Books on saving money: Are they a waste of time?

I used to be a voracious reader of books and articles providing tips on saving money. I recently came to the conclusion that once I had the basics down; avoiding the daily latte, packing a bag lunch, increasing my deductibles, etc. I just wasn’t reading anything new that was practical. Mr. Colere was beginning to find weird packages of strange substances such as herbs packed in frozen chicken broth covered in freezer burn in our freezer and tossed them out. I was reading articles with bizarre advice such as: take a giant popcorn tub out of the trash when you are at a movie theater and request a free refill, take a shower while wearing your dirty socks to save on laundry or how about flush your toilet every 5th time to reduce your water bill. I have since gone on money saving book hiatus.

My conclusions have been confirmed recently by one of my favorite blog writers “The Nonfiction Readers Anonymous”. Check out her posting on Saving Money with the Tightwad Twins at http://nonanon.com/blog/page/2/. I also enjoyed her post "Would someone please right a decent simplicity book?” Please? at http://nonanon.com/blog/2006/09/01/would-someone-please-write-a-decent-simplicity-book-please/.

Unfortunately when it comes to saving money the best advice, similar to dieting, involves restraint; the only way to really save money is to live beneath our means. How do we do that? I love the old Depression era quote:

Use it up,

Wear it out,

Make it do,

Or do without.

I remember a few years back a co-worker upon returning from an after Christmas shopping sale relayed how much money she saved on her new purchases. Another co-worker exclaimed, "That’s great, but I went to the same sale and saved more money than you. I didn’t buy anything." Enough said.