Frugal Luxuries: Simple Pleasures to Enhance Your Life and Comfort Your Soul [Paperback]

Tracey McBride (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1997

Tracey McBride created the newsletter Frugal Times in 1993 and has since delighted thousands by elevating the skill of living frugally to an art form.  Now Tracey's commonsense techniques for making "every day a feast" and her wisdom on how to cultivate abundance are gathered in one volume.

Tracey shows us how to savor the intangible gifts we receive when we create a nurturing home, share luscious yet low-cost meals with family and friends, master our budgets, learn to combine style and thriftiness, and cultivate our dreams and imaginations without spending a cent.

Filled with ingenious, heartwarming, and practical advice, Frugal Luxuries helps us remember what is truly of value in our lives--our time, our loved ones, and our inner sense of prosperity.  Combining the spiritual nourishment of Simple Abundance with the practicality of The Tightwad Gazette, Frugal Luxuries is destined to become the classic on how to live every day with a sense of abundance, beauty, and luxury.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"There is an incredible amount of wisdom between the covers of this book on how to live a totally fulfilling life no matter how much money you have."--Jack Canfield, co-author, Chicken Soup for the Soul

"Think of Tracey McBride as the Martha Stewart of the cheapskate set."--Chicago Tribune

From the Inside Flap

Tracey McBride created the newsletter Frugal Times in 1993 and has since delighted thousands by elevating the skill of living frugally to an art form. Now Tracey's commonsense techniques for making "every day a feast" and her wisdom on how to cultivate abundance are gathered in one volume.

Tracey shows us how to savor the intangible gifts we receive when we create a nurturing home, share luscious yet low-cost meals with family and friends, master our budgets, learn to combine style and thriftiness, and cultivate our dreams and imaginations without spending a cent.

Filled with ingenious, heartwarming, and practical advice, Frugal Luxuries helps us remember what is truly of value in our lives--our time, our loved ones, and our inner sense of prosperity. Combining the spiritual nourishment of Simple Abundance with the practicality of The Tightwad Gazette, Frugal Luxuries is destined to become the classic on how to live every day with a sense of abundance, beauty, and luxury.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (July 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553378864
• ISBN-13: 978-0553378863
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #94,680 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For those of us who are serious frugal Martha Stewart types, January 5, 2004

By 

MotherLodeBeth "MotherLodeBeth" (Sierras of California) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Frugal Luxuries: Simple Pleasures to Enhance Your Life and Comfort Your Soul (Paperback)

Of course the book is about her ideas and her life. Of course she has frugal Martha Stewart style ideas. Being involved in a voluntary simplicity community since the late 80's I have evolved from a Tightwad Gazette person to someone who wants class and frugality. Frugal to many people I encounter means cheap plain food or clothes and nothing fun or fancy. For me and many of my frugal minded friends it is about wanting quality as well as frugality. The Tightwad Gazette proved of little use to me since I like quality and classy clothes Martha Stewart style and not simply clothes that are simply cheap. Different strokes for different simple living folks.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth it, April 7, 2001

By 

Sylvia Moestl Vasilik (Bellevue, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Frugal Luxuries: Simple Pleasures to Enhance Your Life and Comfort Your Soul (Paperback)

If you want to be told that you should try on gloves at the thrift store before you buy them (duh!) or that you should always buy larger sizes of food, because they're always a better deal (they sometimes are, and sometimes aren't), then read this book. If you want something more intelligent, with real ideas and advice, try the Tightwad Gazette. Much, much better.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing approach, but where are the boys?, April 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Frugal Luxuries: Simple Pleasures to Enhance Your Life and Comfort Your Soul (Paperback)

I bought this book because I am a patsy for anyhting with "frugal" in the title. Yes, the book does have some drawbacks: Martha on a budget, and lots of neat things to do with little girls. I have two little boys and the ideas presented don't translate well. Tea parties and doll's birthdays, bone china and salt cellars are lovely, but my reality is dinos, mudpies, gravel in the pockets, and Curious George. Overall, I enjoyed reading the book and have used several of the ideas with success. Frequently, frugality is seen as austere, and strictly cost conscious; however, "Frugal Luxuries" presents an interesting perspective that frugality doesn't have to be austere and a little beauty in one's daily experience can soften the economic reality. I do recommend this book as more philosphical than practical application.