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Marvel In The Gift Of Thrift

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By KEVIN WALKER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 8, 2009

"The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches," by Jeff Yeager (Broadway Books, $12.95)

This book has been around for awhile, but Broadway Books recently sent a new copy. Given the current economic environment, it seems almost irresponsible not to offer you some information about Jeff Yeager's plans for having more cash.

Why? Because Yeager offers nothing less than a revolutionary way for you to cut costs. At least, it's revolutionary in our times. Basically, his plan is this: Spend less. That's it. Crazy, right?

As a person who often looks for ways to cut costs, I couldn't help but appreciate his tactics. He buys all his clothes at big box retailers. He reuses cola bottles as water bottles. He uses honey, which he calls "nectar of the cheapskates," to put on toast and then calls it breakfast. He only buys stuff at the grocery store when he has a coupon. He rides a bike most places (including cross country on his book tour).
Yeager writes that the key to changing your financial picture is not earning more - he reasons you're just going to spend it all, anyway (which is, in fact, what most people do). He suggests finding a spending level at which you are comfortable and then stop increasing it. He thinks you can do this at about 30, although I would argue that those who started families after 30 (like me) might spend just a bit more.
Yeager is funny and self-depreciating, so this book is a quick read. But it's very entertaining. He has taken Benjamin Franklin's advice of "a penny saved is a penny earned" to new levels. He thinks we save ourselves financially by making better choices.

He first calls on people to slay their own Enoughasaurus, that little beast inside of you that wants more and more stuff. He (correctly) notes the strategy of just accumulating more is not a solid one. "More is a moving target, not an answer, and leads to the prospect that you'll die in harness, destination unknown," he writes.

Among his golden rules are the following:

"Buy a home, not a castle." He devotes an entire chapter to this issue, starting with the fact that people tend to buy far more space than they need. He points out recent government numbers show as many as 12 million American households spend 50 percent of their income on housing costs. Not good. Yeager argues people should buy a starter home, and then finish in that starter home.

Try a "fiscal fast." Yeager suggests going for a certain amount of time (say, a week or two) without spending anything (other than the necessities like gas for your car). I tried it for a week and found it difficult at times, but I ended the week with the same two dollar bills in my wallet that I started with.

Establish a mandatory waiting period - "your own personal Brady Bill," Yeager writes - between the time you see something you want to buy and when you actually buy it. He suggests at least one full week.

And so on. The book is full of useful tips. Frankly, one feels a little guilty reading it, because you realize how much cash you waste. But Yeager also makes you want to do something about it. It's hard to think of better present to buy someone looking to stretch a dollar in these recessionary times.

Kevin Walker edits Friday Extra for the Tampa Tribune.

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