Reading List: “The Cheapskate Next Door”
August 9, 2010 by Andrea Bennett
Jeff Yeager is the author of what some would call the definitive guide to saving money: “The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to True Riches: A Practical (and Fun) Guide to Enjoying Life More by Spending Less.” Dubbed the “ultimate cheapskate” by the Today show on NBC, he’s become known for his creative tips for saving a buck.
Now, in his new second book, “The Cheapskate Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of Americans Living Happily Below their Means,” Yeager also asserts that people living not just within— but below— their means are more responsible. After traveling across the United States (often by bicycle) to interview people, he comes to this conclusion:
They report throwing away only about 10 percent of the amount of food most Americans toss out. They rarely replace an item unless it’s worn out and can’t be repaired, which is why most of them still proudly wear a couple of pieces of clothing that they bought during the Carter administration. They side with the underdog — literally — being nearly one hundred times more likely to own a pet they found as a stray, or adopted from an animal shelter, than they are to buy one at a pet store or from a breeder. They’re far more likely to own a Crock-Pot than a plasma screen television, to have a clothesline than an iPod, and a good many of them join hands with me in being among the few non-cave-dwelling holdouts yet to own a cell phone.
And, Yeager says, they’re also happier. Their decision to live below their means was not dictated by money, but rather by spiritual, religious, or ethical beliefs.
The book’s release comes at an interesting time. With people forced into more conscientious consumption by the recession , many of us have to think about pinching a few pennies. And though some economists say we may have pulled out of the worst part of the recession, what Yeager calls “Spending Anxiety Disorder” may be here to stay, at least for the short term.
Do you agree with Yeager that embracing more modest living makes us better people? Have you done it?
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7 Comments
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October 23, 2010 by tami
it is very true we live in a society that feel they have to compete with the man next door, when all you have to live for jesus
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October 25, 2010 by Betty &Jerry Place
I think that is so true,there are two pulls happening in our lives today.One is the power of the holy spirit and the other is the devil himself.It is not every man for himself it is who do you want to serve? Jesus or the devil,if you will read in the bible Lot`s wife was completly out of Sodom she was ask not to look back,but you see God knows our hearts. Something in the city had a tug on her, and she looked back and as told she turns into a pillar of salt.I think in earlier times people did compete with there friends and neighbor.Your average neighbor is trying to figure a way to get by unless he is severing God
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April 19, 2011 by her
thats cool
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November 13, 2011 by mike freethinker
I think we Americans have spiraled upwards into record consumer debt and chaos. There is no free lunch. Now we must pay. This recession the future double digit inflation and huge tax increases will be our life for the next 10 years. America is the empty party room after the lights have been turned on. All the glutonous pigs have left the party and now the conservative middle class has the mess to clean up.
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November 17, 2011 by Tonya
We have lived below our means for years. We live in a singlewide while remodeling my grandfather's house that I inherited. I use a clothesline 85% of the time. We cut off our Directv to save money to put into the remodeling--I only miss one or two shows. We check out free DVD's from our local and church library. Someone once told me "poor folk have got poor ways" but we aren't poor. My mortgage is 3X less than what they pay and when we finish the house we will be mortage free. I don't struggle to buy groceries or a treat for my children.
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December 17, 2011 by PAT K.
I observe living frugal as a challenge and a way of protecting the planet from plastic bottles that don't decompose and so on. I live within my means and do not lack for one thing that I need or want. I compost, recycle, reuse and conserve on water. I do not generate much garbage. I have a very good life.
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February 4, 2012 by Joyce
Some tips I can share with you for frugal living are:
Food: -Eat less meat. Meals that consist mostly of rice/pasta, pulses, fresh salads, eggs and fish are healthier and cheaper. -De frost fish in water and not at room temperature. - Soak pulses in water for about half an hour before cooking, so that you reduce cooking time. -Use stale bread to make croutons or bread and butter pudding. -Use over- ripe bananas to make banana cake / banana muffins. -store flour, sugar, semolina, icing sugar, milk powder, etc in air tight containers so it keeps fresh. -If you feel that you will not eat some left- over food over the next few days, store it in air tight containers in freezer. -Buy storing containers of different sizes, even the tiny ones, so that if you have small portions of food left over, you may save it for later. -If you have extra milk that you dont know what to do with, and happen to have icing sugar and baking powder at home, you could make a batch of cookies, using recipes on the web.
-Store excess frying oil in a container to be used later.
Home: -Everyone knows this, but remember to switch off unused lights in rooms. -Free your wardrobe of clutter, and you will find that you can see the clothes that you had and could have worn, but did not notice before in the midst of all the clutter!! -If you have not worn an item of clothing for over 2 years, give it away to a Charity shop. -Have a wardrobe of neutral color co-ordinates. Trousers/skirts in black, brown, beige and white that can be mixed and matched. -Remember not to leave the tap running when you are soaping cutlery and crockery at the sink. -Invest in a clothes line to dry your clothes. Avoid using the spin dryer. -Dilute dish washing liquid in a container so it lasts longer. -Invest in long life light bulbs, it will reduce your electricity bill.
Gifts:
--Unwrap gifts received carefully, especially if they are wrapped in attractive wrapping paper. You could re-use these.
- Create gift tags out of pieces of attractive wrapping paper. Simply cut a square, nip around the edges with pincing shears, fold in two, write your message in the inner side and you have a gift tag which you may attach to the wrapping using cellotape.
Ordering out: If you are ordering pizza and the pizza company asks if you want extra cheese on that, simply say no. From personal experience I find they do not really add extra cheese.
Electonics -Try to send email messages or text messages and avoid phoning whenever appropriate.
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