The complete tightwad gazette - update on author Amy D's life through an interview.

Sweet_Pea_2

I love the Tightwad Gazette, it is great just to dip in to now and again and very inspirational.

I know Amy says she is a private person but I would love to know more about her kids and what they are doing now, how they felt about her tightwad ways when they were kids and teenagers especially, and whether they themselves have the same philosophy or whether they are just the opposite!

3v3

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver wrote: »

I now have a copy, The Complete Edition but am dismayed at the Family and US based emphasis. How do OS (I am browsing whole site and trying to suss it out) overcome this, bar googling and interpreting.

Perhaps, her advice in the interview would help on the "family" and "US based" angle

What’s the best tactic for saving money you’ve come across since you stopped writing The Tightwad Gazette?
The internet, without a doubt. There are countless ways to save money and stretch your dollar online: selling used stuff, buying used stuff you need, comparison shopping, inexpensive entertainment, inexpensive educational materials – for the price you pay for it, the internet is a spectacular bargain if you use it well.
The advice I wrote about the internet in The Tightwad Gazette in 1995 and 1996 are now embarrassingly dated – those pieces should basically be ignored today. Now, I’m online every day – I use eBay to sell stuff, get medical information, get legal information, order books through inter-library loan, and so on. I got interested in music and CD buying and selling – I used online resources to find what contemporary music I liked, then I was able to buy it through discount music sites, paying $1 to $5 per CD with shipping.

I used to have TCTW, but, I loaned it to someone and never had it returned. But, I do recall (and use) many of her ideas. Since I first heard of AmyD, my family has downsized from 5 dependant children to 2 dependant children. I've gone from a full time volunteer to mature student too; so, circumstances change and you adopt/adapt the advice to serve your own circumstances.

E.g. If her "make-a-muffin" recipe serves 4-6, either make and freeze, or, divide the ingredient list by 4-6.

US equivalents are no longer as obscure as they were a few years ago. Globalisation is here to stay and many products which could *never* be found in a UK store are now readily available (Welches Grape Jelly, Betty Crocker and Hersheys Kisses immediately spring to mind).

3v3

Seakay wrote: »

... The point is to make the savings necessary to enable you to spend money where you think it is important to do so. We aren't a cult - we are a self help group with many different sub groups!

Well put! :T

ceridwen

Certainly true that we are many different sub-groups here on O.S.

When I first found this Board I would say there were two different sub-groups on it (maybe I missed one or two - but thats what it looked like to me). These days, however, I am certainly aware of at least two other sub-groups - so theres certainly at least 4 pretty recognisable ones now.

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On a different tack - I found one of Amy D's recipes on line in someones blog yesterday (blowed if I can find it again - maybe the blogger was told to withdraw it?). Anyway - I copied out a recipe I thought I'd try for raisin oatmeal scones. I can translate okay that "baking soda" means "bicarbonate of soda" = I will use baking powder. However - she says to use "uncooked oatmeal". I am translating that into "oatmeal" means "oatmeal" and I should use the medium oatmeal I have in.

Is that correct? or does she mean "porridge oats" - in which case I would use my jumbo porridge oats.

The gist of the recipe is to mix it all together and then bake for 10 minutes if thats any help.

3v3

ceridwen wrote: »

Certainly true that we are many different sub-groups here on O.S.

When I first found this Board I would say there were two different sub-groups on it (maybe I missed one or two - but thats what it looked like to me). These days, however, I am certainly aware of at least two other sub-groups - so theres certainly at least 4 pretty recognisable ones now.

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On a different tack - I found one of Amy D's recipes on line in someones blog yesterday (blowed if I can find it again - maybe the blogger was told to withdraw it?). Anyway - I copied out a recipe I thought I'd try for raisin oatmeal scones. I can translate okay that "baking soda" means "bicarbonate of soda" = I will use baking powder. However - she says to use "uncooked oatmeal". I am translating that into "oatmeal" means "oatmeal" and I should use the medium oatmeal I have in.

Is that correct? or does she mean "porridge oats" - in which case I would use my jumbo porridge oats.

The gist of the recipe is to mix it all together and then bake for 10 minutes if thats any help.

I would suggest "oatmeal"; if they meant "oats" (as in porridge oats) they would have called it oats Because you are making scones, the oatmeal is finer than oats. Now, if it were a flapjack kind of recipe, then it would have been oats The real clue is in the end product, e.g. it is for scones. Porridge oats in scones would be a big heavy and I doubt they would resemble what we know as scones. Actually, was the recipe Raisin Oatmeal Biscuits? I think they call scones biscuits in the USA?

Hope your experiment with the recipe goes well and you come back and share your success

flippin36

I know this is an older thread but I have only just discovered tightwad gazette and have to say its very inspirational - wish I had discovered it when the kids were little as she has loads of good, free, cheap ways of keeping the little ones happy. I think she comes across as someone who is genuine. I like her attitude to raising children. I recently found this youtube video which is more up to date. Her daughter who is now grown up appears to have a really good financial head on her shoulders (even though "she was the one most likely to complain").

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUFyD-FTf-E - enjoy.