The Ultimate Cheapskate?

[Moemg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Achiever51 Yup! Or else, folks who really walk the talk. I love it! BTW, I just ordered the book from Amazon...albeit with a 40% off coupon I've been saving just for such a buy.

and if you are a true cheapskate you'll sell it back on Amazon when you are finished reading it and recoup your money .

[Nords]

Welcome to the board, Jeff!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ultimate Cheapskate These are inevitably the messages that end with, "PS - I can't wait to read your next book!" Fair enough, but do they really not understand that a "next book" is predicated upon someone actually BUYING the current one? Oh well ..

The rest of the board will be surprised to read this, but we're actually going to buy the book for our teenager.

She has a huge pile of recommended reading that she promises to get through any day now, but your book is wait-listed at our library and I may not even get to finish it before spouse runs out my clock.

I really appreciate the "Enoughasaurus"! And, hey, you're not settling for less-- you're settling for "enough".

I plan to motivate our kid by mentioning that you persuaded your editor to include scatalogical verbiage. And that it'll give her a valuable insight as to what guys are thinking when they're not thinking about money.

You'll know when I buy the book. The Amazon ticker will roll over to "1"...

[Ultimate Cheapskate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords Welcome to the board, Jeff! The rest of the board will be surprised to read this, but we're actually going to buy the book for our teenager. She has a huge pile of recommended reading that she promises to get through any day now, but your book is wait-listed at our library and I may not even get to finish it before spouse runs out my clock. I really appreciate the "Enoughasaurus"! And, hey, you're not settling for less-- you're settling for "enough". I plan to motivate our kid by mentioning that you persuaded your editor to include scatalogical verbiage. And that it'll give her a valuable insight as to what guys are thinking when they're not thinking about money. You'll know when I buy the book. The Amazon ticker will roll over to "1"...

Thanks Nords. I'll look for your purchase on Amazon, although, BTW, my Mother already bought a copy, so yours will actually be #2.

I hope your daughter enjoys the book. I've been heartened to hear that the book is becoming a bit of a cult hit with college students and other young adults. I've heard from a good many of them, saying it's the first "money book" they've ever read, and that a friend told them it was pretty funny but helpful too. That's terrific to hear, because as you know most of the advice in the book is really advice best taken when you're young, before you get locked into the Money Steps.

I'm glad, too, that you approve of the sometimes off color humor and language, which, again, IMO warrants a PG-13 rating at worst. That said, humor is a very personal thing, and I have had a few readers bash me for attempting to inject humor - let alone edgy humor - into a personal finance book. One wrote something to me like, " Mr. Yeager, money and personal finance are very serious and important topics, and I found your use of (potty) humor detracted from the fact that our lives revolve around money." To which I replied,"Well, after all, that was my intention, to detract readers from that sad fact" and "OK, everybody's entitled to his #$%$ opinion!"

Stay Cheap!
-Jeff Yeager

[Marquette]

Based on this thread, I bought the book on Amazon. It was $10.36 + free shipping... which I know is over Nord's "don't think about it at $10" rule, but I'm allowing for that 12% inflation I keep hearing about.

Money and personal finance are serious and important topics, which is why they should be treated with much levity and humor. I'd better be chuckling by page 20! Or there will be rants on this thread! Rants, you hear me, rants! ;-)

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marquette Based on this thread, I bought the book on Amazon. It was $10.36 + free shipping... which I know is over Nord's "don't think about it at $10" rule, but I'm allowing for that 12% inflation I keep hearing about.

Eh, it's more like $20 these days, especially if I have to do battle with a teenager over it. It's amazing how much more existentially fatalistic tolerant I've become after spending six weeks in the car's passenger seat next to a learner's permit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marquette Money and personal finance are serious and important topics, which is why they should be treated with much levity and humor. I'd better be chuckling by page 20! Or there will be rants on this thread! Rants, you hear me, rants! ;-)

You want chuckles, you should skip ahead to the chapter on why guys put thermostats in homes.

But seriously, his thoughts on the inflation of home square footages are the best I've ever read... and probably the best our teen will ever read too.

[lazygood4nothinbum]

found this book at almost every branch but the downtown main library just a 5 minute drive away and my minibranch just a one minute walk away.

now to compute the cost of gas & wear and tear on the car to get to a farther branch compared with a few clicks to amazon. aw, who am i kidding, we all know i'm hopping into the car.

welcome jeff to the largest forum of the most frugal people i've ever known. for you it must be like finding home. sorry i missed your signings here. even had an empty house where you could have camped out.

BranchLocationDateCall NumberStatusDavie/Cooper City CIRC 06/03/08332.024 YENot Checked Out Hollywood Branch CIRC 06/10/08332.024 YENot Checked Out North Regional CIRC 05/20/08332.024 YENot Checked Out Pembroke Pines CIRC 07/03/08332.024 YEChecked out Pompano Beach CIRC 06/05/08332.024 YENot Checked Out Stirling Road CIRC 06/10/08332.024 YENot Checked Out Sunrise Dan Pearl Branch CIRC 05/27/08332.024 YENot Checked Out Tamarac CIRC 06/14/08332.024 YENot Checked Out Weston CIRC 07/02/08332.024 YEChecked out

[Moemg]

Well I just finished the book and I'm returning it to the library so another cheapskate like me can read it . It was interesting reading but I'm sorry to say that he is an amateur cheapskate as compared to many who frequent this board .

[Nords]

Spouse gave me back the book. I'll repeat some of my earlier comments and gather it all into one post.

Yeager and his publisher know that it's useless (and profitless) to try to improve on Amy Dacyczyn. There's no talk about saving aluminum foil or rinsing out plastic bags. But he does suggest leading a cheaper lifestyle, and with less spending pressure then everything else works out.

He's tired of the "financial advice" about clipping coupons and skipping the daily latté. In fact, he claims that it's not worth the effort and it might even poison your motivation. Heresy! Heck, it's worth reading the book just for the trash talk about Suze Orman.

He focuses on lifestyle and achievable goals. So this book won't help you find double-coupon deals or give you a detailed list of frugality tips. Instead it advises hopping off the consumptive consumption treadmill and designing your life around work & activities that don't require lots of money or stress relief. He's more Cheapskate Zen than Frugal Zealot.

He's cheap where it counts. The book's biggest financial advice is to avoid the endless dance of the "Money Step": stop earning money just to buy material possessions, and then earning even more money to care for and upgrade them. We don't have to settle for less, but he suggests learning to be content when we get to "enough" and to slay our inner consumer's "Enoughasaurus".

Since he's a cheapskate, his program only has six steps instead of 12:
1. Live within your means at age 30, and stay there.
2. Never underestimate the power of NOT spending, including calculating your "RONI"-- return on NONinvestment.
3. Discretion is the better part of shopping, including the "What the hell was I thinking?!?" waiting period before major purchases.
4. Learn to do for yourself what you could pay others to do for you.
5. Anyone can negotiate anything, even a "nice guy" discount.
6. Pinch the dollars and let the pennies pinch themselves.

He uses statistics to show how lifestyle creep has seduced this generation into living larger than our parents, let alone our grandparents. He points out that much of our spending offsets itself. Americans blow huge amounts of money on nutrient-poor convenience foods, followed by equally huge amounts of money on healthcare & medications. His advice is to eat cheap (which tends to put healthier food on the menu) and to get cheap exercise starting by doing your own chores & maintenance and then taking walks or bicycling. That automatically cuts down on the grocery bills, the fitness center dues, the homecare staff, and the rising bodyfat/blood pressure issues.

Buy a home, not a castle, and stay put as long as possible. "Finish in a starter home" by customizing it to your heart's content instead of constantly stepping up to bigger & better. Pay off the mortgage for peace of mind as well as for less dancing of the Money Step. He's a big advocate of modest landlording, especially when it's adjacent to your home.

He suggests living without a car and telecommuting-- or at least minimzing car expenses with used vehicles, public transportation, bicycling, & nearby work. People who can't take those steps in their current homes/lives should move or change their lives to reduce their expenses, which will probably also reduce their stress and lead to better health.

He even advocates skipping technology upgrades, or at least staying one 1-2 levels behind. He doesn't own a cell phone, and one chapter contrasts the Amish philosophy with the typical American consumer. He suggests hobbies that also serve a purpose, like woodworking or home maintenance, and that our entertainment should focus on free activities instead of hurling large wads of cash at Disney consumer experiences.

Yeager even suggests putting investments on autopilot and getting a life. (More Suze trash-talking.) Think long term, go heavier on equities through low-cost index funds, and maximize the tax-deferred savings.

Go enjoy life instead of endlessly seeking the money to buy a "better" one.

Even if you already "get it", I'd highly recommend reading the book for its presentation, its interesting statistics, and its humor. It's fast & fun. People will find it a lot easier to be around Yeager than Dacyczyn.

We just splurged on our own copy of the book for our teen. Hopefully she can learn to avoid the Money Step, and she'll never have to scale back to get to "enough".

[Ultimate Cheapskate]

Thanks Nords! That's a fair and flattering review ... although it down played my locker room humor (well, I guess I owe you for that, too)

Stay Cheap!
Jeff Yeager
Author, The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches

[Finance Dave]

Good advice and I agree...focus mostly on the big items. I've known people who clip coupons, then pay full sticker price on a new car.

There are so many "must haves" today that we could easily do without. Garage door openers?
Granite countertops?
Colored earbuds for your ipod?
Nike shoes?

My wife and I have a deal...when you buy an article of clothing, you must throw out (or donate) an equivalent article. Therefore, our wardrobes always stay the same size. We can buy new clothes...but the purpose then is to buy them when you are replacing worn out items.

We could benefit from the same in technology. Only buy the flat screen when your CRT wears out. Only buy the Ipod when your walkman wears out, etc. Otherwise you end up with a cassette player, an old Ipod, a newer Ipod (now in bright silver ). a Bose acoustic wave machine, an MPEG car audio player, and on and on.

As a side note...I took delivery of the first cell phone I ever owned 3 months ago. My company asked all employees for their cell phone numbers. I told them I didn't have one, and they were surprised. After about 4 times they wanted to call me and couldn't get ahold of me, they bought me one . They pay the full price, and since it has unlimited minutes, I can use it for personal use.

Dave

[Marquette]

I ordered the book on Wednesday, received it on Friday, started reading it Saturday and finished it Sunday. I would be more than happy to pass it along to anyone.

First and foremost, I think the title is hurting the book's sales. If you're not a cheapskate, you see that term as a snide label. If you are a cheapskate, you're going to pride yourself in getting the book from the library if you can or reading the whole book in the bookstore if you can't. I love my library, and it's obvious that Jeff loves his, but that's not going to help his sales. ESRBob has the same problem with his book title... they're tricky things but they can accidentally screen out the people that need the book the most (a similar issue would be a free clinic called "Joe's free house of syphilis screening" with a large billboard showing who was screened and what the results were).

Overall, the book was very entertaining and I think even us LBYM-types will learn a few tips. Or, at the very least, get a good laugh.

The book poignantly covers some material that I've railed about before. House-size creep being one. While there's probably some truth, in some markets, that hard-working blue-collar people can't afford a house any more, it's more often the case that people just can't afford the 5k sq ft houses going up... For example, it's super-easy to get an affordable house here in Minneapolis, even close to downtown, if you're willing to go with a starter house built in 1950 that, not surprisingly, is the size of a starter house built in 1950 (my wife's great-aunt just sold hers for $110k).

I appreciate how Jeff works to tie his points back to what I would call a responsible lifestyle. Don't be wasteful in your purchases. Whether it's just not wasting food, or skipping the newest tech toys or foregoing on something altogether, the idea is to find a more meaningful existance by being content where you are rather than trying to buy your happiness.

The one chapter that I thought was too light on the details and in need of some e-r.org love was the section on investing. On the one hand, it was refreshing to see actual numbers being tossed about. Jeff's not portraying himself as a financial guru, but it's nice to see a finance book where the author says 'here's what I have and here's where it's invested'. On the other hand, I think a few things should be added. For instance, there's a section on fixed income, but the bullet point talks about how fixed income investing is 'boring'. It should also mention that fixed-income only can be a disaster if you can't keep ahead of inflation. That's a real threat that needs to be put out there.

Overall, it was an excellent book and I'm going to hound my wife to read it. Beyond her, though, I'm not sure who I'd pass it on to. Everyone I know either already knows the truths in the book or would think I was insulting their consumerism lifestyle if they read said book.

[Marquette]

One more thought. It comes across subtly in the book but I think it's sort of there, or at least it's inspired me to think more like this.

Mr. Yeager background is the non-profit world. In that world, I would imagine that you're the most successful by fulfilling your charter. So, every dollar stretched is more money for your core mission. To contrast, most of us see for-profit business as a means to create revenue and return money back to the shareholders.

Carrying that to the personal realm, a lot of finance books are about Me, Inc. Increase your money supply by doing x, y and z. In contrast, Jeff's book is about Me.org, stretch your dollars so you can focus on your core mission.

[FUEGO]

Jeff, sounds like a well-written book that mirrors my philosophies on life and money very closely. Nords is usually spot-on with his book reviews and I'd say his reviews are more useful than the NYT bestseller lists.

Maybe I'll check out a copy of your book. As soon as the library gets a copy in stock!

I still don't have a cell phone (I'm holding out for my company to pay for one). I do buy new cars, but only once so far (8 years ago).

[Ultimate Cheapskate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FUEGO Jeff, sounds like a well-written book that mirrors my philosophies on life and money very closely. Nords is usually spot-on with his book reviews and I'd say his reviews are more useful than the NYT bestseller lists. Maybe I'll check out a copy of your book. As soon as the library gets a copy in stock! I still don't have a cell phone (I'm holding out for my company to pay for one). I do buy new cars, but only once so far (8 years ago).

Thanks FUEGO, and I'll glady take you at your word re: the wisdom of Nord's book reviews ... particularly since the NYT's review of my book was rather cool (something about me not understanding that everyone wants/needs cable TV, and that I was crazy to suggest otherwise). Oh well, that was before the current economic downturn; maybe the market corrections will trigger some lifestyle corrections, and IMHO that might be a very good thing.

Stay Cheap!
-Jeff Yeager
Author, The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches

[pedorrero]

Wow, cool! The actual author replying. Jeff, I actually BOUGHT the book (from Simple Living Network), which is unusual for me. I highly recommend it for would-be tightwads. I especially like the "fiscal fast" idea. I am no handyman (I barely have the mechanical aptitude to pick my own nose, let alone do major home improvements), but the book has a lot of good stuff in it. I am only a partial convert to cheap-ness (being, as I am, basically a bum living off a family trust fund. nice work if you can get it <grin> )

[Ultimate Cheapskate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pedorrero Wow, cool! The actual author replying. Jeff, I actually BOUGHT the book (from Simple Living Network), which is unusual for me. I highly recommend it for would-be tightwads. I especially like the "fiscal fast" idea. I am no handyman (I barely have the mechanical aptitude to pick my own nose, let alone do major home improvements), but the book has a lot of good stuff in it. I am only a partial convert to cheap-ness (being, as I am, basically a bum living off a family trust fund. nice work if you can get it <grin> )

Pedorrero - Keep the faith, man. I started out like you; unable "to pick my own nose." But now I can pick my nose AND do home improvements at the same time, which is my prefered method (just ask my poooor wife).

Stay Cheap!
-Jeff Yeager
Author, The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches

[NW-Bound]

Learning about the book from this forum, I recently checked out the 7-CD audio book from the local library. We listened to it mostly during the recent drive to/from our mountain home. Already practicing most of the tips in the book, such as freezing our lifestyle at the age of 30, practicing DIY on home projects, paying off the mortgage (who in this forum doesn't do those?) we still found it interesting and funny, though we chuckled at some of the jokes (a bit more risqué for my style). The points on RONI (return on non-investment) were well-made.

I am considering buying this book for my 23-yr old daughter. If she would listen to the advice not to go buy clothes one or twice every week, this book would have paid for itself a few thousand times in her life. But will she heed such advice? That brings up the point that has been bothering me for years. People either practice frugality, or sweep such advices aside. Some of my friends complain about their spendthrift wives. Yet when I told them of books that they could buy, they would say that the books would not be read, or would be insulting to their wives.

As for me, I noticed that the trip gas mileage display on my car showed 25.5 mi/gal for the last trip. Driving slow like a geezer as I do, I usually average 24.5 mi/gal for the same trip. The improvement could have been even higher, had we not been caught in a 1/2 hr delay through a construction zone. Though the savings may not get to even a dollar, I attribute it to the fact that I drove even slower than I normally do, or maintained more constant speeds, due to my attentive listening to the CDs. Most importantly, the driving time seemed to pass more quickly too, even though the car speed was lower. We will have to look for other audio books for our future trips, instead of listening to music. By the way, my wife did not notice that my driving was unsafe while I listened.

[TromboneAl]

Quote:

But will she heed such advice?

It's worth a try. Many on this forum will tell you that they saw the light when reading this book or that. When I give a book like this to someone, I'll say "Because I read a book like this when I was your age, my time is now my own."

[Sarah in SC]

Al that is a great line. I'll remember that for my next preaching session!
We're taking our trainer and his wife to see Dave Ramsey when he comes to town, and they asked why we were doing it. My reply: "Because of this guy, I can afford to pay you!".

[Ultimate Cheapskate]

Hey NW-Bound,

Glad you're enjoying my book. You're right, much of the advice is targeted toward younger folks who are just starting out, and - you're correct again - the humor is unapologetically PG-13. Maybe because of those two things, I'm heartened by the fact that the book is getting a bit of a cult following among college students and other young adults. I don't know if it will capture your daughter's fancy, but it's definitely most popular among those in that age bracket. Thanks again for reading (or, I guess, listening, as the case may be).

Stay Cheap!
-Jeff Yeager
Author, The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches