How to be a savy cheapstake

How to Be a Savvy Cheapskate
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Katy Marquardt, On Wednesday April 14, 2010, 11:40 am EDT
Don't judge this penny pincher by his cover. Jeff Yeager may be the author of The Ultimate Cheapskate's Roadmap to True Riches--which one might assume to be filled with coupon-clipping strategies and saving tricks--but his philosophy isn't as much about how to get more for less as it is learning to live with less, period. Sure, he blogs about "12 Surprising Ways to Reuse Aluminum Foil," making cider bisque out of your jack-o-lantern, and using just enough toilet paper, but the bigger goal here is to live green, not just cheap. Ultimately, Yeager says, consumers should direct their frugal efforts toward downsizing their lifestyle--in major areas like housing and transportation--rather than saving a buck here and there. U.S. News recently spoke to Yeager about the most effective ways to economize. Excerpts:
Explain your 'cheapskate' philosophy.
I don't really write about penny-pinching tips. I focus more on quality-of-life and happiness issues ... especially the idea of deciding what "enough" is for you. Most people don't ask themselves that. What would be enough money and enough stuff for you? My wife and I answered that question early in marriage, in our 30s. We were living a comfortable lifestyle--why would we want to spend every last dollar we earned as our salaries increased over the years? We established what I call a "permanent standard of living," a level we still live comfortably at today, even though we could afford to spend more ... we managed, for example, to pay off our house in 15 years and essentially retire in our 40s. It's all about the decisions you make.
[See 21 Things We're Learning to Live Without.]
What sorts of decisions?
Well, for me, it's all about the bigger financial decisions in life. I rail against the latte factor ... for 20 years, pundits have been saying that if you give up your daily Starbucks cup and bank the money, you can attain financial security. That may work on paper, but I don't think it works that way in reality, for most people. One [of the bigger decisions] is housing. I'm a big believer in finishing in your starter home: Buy a modest home when you're first starting out and ignore people who tell you not to pay it off right away. Pay off your mortgage as quickly as you can, settle in and get to know your neighbors, and make your house your home. The conventional wisdom before the housing bubble burst was that if you could afford to pay down your mortgage early, instead take that extra money and invest it because mortgage money is relatively inexpensive to borrow. The financial pundits at the time said that any idiot could make a return on their investment above 5 percent or 4 percent of their mortgage interest. ... Well, it didn't work out that way.
These days with the tight economy, you hear so much in the media about economizing. But that's almost always about "how to get more for less" ... how to clip a coupon or find a bargain. But I think we're missing what could be the golden epiphany of these hard times: We shouldn't be asking ourselves "How can we afford it?" We should instead be asking, "Do we really need it?" There's lots of social science that shows that once you're above poverty level, more money and more stuff doesn't contribute to happiness. I believe that most Americans would be happier, and the quality of their lives would increase, if they would only spend and consume less. If you believe as I do, I think there will be a lot of upsides to the current recession in the long run.
[See 12 Hidden Costs of Homeownership.]
What are those upsides?
For example, when gas was $4, we all complained about it, but two-thirds of people reported that they changed their driving habits as a result. And unless I'm missing all the horror stories, nothing awful happened because of it. Certainly driving less is better for the environment and better for our pocketbooks, so where's the downside? Another example: Since the start of the recession, the size of new homes being built in the U.S. has dropped by about 11 percent ... 300 fewer square feet. Again, that's a change, but I don't think that's a bad thing. Think about the tremendous financial impact that the decision to live in a smaller home will have on your life. Not only it cost more to buy [a larger home] in the first place, but once you have those extra 300 square feet, you have to insure it, decorate it, heat and cool it, maintain it, repair it, and pay taxes on it. That's the kind of fundamental decision that has enslaved so many Americans to the yoke of too much debt. So apparently now were going to be living in slightly smaller houses, but why is that a bad thing?
[How to Gauge Your Middle-Class Status.]
If you read the book The Not So Big House, it says that as humans, we're uncomfortable in big spaces. If we have a chance to move into the mansion on the hill, we're not really comfortable with it. We're learning some lessons in the recession. Personal savings rates are up. Even though things are tighter now, we're somehow magically able to put money in the bank. Go figure.
Aside from driving less and being happy with a smaller house, what other significant things we should cut back on?
Eating lower on the food chain, for one. I try to spend only a dollar a pound on food. It's a myth that it costs more to eat healthy. You can spend a lot, but when you think about the kinds of things we should eat the most of--whole grains, legumes, and produce--they tend to cost less per pound than things that are bad for us like red meat and many processed foods that are high in trans saturated fats. I encourage people to eat more meals at home. Forty-five percent of the average U.S. family food budget is spent on food prepared outside of home. And they cost an average of 80 percent more than preparing the same food at home. There's a lot of waste, too. According to the USDA, about 25 percent of food is thrown away, so arguably you could reduce your spending here by 25 percent simply by being smarter about food storage and portion control.
You write a lot about the relationship between being frugal and environmentally conscious on thedailygreen.com. Any takeaways?
For most Americans, the greenest thing you can do is consume less, which probably means spending less. I think there's some hypocrisy in the current green movement, even though I've been an ardent environmentalist my whole adult life. I fear that the so-called green movement is catching on now because there's a bunch of cool, expensive green stuff we can by. It's become what I call a "cause de stuff." Much of the current environmental movement in the U.S. seems to be built around the very thing it should be seeking to combat ... rampant consumerism. Take green cleaning products. They tend to be more expensive than the toxic products. But you can clean almost everything with baking soda and vinegar, which are safer for the environment than green products and cost less than any other cleaning products, green or toxic. Hybrid vehicles are another example. It's cool now to own a $35,000 Prius, although driving a gas guzzler to work instead is better for the environment IF you carpool with four friends. Sure, the greenest choice would be to carpool in a hybrid, but I don't see Americans being that committed to environmentalism. We're really mostly committed to buying cool, expensive, green stuff. That's the hypocrisy I'm talking about.
You must make big purchases every now and then. What's your strategy?
I'm a big believer in the Consumer Reports approach to shopping. Buyer's remorse is at epidemic proportions. How is spending money on something we'll regret later a good thing? It makes us poorer, and clearly hasn't made us happy. My advice is to have a mandatory waiting period. Wait at least a week after you see something in the store that you want. I guarantee that half the time, you won't go buy it.
Once or twice a year, I look at the things I've spent more money on, and ask myself one simple question: "If I had it to do over again, would I have spent that money?" I call it a 'what heck was I thinking? audit." Maybe you'll see that you spend a lot on restaurant meals that you regret. I noticed that when I had a regular 9-to-5 job, when I was stressed at work, I'd often buy things I regretted later. It's a way of helping you learn from your mistakes and change your spending behavior.

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"Es absolutamente importante que las comunidades hispanas estén totalmente involucradas, participando en el conteo del 2010, para que todos nosotros seamos contados en ese censo y que nuestras comunidades puedan entonces recibir mejores beneficios.”

-- Antonio Flores Presidente y CEO Asociación Hispana de Universidades (HACU)

Por eso es tan importante que usted llene el cuestionario y lo devuelva por correo sin demora. La información del censo afecta la cantidad de espacios que su estado tiene en la Cámara de Representantes de los EE.UU. Y una gran variedad de personas utilizan los datos del censo para patrocinar causas, rescatar a víctimas de desastres, prevenir enfermedades, investigar mercados, ubicar grupos de trabajadores diestros y más.

De hecho, la información que el censo recoge ayuda a determinar cómo se distribuyen más de $400 mil millones de dólares en fondos federales cada año para servicios como:

• Hospitales
• Centros de capacitación laboral
• Escuelas
• Centros para ancianos
• Puentes, túneles y otros proyectos de obras públicas
• Servicios de emergencia s

La participación no sólo es importante — es obligatoria.

Champions for Children

In-Kind Donations:

Honorable Mention: Tracie Chapman and Elisa Rivera

Friend: The Butter Box, Johnson Sheffield, Piggly Wiggly-Warsaw, Wal-Mart, The Bistro Restaurant,

Dean’s Gas Company, and Gustavo Rodea

Bronze: Lucille Washington

Gold: LTF

Platinum: Beulaville Liquidators, Head Start, and Duplin County Health Services

Champions for Children

2008-2009 Quarter 1 & 2: Cash, Volunteer, and In-Kind Donations:

Duplin County Partnership for Children would like to thank individuals, agencies and

businesses for donating their time and money to our cause. Without you we would

not be able to do as much as we do for the children of Duplin County.

Cash Donations:

Honorable Mention: Ken Jones, Linda Smith, Phyllis Stanford, Tonya Stewart, Tom Reeves,

Gustavo Rodea, Mary Wood, and Twila Bowen

Friend: Darrell Jones, Deborah Bailey, Ed Emory, James Snyder, Pamela Colvin, Ann Washington,

Cristal Jenkins, Duplin Auto Brokers, Paul Rose, Scot Brennan, Angela Miller, JD Teachey, Minchew Motors,

Norris Tire Service, and Zettie Williams

Patron: Alice Brown, Golden Key Realty, Inc., Kingdom Builders, Lending Library Members,

Rose Hill Restaurant, Scottie’s Drug, Wallace Drug Company, Inc., and Warsaw Drugs

Bronze: Airco Reco, Bay Valley Foods, Duplin Medical Association, Four Oaks Bank, House of Raeford,

Lynda’s Play & Learn Too, Inc., Southern Bank, and Linda Hadden

Volunteer Hours

Friend: Curley Stallings

Patron: Alicia Randolph, Stan Hubbard, Ann Herring, Bob Herring, Abriel Murphy, Chuck Weaver,

Donna Jones, Eric Jones, Eric Southerland, Latoya Jones, Mary Scott, Nettie Daub, Pamela Cyrus,

Phyllis Stanford, Tommy Kissner, Vivian Murphy, Zannette Jones, Deborah Hubbard, Michelle Bell,

Tina Bryan, Nominating Committee

Bronze: Twila Bowen, Allison Sasser, Donna Landis, Kirby Clark, Rhonda Spivey, Tammy Areo,

Charles Brewer, Sarah Brewer, Shannon Brewer, Patrice Smith, Rosa Jarman, Shirley Jones,

Terry Matthews, and Diana Kissner

Silver: Finance Committee Members

Gold: Board of directors

mr g

http://www.dcpfc.org/pdf/Donors.pdf

FBD: Walmart denies rumors of collaboration on immigration raids

http://foodbizdaily.com/articles/96920-walmart-denies-rumors-of-collaboration-on-immigration-raids.aspx

the facts about Inmigration

(1) All residents of the thirteen original colonies invaded rather than settled, first they did not have any permission to enter the Americas other than that extended by the English Monarchy which was in no positions to sell what was not rightfully theirs, second there were already a number of independent native American tribes which had their own culture, language, and political system, which where invaded by what the Colonies and later the United States.

(2)During a long period of time the United States did have any restriction on immigration, so it is very likely that your ancestors came here without any legal permission. It was not until 1875 that Congress passed restrictive immigration law and this was a result of American racism as well as religious intolerance (but in reality that's all that immigration law is meant to cover)against the great number of Irish Catholics that immigrated in between 1820 and 1880. If you read a history book once in life-time you will realize that every new restrictive immigration law that was passed since was in response to a new cultural, racial, or religious, stigma.

(3) Today immigrants take the responsibility of helping this nation grow, they are the one's who take the most undesirable work, the work most legal citizens would be terrified of doing. It estimated By the National Research Council that the average immigrant will contribute 80,000 dollars (in 1996 dollars) to the government over the amount of money they receive from local, state, and federal benefits. When you multiply this number by the estimated amount of illegal immigrants the sum would $924,400,000,000 in their lifetime. Furthermore it was found by the Federal Banks of Dallas and Atlanta that Immigrants have no effect on the wages of service related, professional, or manual laborers, however they do have a negative effect of 2.5 percent on low skill workers, when it relates to salary.

Immigrant whether legal or illegal benefit this county more that they cost. Furthermore everyone in this county is immigrant, therefore let us put our racial, cultural, and religious differences aside and work toward a better America. An America that is true to it's image of being the land of the free, brave, the melting pot of the world. So, in conclusion if you would like to restore the America you speak of, get yourself and your family member back to where you came from.

And about Wall-Mart, just boycott them, until they fix the whole "Empire of evil, abuse, and the anti esprit de corps."

Adios mis paisanos