Frugal Find of the Week

I wandered down to our local library yesterday and came home with The Life of Edgar Sawtelle and The Majic Bus. The second title was pure serendipity; it's an account of a history professor who takes off across country with 17 students (college seniors) to learn hands on about American culture. The book I was looking for was The Complete Tightwad Gazette.

It took two Half-Price Bookstores to find it. We have done most of our bookshopping here for the past year. I've found that each location tends to reflect the reading tastes of the surrounding neighborhood. (Is that my imagination?). In south Olathe, there was nary a copy to be found. I looked in cooking, home improvement, even the business section.

Then, we traveled to the Metcalf branch. Immediately, I found all three volumes in one, shelved in the personal finance section! I paid $8 for a book that is still selling at $22.95 retail.

I stayed up very late last night, gleaning frugal tips we haven't yet thought of. This author, Amy Dacyczyn, washes out baggies and reuses aluminum foil! She addresses those who poke fun at tightwads, as Jason did several posts ago when I marveled at crushed ice made in a plastic jug. She has me pondering how much people pay for simple services that their "chasing a dollar" lives render them too busy to do for themselves...