Tightwad Gazette books! I think they've got some great ideas, and they're fun to read! I find them soothing when I'm worried about money, and they've helped me justify (to some of my spendthrift friends) my decision to be a SAHM. I'd much rather scrimp a little, repair some items, and learn to do more with less, than to work at some job where I have to wear pantyhose (ugh!), drive to and from, etc. And I keep telling my best friend (who is really materialistic; odd that we're such good friends ) that I don't NEED a fancy car.

BTW, what are some of the wierder ideas you've used from the books? I'll start by admitting that I actually do save stubs from my stick deodorants and melt them in the microwave to make a new one! I probably save 2 or 3 dollars a year that way!

[tkkmasky]

One of the weirder things I do that I learned in the book is to wash plastic baggies (turned inside out) in the washing machine, because I hate to wash them by hand! Then I hang them on my indoor basement clothesline.