The wisdom of frugality: Why less is more-- more or less

The book The wisdom of frugality: Why less is more-- more or less by Emrys Westacott. Michelle Singletary, personal finance writer for the Washington Post writes in her review of this book: "Given the number of multimillionaires tapped for Cabinet positions under President-elect Donald Trump, I wonder if frugality will soon be considered un-American." Singletary continues: "Since our next president is someone who represents the opposite of thrift, perhaps our country should be reminded of the virtues of living below one’s means. Thus, to celebrate the new year, this month’s pick for the Color of Money Book Club is Westacott’s The Wisdom of Frugality: Why Less is More — More or Less. The start of a new year is a good time to contemplate one's true personal values... not those that we verbalize but the values that we live by. This book promises a wonderful exploration of the values of living a simple life, which in America still means living a more luxurious life than available to anyone else in the world.
The book evolved from a college course on frugal living “Tightwaddery: The Good Life on a Dollar a Day” with an emphasis on exploring the philosophical background of frugal living. Read an interview with the author, a philosopher, at: http://press.princeton.edu/releases/m10821.html

The More of Less: Finding the life you want under everything you own

During this highly acquisitive time as too many people frantically shop for the holidays, buying gifts that are not really wanted or needed... Joshua Becker's book The More of Less extolls the value of paring down one's possessions to simplify life and reduce debt. As quoted from the book's website http://www.themoreofless.com/: "Most of us know we own too much stuff. We feel the burden of our clutter. We tire of cleaning and managing and organizing. Our toy rooms are messy, our drawers won’t close, our closets are filled, and we can’t fit our cars in our garages. The evidence of clutter is all around us.
Meanwhile, this constant accumulation of stuff slowly begins robbing us of life. It redirects our given passions. It steals our greatest potential. It consumes our limited resources. And it distracts us from the very life we wish we were living.
Live a better life with less. 
It’s time to own your possessions instead of letting them own you. After all, the beauty of minimalism isn’t in what it takes away. It’s in what it gives."
Of course you can buy the book for yourself or a loved one or listen to the eaudiobook through many libraries. We can all benefit by reducing clutter and Joshua gives lots of strategies and reasons for doing so.
Since this is the height of the holiday shopping season when so many unwanted, useless, redundant gifts are purchased, it's the perfect time to turn off the TV (an advertising conveyance mechanism) and read/listen to this book. For years we've been following one of Becker's gift recommendations: giving donations to charity in the name of the recipient rather than buying more stuff and asking our families to donate to our favorite charities instead of giving us more stuff.

Living Modestly and Enjoying Life with Mr. Money Mustache

Lots has been written about frugal living, simplicity, etc. but Mr. Money Mustache (http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/) puts simple living into perspective. Too often frugality is linked to a Scrooge-like perspective on life, but Mr. Money Mustache emphasizes what we know from research- money doesn't make you  happy. Once people reach a certain comfortable level of living, more money doesn't make you happier. Check out this interview with Mr. Money Mustache:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-to-retire-early-35-years-early-2014-01-17