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Have you ever thought it might be fun to open a business, make it a success, then close it about seven years later?
It looks as though Amy Dacyzczyn, a.k.a. The Frugal Zealot, has done just that. She's retiring after seven years of publishing her newsletter, considered by some the Bible of pennypinching. The Tightwad Gazette III is the "Final Edition" of "All the Thrift That's Fit to Print." Her newsletter has had, at various times, more than 100,000 subscribers. The first two editions of her books sold 475,000 copies collectively.
The Frugal Zealot hit a timely note for the '90s, creating a model of thrift to inspire many others. Her home-spin had the same appeal as the Beardstown Ladies' investment advice. And true to her school, she was not all that crazy about book promotion tours and talk-show appearances. The whole thing began in a farmhouse in Maine and that's where it continues. No Martha Stewart fantasies here.
In the introduction to this book, Dacyzczyn writes, ". . . with the information in this volume, I have explored most of the ways in which the average American family can save money. . . . Magazines can plug along for decades by, essentially, repeating the same old articles, but I have always refused to do that."
With this book you'll learn how to make crayons from soap and refrigerator dough from potatoes, what to carry with you to a yard sale, and how to save on dyeing wool by using Kool-Aid instead of Rit. Yes, you read right.
I liked her advice for twentysomethings: "Once you get ahead, life becomes cheaper, and you tend to continually get even farther ahead. You earn interest instead of paying interest, and the spread between the two increases daily."
Michael Pellecchia writes about business and finance books each month He can be reached at michael_pellecchia@bookpage.com.
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