TIGHTWAD GAZETTES I, II, III

A penny saved is a penny earned”

            -Benjamin Franklin

TIGHTWAD GAZETTES I, II, AND III

By: Amy Dacyczyn

Genere: Non-fiction, Frugal living

First off my confession.  I didn’t just read these three books for the first time.  I have read them over and over ever since the very first one came out.  I re-read them at least once a year because every time I read them I find another good helpful hint. 

While a few of the things in them are now out of date (like uses for film cans—who uses film any more?) and many things (like saving money on diapers) don’t relate to my family or lifestyle now I do still find a wealth of info in them.

From recipes, like her refrigerator dough potato bread that has a myriad of uses, to using wall paper samples to mat pictures the number of money saving tips in the three books is amazing.

Amy once wrote a newsletter that people from all across the nation subscribed to and sent helpful hints to.  In the beginning she included many of these wonderful ideas in the books.  As time went on she added more and more of her own frugal saving ways and three books worth of golden knowledge were the result. 

While there are some repetitions in the books, especially in book three it is worth your time to spend quality time with all three books if you are truly interested in saving money.

While she dropped pretty much out of the public eye after publishing her third book and appears to not have a webpage, that I could find, I did find an interesting article written about an interview with her in 2009

She apparently still holds the same core values she had when she and her family were in the public eye.  It also appears she listens to Dave Ramsey.  A huge plus in my book.

Anyway, this review is about all three of her books.  I rate them highly for their shared wealth of money saving ideas as well as the fact she gives credit where credit is due for the ideas sent to her by others.

I give this newsprint book an A.

Jan who has a long list of “economizes” she has developed from reading these books in OK

CONFESSIONS OF A BUTCHER, Eat Steak on a Hamburger Budget and Save $$$

A man loves the meat in his youth that he cannot endure in his age.
William Shakespeare

CONFESSIONS OF A BUTCHER, Eat Steak on a Hamburger Budget and Save $$$

Author: John Smith

Genre: Non-fiction, Frugal Living, Cookbook, Butchering

As I listened to the early morning news shows talking about how meat prices were escalating I thought of this book.  I’ve actually owned it for several years, but periodically refer back to it.

I first became familiar with it after I had spoke with a few butchers on how to cut large pieces of meat to meet my family’s needs for lower prices. One of them recommended this book.  To this day I thank him.

The hundred or so pages explain how often various cuts of meats ranging greatly in price are actually all the same piece of meat.  He explains how to cut, or substitute a far less expensive piece of meat for the same taste at a much lower price.

Here is an example of the information included in the book to give you an idea of the savings you could reap with just the knowledge in this book.

From page 7: “The rib eye is the same cut of beef as the prime rib or rib steak but without the bone.  Both the rib steak and prime rib are quite a bit cheaper than the rib eye (often two to three dollars a pound cheaper). Purchase whichever is cheapest.  If prime rib is cheaper ask the butcher to cut it into steaks for you.”

He then goes on to say that the eye of chuck steak, which is even cheaper than the other meats previously listed, is basically the same cut of meat as rib eye.  That it does have a little more marbling and may be slightly smaller, but they are the way to go for a good grilling steak at a much more reasonable price.

Since reading this years ago we’ve learned how to cut a good quality chuck roast into nice steaks, especially if we are marinating, for the charcoal grill.

The book deals with various cuts of beef, lamb, veal, pork, and chicken (did you know a roasting chicken is just a fat frying chicken?—compare the prices of the two in the grocery then go looking for a good size fryer to roast)

Later on in the book are a few recipes.  There are several helpful hints on cutting up the meat yourself if your local grocery does not have a butcher.

I would say this little book is worth its weight in gold, but that would be short changing the book because it is small and the money I’ve saved over the years from the knowledge I gained from is worth far more than that.

Jan who says save serious cash on meat costs and feed your family well in OK