| Thursday, April 24, 2008 |
| Penny-pinchers, and proud of it |
 The Boston Globe article: Penny-pinchers, and proud of it profiles some frugal area families. A sinking economy has forced many to make amends for spending sins of the past. But for Robinson, her husband, Todd, an electrical engineer, and countless other kindred spirits, frugality is a way of life, pretty much hardwired from childhood. Their thriftiness comes in a wide variety of intensities - just Google "frugal" and count the 7.2 million ways - but most of them seem to possess a passion for doing more with less.
Salem State College marketing professor Joseph Aiyeku calls the phenomenon "voluntary simplicity," a term coined by American philosopher Richard Gregg to describe the "sincerity and honesty within, as well as avoidance of exterior clutter" he observed while traveling in India in the 1920s.
[...]
"I went years without calls, and all of a sudden I am getting calls again," said Amy Dacyczyn, 52, a mother from Maine who launched a monthly newsletter, The Tightwad Gazette, during the 1990 recession. Full of penny-pinching essays and quirky tips - how to create hammocks and volleyball nets from plastic six-pack rings was a favorite - the publication attracted legions of followers. Six years, three books, and more than 60,000 subscribers later, Dacyczyn decided she'd said everything she wanted to, and retired to spend more time with her children. The article also has an audio slideshow - Secrets of the penny pinchers - which provides some money saving tips and lets you hear an amazing example of a Boston accent - as a clue who you should wait to hear from, the owner of the accent is pictured above. Enjoy!Labels: Money Stories |
| posted by Boston Gal @ 10:35 AM *
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| 3 Comments: |
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My mom used to get the Tightwad Gazette! In fact, we even made a soccer goal net out of six pack rings. It was NOT functional - if you kicked the ball too hard into it, the rings would break. It would work for smaller kids, I suppose. (We ranged in age from 3 to 11.)
Anyway - being frugal is back en vogue, and the environment might benefit from it.
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I used to subscribe to 'Tightwad Gazette' also. It was my first introduction to the term 'dumpster diving' which I haven't done. There was also a article about how to bury a person in a handmade casket, etc, saving undertaker costs. But mostly it was sound advice, with heavy reliance on recycling, saving money by cooking at home, wasting nothing, buying clothes and games at yard sales, etc. Amy was ahead of her time!
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The Complete Tightwad Gazette is an amazing, amazing book written by a remarkable woman. I'd love to see a blogger do an interview with Amy D. - many thousands of people would be interested in knowing how she is doing.
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My mom used to get the Tightwad Gazette! In fact, we even made a soccer goal net out of six pack rings. It was NOT functional - if you kicked the ball too hard into it, the rings would break. It would work for smaller kids, I suppose. (We ranged in age from 3 to 11.)
Anyway - being frugal is back en vogue, and the environment might benefit from it.