Time to Dust off those Tightwad Gazette Books

As I work around my house or as I am cooking a meal, my mind tends to wander. This can be a problem if I am baking cookies and can’t remember if I put in the baking soda. As a side note, I think someone should invent colored baking soda that loses its color when baked. Then you can see if you added it to your cookie dough or not.
I’m a dreamer, a thinker, and maybe I think too much on certain things to my own detriment.

But high prices are on my mind and have been for several weeks. How do you effectively fight higher prices? Shopping sales, using coupons, driving less are some great examples, but what else?

I surf the web and I am constantly on the lookout for any new money saving ideas. I haven’t found any in a very long time. I do have all three Tightwad Gazette books that I refer to sometimes.

After a lot of thought I feel that the key to fighting higher prices is with “time”. The more time I have, the more time I can spend on saving money. Here are some examples: I can save money on gasoline by walking or riding my bike, which take more time. I can save money on groceries by spending time on the internet scouring for great coupons, clipping coupons and organizing them. I can save money on good whole wheat bread by making my own. I can save money on clothes by hanging them up to dry so that they last longer, by making repairs to our clothes on my own and by shopping at thrift stores. I can save money on groceries by making more and more items from scratch. I can save money on gifts, by making them. I can save money on haircuts by cutting my DH’s hair. Doing our own home repairs saves money. What about gardening and preserving your own food?

All of these examples take time in order to save money. I don’t have a job outside the home so I do have the time to do all of the above. And because I am home, I feel obligated to do as much as I can in order to save money in order to combat high prices.

I mentioned the Tightwad Gazette earlier. If you have ever read these books, you will undoubtedly come to the conclusion that there are definitely a few categories of saving. Many of the tips in these books involve different levels of frugality depending on, in my opinion, how much time you have on hand and what your financial situation is like. I have followed many of the tips in these books but some I never used due to time. Not anymore.

I am making it a point during the month of March to begin to go through these books and really look at every tip. I need to re-read these books in the light of today’s economy. So, not only will March be Random Acts of Kindness month for me, but it will also be Amy Dacyczyn month. Yep, I am going to go through her first Tightwad Gazette book and hopefully each day I will post a frugal idea from the book and see if I can save some money. I will also discover how much time each idea or tip involves and see if it is something that will work for me.

In April I will continue with the second book and then in May I will finish with her third Tightwad Gazette book. March 1st begins on Tuesday. The book starts on page 3 and ends on page 295. There are 31 days in March so we I will need to read and review 9 to 10 pages each day. So, are you with me? Do you want to read along with me and look at these books from a new perspective?

It’s time to get serious. I feel as if I am at war with this economy and with high prices. So, ladies (or any gentlemen that read my blog), dust off those Tightwad Gazettes and let’s start going through the first book together.