The financial world we live in is just as wild, if not more, than the mountains and woods we walk through. We are told that the fundamentals of our economy are strong, but we can feel that something is wrong. My unique financial background and survival passion make Financial Survivalist and excellent place to learn and share.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Non-Fiction Friday: The Cheapskate Next Door

A "Cheapskate" is not a coupon cutter, bargain hunter, or a hotel towel theif. A cheapskate is simply someone that is happy with less. They don't lower their standard of living, they live below their means and are happy with a "lifestyle of less that feels like more."

I rarely watch tv because I don't have cable. However, I'm traveling on business this week and after work I started flipping through channels. I found a show about cheapskates. It interested me because I was in the middle of this book. Sure enough Jeff Yeager showed up on the screen. Not as a host, but as the "ultimate cheapskate."

At one point Jeff Yeager rode his bike around for hours looking for lost change. I have to admit he is a professional change finder. He managed to dig up (yes, dig) just over $7. He used that $7 to buy two goat heads at a butcher shop. He bought the goat heads to "save money," and cooked them for dinner.

First off, you can buy two decent stakes on clearance for $7. How is eating goat heads saving him any money? The meal still cost him $7.

Second, he spent almost all day looking for change. How is that any different than someone searching all day for the right coupons? How is it any different from someone that spends all day sifting through junk at garage sales to find a cheap dresser? Which, by the way, Jeff says is not something a "cheapskate" would do.

All in all the book is a decent book. It makes some good points and has some great ideas. I love the idea of a fiscal fast, recommended for one week a year by the author, I would recommend one day a month at least.

It is essential that a financial survivalist lives bellow their means. However, the author seems to say one thing in his book and portray another on tv. I'm pretty frugal, but instead of picking up change all day in order to pay for one meal, I'll work all day and pay for all the meals the entire week. My time is too valuable to spend it combing the grass near pay phones.

When a "cheapskate" buys a couch/car/dresser, they are buying a depreciating asset. If you buy an antique, you buy an appreciating asset and therefore a better investment. So, though it may be a larger "investment", buying an antique dresser is a better invesment than going to a garage sell and buying a dresser that is falling apart.

All hypocracy aside, this book does hold some valuable nuggets of knowledge, though reading it may remind you of looking change in the grass. What a financial survivalist needs is to be a smart consumer. If you have some time, this book can give you some inspiration.

I'll give it 6.5/10

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