THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 1, 1996 TAG: 9608300074
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARY FLACHSENHAAR, SPECIAL TO HOME & GARDEN
LENGTH: 38 lines
FOUR AMERICAN HEROES are profiled in the September issue of Good Housekeeping magazine - all women who've been canonized personal downsizing gurus of the lean '90s. Each has created a big business out of publications on how you too can be thrifty and happy at the same time, just like they are.
Here are some of their ideas, worth stashing in your piggy bank:
Use your house as a savings account, says Diane Rosener of Colorado Springs, Colo. whose newsletter is called ``A Penny Saved.'' Don't just live in your house - invest money in what will pay you back down the road, even if you can afford to fix up only one room at a time, Rosener advises.
She gets free decorating ideas from open houses, museums and magazines in libraries. One of her suggestions: Plain white paint with an unusual wallpaper border is a cheap way to mix neutrality and style.
Says Jonni McCoy, mother of two and author of the book ``Miserly Moms'': A modern family can get by on one paycheck. Her advice is to avoid food shopping at warehouse clubs. ``You tend to overspend and buy more than you need, and the prices aren't as good as you think,'' says McCoy, who lives in San Jose, Calif.
Make saving a game is the suggestion of Melodie Moore of Palm Harbor, Fla., publisher with her husband, Ron, of the monthly ``Skinflint News.'' ``Trick yourself by putting away everything you save with coupons. Or throw all your change in a jar. Then use that money to have some fun you didn't think you could afford.''
Personal fulfillment doesn't increase in proportion to spending, according to Amy Dacyczyn, publisher of ``The Tightwad Gazette'' newsletter and author of two books of the same name. The Maine resident feeds her family of eight on $190 a month and clothes them for less than $50 a year. Saving money is more fun and creative than spending, says Dacyczyn, now a millionaire.
Surprisingly, she doesn't use coupons. ``Where I live, using coupons yields only about a dollar for an hour's worth of effort,'' she explains. by CNB