Trent from Simple Dollar tracked down Amy Dacycyzn of the Tightwad Gazette
. Her practical creativity inspired a lifestyle of less consumption in so many of us.Did you know she joined a gym? I wish he had asked about the kids.
Above, my well-worn copy from college.
UPDATE: 2009 interviews with Amy Dacycyzn author of The Tightwad Gazette:
27 comments:
I am glad you caught this interview too, P.S. when is your due date, mine is Oct 22.
Angel
Thanks for the tip! I love Amy's writings and I'm fascinated by the number of people she has influenced through her writing! What a legacy!
"We have a lot of free time now that our children have moved out."
That statement from Amy D. gave me a jolt! How time flies. . .
Thanks for the link. I enjoyed reading the interview.
Maybe just some of her kids move out.......the twins are not that old ? I have often wondered what became of her and Jim - she should update the books.
lizzie
I never brought her books. I did however recieve every one of the newsletters. I have kept them all these years in a 3 ring binder that belonged to my son. I covered the binder is wall paper to make it look better. Now I have all the newsletters together in one place. After all these years they are still a good read. I too have thought often of the kids and wodered what line of work etc. they went into. I wonder if she has any grand children yet. It said she was 52. That is just 4 years younger than me...Roxie
Very cool.
*Jumps up and down* THANK YOU for posting an update to her. I have all of her books and have read them at least 20 times each (in the first two years that I had them). I LOVE her! She was the start of a very frugal and rewarding life for us!
I don't practice as many of her techniques as I used to, I will admit.
Oh Thank You!
I often wonder what Amy is up to!!
My copy looks very similar to yours! I bought it brand new in college, and it is how my hubby and I survived paying for school and rent and eating.
Thanks for the heads up. I have Simple Dollar on RSS, but don't have access to those feeds from home!
Wasn't it exciting to discover that interview? As I told Trent in the comments, I have googled Amy serveral times and never came up with anything current. I'm dying to know how he scored that interview!
wasn't this a great interview to read? My copy looks a bit tattered, too, I just love that book. Any time I feel frustrated with trying to live frugally, I pull it out for a motivation booster :)
Thanks so much for that link! I've often wondered what became of her. So strange to read that the kids have moved out since they're forever young in my mind since they're immortalized in print.
I was so happy to see that interview! I love the book (I have the big complete one) and it has been such a help to me over the years. I always wondered what she was up to.
Lucky Trent, actually getting to chat with her!
Jennifer
My copy looks pretty rough, too. It's hardback but I keep it out to browse through - it's almost never on the shelf!
I really need to get one of these...I keep hearing about it on a lot of blogs.
I must go right away and read his post. I was just thinking of Amy the other day and wondering what she and her family are doing these days. Thanks for sharing the info.
I thought the same thing exactly: I wished he had asked about his kids. The interview was OK, not very many questions answered.
I would love to know how he managed to track her down. That would be a dream interview to conduct.
Ha, I liked her saying her advice is embarrasing outdated now! Kinda true in a way, but her book was great for me and Paul when we got married 17 yrs ago. Still have our copy too.
Yay, she joined a gym. Whatever works, I say! :)
You already know this, but I felt I should remind you.
God has a wonderful plan for you and your family. It is not dependent upon your worthiness, but because He loves giving His children good gifts. Meanwhile, continue to keep your focus on Him. Trust Him. Question Him. Wait expectantly.
One of my favorite books, I couldn't put it down and read it nonstop for weeks.
Here's a hug for you, Meredith. :)
I hope you're camping trip went well! (And, if it's any consolation, I just got back from our annual camping trip- with a sick toddler- and I know I still enjoyed it much more that any trip I've had at Disneyland!) :)
Blessings to you,
Michele :)
www.frugalgranola.blogspot.com
OMG! I had every single issue of Amy's newletters until about two years ago. I also had all of her books and still have "The Complete Tightwad Gazette". I finally trashed all the newsletters, except for the issue about the Great Depression. I just could not part with that one written by her readers that lived through those very hard days--My parents and my husband's parents all lived through the depression. Thanks for the link, loved the interview with Amy.
I know I am in the minority here, but I could never believe that anyone could be as downright tight as that woman and have any pleasure in life. She researched everything to death and knew what EVERY. SINGLE. THING. cost. But what turned me off completely to her was that she MADE her children eat whatever she sat in front of them. I actually won a year's subscription to her magazine because she published a comment I had written saying I hoped she was forced to eat stuff she didn't want when she was in a nursing home (I figure karma is hell). I mean, come on, children may be getting sick and are not hungry or just really hate a particular thing. A bite, ok; eat everything served, ridiculous. Just my two cents. I wonder if she is turning loose of some of the money she now has or is still hoarding it up. If she joined a gym (I haven't read interview yet), she probably knows how much per second it costs to work out. Too extreme for me!
We didn't follow her advice on food, but I do wish I had been *less* accomodating with my 1st child.
I think that's why we were all so excited about an interview with her.
What changed about her philosophy over the years? Did she soften? Did she get tired of doing the little things?
interI can't find the interview.
and to the woman who had posted that it was mean to expect a child to eat whatever was put in front of him/her that's the way it was in the poor home I grew up in the foothills of NC. We were not allowed to go to the fridge or downstairs in the canned food cellar to obtain something else. If we did not eat what was put in front of us, then the attitude was Oh well, you must not be very hungry. Of course, also, once I reached the age of about 9, I and my sister were doing almost all of the cooking, (so we learned to expect folks to eat what our hardworking hands had prepared), and we all did all of the gardening, feeding the animals (that eventually fed us), etc.
Thanks for posting the updates on Amy. The Tightwad books meant so much to me during my single parent years. I still remember the thrill of finding a small, sturdy table sitting outside a dumpster, just waiting for me to take it home. If it hadn't been for Amy's stories about dumpster diving, I would never have noticed it.
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