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In CHEAP We Trust: The Story of a Misunderstood American Virtue

Description

Cheap.

Cheap suit. Cheap date. Cheap shot. It's a dirty word, an epithet laden with negative meanings. It is also the story of Lauren Weber's life. As a child, she resented her father for keeping the heat at 50 degrees through the frigid New England winters and rarely using his car's turn signals-to keep them from burning out. But as an adult, when she found herself walking 30 blocks to save $2 on subway fare, she realized she had turned into him.

In this lively treatise on the virtues of being cheap, Weber explores provocative questions about Americans' conflicted relationship with consumption and frugality. Why do we ridicule people who save money? Where's the boundary between thrift and miserliness? Is thrift a virtue or a vice during a recession? And was it common sense or obsessive-compulsive disorder that made her father ration the family's toilet paper?

In answering these questions, In Cheap We Trust offers a colorful ride through the history of frugality in the United States. Readers will learn the stories behind Ben Franklin and his famous maxims, Hetty Green (named "the world's greatest miser" by the Guinness Book of Records) and the stereotyping of Jewish and Chinese immigrants as cheap.

Weber also explores contemporary expressions and dilemmas of thrift. From Dumpster-diving to economist John Maynard Keynes's "Paradox of Thrift" to today's recession-driven enthusiasm for frugal living, In Cheap We Trust teases out the meanings of cheapness and examines the wisdom and pleasures of not spending every last penny.

Reviews

Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-08-10
Summary: "Author Walks the Talk--Mostly"

About halfway through the book I still only had four comments jotted down:

1. Tends to read like a history textbook.
2. Is informative, but not compelling reading; that is, somewhat interesting without being absorbing.
3. Abundant historical insights that only marginally touch on being cheap/frugal.
4. An over-emphasis on the sterotyping of Jews and Chinese.

Then, about two-thirds into the book I did a near about face (so, not entirely). Let me represent my partial-enthusiasm via a few quotes:

Page 197: ...Americans in 2007 shelled out 38% more money for health care and housing than in 2000--but they also spent 45% more on entertainment and 68% more on pets, toys and hobbies.

Page 203: Like a compulsive shopping addict, the country has been charging up its credit [to other nations] with NO (emphasis mine) plans for paying it off.

page 205: If people are willing to save--to obstain from present consumption and wait for future consumption--then society can devote resources to new capital goods.

Page 246-7: [Cheapness] speaks of meanness, rigidity, abstinence, and deprivation. It overlooks the satisfactions and psychic rewards of cheapness, and the extreme generosity I see in ... plenty of other parsimonious individuals.

Page 264: ...The more of something we have, the less pleasure we derive from each additional unit of it. [Of course, this is truly a personal opinion.]

Page 265: By being frugal, people maximize psychic enjoyment when they do treat themselves. That's the mission of the frugal person. It creates perspective.

A Non-Workbook, Non-Textbook Approach to Teaching Language Arts: Grades 4 Through 8 and Up

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Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-07-20
Summary: ""Cheap" Is In! A Modern Take on an Ageless Topic"

Words like "cheap" and "frugal" were often taboo in our modern society - until the recession came along. There will always be those whose incomes allow them to spend freely, but then there are the rest of us . . . . In her book, In Cheap We Trust: A Misunderstood American Virtue, Lauren Weber looks at the whole concept of living frugally. This is not just another handbook on how to cut costs, or a tome touting the miraculous things that can happen at the check-out counter if you religiously clip coupons!

Weber shares the many economic ups and downs in our nation's history. Predictably, when times were good people spent with abandon, then had to tighten their belts when the economy fell again. Speaking from personal experience - and I think Lauren Weber would agree with me - the best way is to find a balance somewhere in the middle. However, I think she would also agree with me that finding that balance for your own little world is not as easy as printing out a spreadsheet or following the tips of a financial adviser or "expert"!

Weber's message is not preachy. Each person must figure out just how frugal (or not) they want to be in their daily living. She explores everything from the mundane, like setting the thermostat at a reasonable temperature, to less accepted ways some folks cut costs, like dumpster diving. (Actually, there is some interesting reading out there on this, and even if you're not ready to go wading in garbage, there are things you can do to save good items from ending up in a landfill!)

Informative as it is inspiring, this book brings the concept of "cheap" living to a modern audience in a format that readers will enjoy and learn from. The book was published in 2009 through Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-03028-1.

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Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-06-28
Summary: "Helped me to undestand my cheapness"

I just finished the Audible version of Lauren Weber's In Cheap We Trust. I found that this is truly a book of the times for understanding cheapness on both an individual level and a societal level.

By observing and discussing the cliches' of cheapness, the book helped me come to turns with some of my automatic behavior and to better understand how modern society influences consumption; as the notion of cheapness basically has to do with consumption.

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Rating: 3 / 5
Date: 2010-05-01
Summary: "Where is the differentiation between Cheap and Smart ?"

While I did enjoy reading some of the historical background of the frugality movement, as well as the presentation of the "Freegan" movement. Overall I found the read quite a bit disjointed, among other things, when it does not differentiate between cheap and smart consumers.

For example, author's father was shouting anytime a light was left on, even though he did not know the cost of the electricity wasted. In many cases switching on and off a light, reduces the life of the bulb, which is wasteful, while saving a negligible amount of electricity. The author continues to brag how her father, despite his cheapness, paid for her expensive tuition at a private college. Again, that's not rational, considering that a state school in most cases provides the best value.

The author also could have touched on how modern technology allows for a more frugal living. For example such avenues like Amazon Marketplace and eBay allow the sale of non-needed goods in a much more efficient way than garage sales (by selling online I usually can recover at least 50% of the original cost of the items, and sometimes more than 100% !). Also, it now becomes more and more feasible to not own a car, even in a suburb with limited public transit, thanks to proliferation of eCommerce (I do more than 3/4 of shopping online, even ordering some of my groceries online from sites like Amazon Fresh. I not only save upwards to 75% of what I can get at local Mall, but also don't need to own a car to transport bulky goods)

I also wish the author talked more on planned obsolescence. I personally like shopping from stores that give a lifetime warranty on their products (like LLBean), even though it require extra hassle, than buying it from a local store. However the $50 backpack I've bought at LLBean endured a lot of weight and abuse, and its zippers never failed for many years of daily use. While those "cheap" ($10 on sale) backpacks I used to buy from drugstores, didn't last even a season of daily use ! So while both were made in China, one was made to last, and the other to not lost. Like that old story goes:

"An American businessman goes to Italy and ask the factory owner if a pair of shoes can be made for $70, "We should be able to", how about "$50", "No, we can't make shoes for $50" the Italian factory owner responds.

The same businessman goes to China and asks if a pair of shoes can be made for "$50", "Certainly", "How about "$30", "Sure", "How about "$10" the greedy businessman asks the Chinese factory owner. "OK. We can do that." Chinese factory owner responds. So the delighted businessman makes a large order for $10 shoes, hoping to make a steal on them. However when he gets the shipment and starts selling them, he quickly discovers that the sole of those shoes falls off only after a couple months of wear. He goes back to the Chinese factory owner and complaints about the shoes he sold him. The Chinese factory owner responds: "You asked for $10 shoes, and that's what you've got, shoes that are worth $10. So stop complaining !"

The moral of the story is that buying cheap, disposable things is often wasteful. Long time ago I've heard an adage, "We aren't wealthy to buy cheap things." And there is a lot to it. And while I don't like buying luxuries or status symbol items, I do strive to buy premium quality ones, especially for something where quality is important, like kitchenware or small appliances. (I do quite a bit of research on Consumer Reports and online, reading reviews and comparing prices, before buying) And in the end I am much better off monetarily and frustration-wise, buying smart, that buying cheap.

Finally when it comes to the simplicity movement, I am a bit confused what does it exactly mean. Personally I like to think that I practice simplicity by adhering to the rule: "Use it or Lose It (i.e. Sell/Donate/Throw)" for all my belongings. I also try to eliminate any redundancies for any merchandise I own, or services I am subscribed to. For example, I've dropped my landline, since cell phone + Skype makes it redundant. I've dropped TV cable, since Netflix + Hulu makes it redundant and offers a much better value. I've sold my GPS, amateur Camera & Ipod touch since my Droid makes those items redundant. I've dropped Starbucks because my premium coffeemaker makes it redundant. I can go on and on, but the fact remains, that the practice of simplicity can be easier achieved by embracing the technological progress, rather than avoiding it.

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Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-02-25
Summary: "Should be required reading..........."

If a book such as this had been available in the years leading up to the recent economic downturn, the bubbles may well not have developed. This excellent book should be required reading for high school Juniors or Seniors, in an effort to educate them in concepts that may prevent the development of another round of irrational spending habits in the future.