Cheap Talk

2009-04-13T05:34:00.000-07:00

Cellulite Nightmare
By Jeff Yeager

[The following dream began haunting me in my sleep shortly after I wrote an article suggesting that people might be able to save some money and simplify - and therefore improve - their lives, by giving up their cell phones. My naivety about the hell-storm of controversy that that suggestion would unleash stems from the simple fact that I'm 51-years old and have never owned a cell phone. And nothing awful has ever happened because of it. See Matt Lauer get on my case about cell phones in this recent interview:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/29988677#29988677]

I had the nightmare again last night, the fifth time in as many days. It's always the same. The still of the night is suddenly shattered by a mob of angry strangers, emerging from the darkness and surrounding my house. Some are shouting: "Heretic!" "Idiot!" "Luddite!" Each carries a blazing torch in one hand and a small, silvery object in the other.

I can't quite make out what they're clutching so tightly, so pensively, in their other hand. Then I hear a phone ring. One of the torchbearers puts the object to his ear, and then I realize that everyone in the crowd has a cell phone.

Other phones begin to ring, and more and more people in the angry mob answer their cells and begin talking. I can't tell what they're saying. It sounds like gibberish, like crazy talk, total nonsense. It's like they're talking, but not listening; it's like the conversation is unreal, unnecessary.

Some of the phones play a tune when they ring... the theme from 2010 Space Odyssey... the Stone's Sympathy for the Devil... Pink Floyd's Money.

Finally all of the phones stop ringing and all of the conversations simultaneously stop. A delegation of five burly looking men is dispatched to my front door. They grab me and pull me out onto the porch, knocking me to the floor. Then they're on top of me, pinning my arms and legs, while the ringleader begins trying to undo my belt.

Suddenly I'm viewing the scene from above. Only now it's not me lying on the porch. I've morphed into a young Ned Beatty. And then I hear Dueling Banjos playing, from the movie Deliverance; but it's only the mob leader's cell phone ringing. He answers it, mumbles some more nonsense, and hangs up.

"Now stop fighting it!" he says to me as he finally finishes unbuckling my belt. "Do you hear me now?" he says, which brings a hearty snicker from the encroaching crowd.

"This is for your own good. You need this," he says as a he slides a nerdy-looking leatherette cell phone carrying case onto my belt. Inside the case is a cell phone, just like the one everybody in the crowd is carrying, complete with rollover minutes and a non-cancelable annual service contract.

"Just wait and see," he says, as his cohorts let me up from the floor. "This will totally change your life."

"But, but," I stammer, "That's what I'm afraid of! I don't want to change my life. I'm happy with my life just the way it is."

The leader shakes his head in disgust as he and the rest of the crowd descends back into the darkness. I hear them mumble as they go. "Loser!" "Nut job!" "Crazy man!"

As I stand alone on my front porch, the cell phone on my hip begins to ring. The tune it plays is instantaneously annoying, but it takes me a moment to recognize it.

"No!" I scream, only then realizing the full extent of the inhumanity which has been inflicted on me, "No! Please! Not Muskrat Love!"

# # #

2009-03-19T02:43:00.000-07:00

Giving Up Lint for Lent

My passion for repurposing dryer lint – aka “Cheapskate’s Velvet” - is a matter of public record. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMtOYL42ttY ) In fact after looking in the mirror this morning and marveling at the rate at which my hairline is receding, I’ve decided to fast-track my latest repurposing experiment involving dryer lint. Yep, I’m trying to fashion a toupee out of the stuff. The prototypes have been very encouraging: They look preposterous, which is apparently the industry standard for toupees. At least mine isn’t going to cost me anything.

Well, as I’ve written before, maybe dryer lint really isn’t free. You can even argue that ounce for ounce it’s truly a precious commodity. You see, dryer lint represents the life of your clothing being cooked and beaten out of them by an electric or gas dryer. That – and the waste of energy used by the machine – is why I’m encouraging folks to forsake their electric dryers and hang their clothes out to dry, at least during Lent. Let’s give up lint for Lent, shall we?

In my experience, gently washing your clothes in cold water and drying them on a clothesline instead of shaking-and-baking them in an electric dryer can as much as double the lifespan of many apparel items. Theoretically, that means you could cut your spending on clothing in half just by being careful about washing and line-drying them instead of using a machine. Given that the average American family spends about $1,800 a year on clothing (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cesan.nr0.htm), that $900 savings over, say, thirty years with a compounded interest rate of five percent could build you nice little nest egg of close to $70,000. And that’s before factoring in the additional savings on energy and appliance costs when you line-dry instead of use a machine.

Of course all that depends on your willingness to be a trendsetter and actually wear your clothes until they’re worn out. I heard recently that only a small percentage (I think it was less than five percent) of clothing that we throw away in the U.S. is truly “worn out.” The vast majority of the clothing that we throw away is simply something we no longer want or that no longer fits, and we don’t take the time to pass it along to someone else who will wear it.

Someday, I want to live in a world where a frayed cuff or a gravy stain on a necktie isn’t an embarrassment, but rather a point of personal pride; a public proclamation that someone is committed to getting the maximum life out of their clothing, and is too self-confident to let some snobbish fashionista shame them into wasting the Earth’s resources and their own hard earned money. Of course, if that day ever comes, a small part of me will miss the surplus dryer lint.

# # #

2008-12-10T12:40:00.000-08:00

Join the $4 a Gallon Green Savings Club

I'm often described as a professional penny-pincher. After all, I make my living writing about and reporting on ways to save a buck, and help save the planet in the process. I think my dollar stretching skills are programmed in my DNA. The Yeager family crest even bears the inscription "Spartica Homo Erectus," Latin for "Cheapskate Who Stands on Two Feet."

So here I am, proud to be among the most savvy shoppers in America, and I'm still paying $4 a gallon for gasoline when last week the national average fell to under $2.00 a gallon, the lowest price in over a year and a half. Have I lost my money-saving mind? Is my frugal libido dead?

No, you see I've made a pledge to continue to pay $4 a gallon for gas. Or, more accurately, to pay the lowest price I can find and then bank the difference in my $4 a Gallon Green Savings Club. So at $4 a gallon it used to cost about $60 to fill up my Toyota pickup truck, and now it tops off at closer to $30. Every time I fill up, I stick the $30 I saved into my Savings Club envelope. Since I fill up about once a week, at this rate I'll squirrel away more than $1,500 over the next twelve months if gas prices remain this low.

Like the old Christmas Savings Clubs that were popular when I was a kid, it's easy to build a nice nest egg by saving a little bit at a time as part of your daily money management routine. Sure, we complained about paying $4 for a gallon of gas, but we got use to it and adjusted our household budgets and driving behavior to pay for it. Now that the price has dropped, why not bank the savings rather than spend it on something else or, worst of all, go back to our old driving habits?

And that last point is why the $4 a Gallon Savings Club is as much about environmental stewardship as it is about money. When gas actually cost $4 a gallon, the good news was that we drove less and our consumption dropped for the first time in decades. The environment was the winner, and, from what I could see, nothing awful happened to us because we drove less. Of course that drop in consumption/demand was one of the primary reasons why gas prices came back down ---at least for the time being.

Now I'm not an economist, I'm just a cheap guy from southern Maryland, but it seems to me like if we return to our pre-$4 a gallon driving habits, demand for gas will increase and prices will soon follow. But if we continue to drive as if gas costs $4 a gallon - even if it means paying ourselves the difference via our Savings Clubs rather than paying it at the pump - we might be able to keep gas prices low, build a nice little savings account, and, oh yeah, live lighter on the earth.

That's why every time I stick an Andrew Jackson in my $4 a Gallon Savings Club, I know that I'm saving green by living green.

2008-10-20T14:46:00.000-07:00

Simple Living Is Key to Complex Financial Times

One of my all time favorite movies is the 1979 classic "Being There", starring Peter Sellers. The late Sellers (of Pink Panther fame) plays Chance the Gardener, a simple minded but lovable manservant who lives his whole life cloistered in the estate of an elderly patron, only to be abruptly thrust into the outside world upon his master's death. Sellers' clueless character is eventually heralded as one of the great economic minds of his time, pointing out through his innocence and simple thinking the follies of the self-deceived "real world" he encounters.

If you're a simple cheapskate like me, you're probably feeling a lot like Chance the Gardener these days. I know I am. With the recent and ongoing implosion of the U.S. economy, quite honestly my phone has been ringing off the hook with questions from reporters writing articles about getting frugal - and fast - in order to weather the hard times that are upon us.

I guess we've entered the Age of the Cheapskate and frugal folks like me, who know far more about hedge trimming than hedge funds, are the new financial oracles. Chance the Gardener, take a bow.

While I've never claimed to be a mastermind of high finance (a critic once said that I am to the community of personal financial pundits what paint-by-numbers is to the art world), I'll wager that the most effective solutions for making it through these complex financial times may in fact be the simplest. I'm not talking about on a macro-economic level, with its nearly trillion dollar federal bailout of credit markets, but on a personal level, in your own life.

When asked for personal financial advice for surviving - and even thriving - in these troubled economic times, I keep coming back to a single word: Simplify. Almost without exception, whenever you simplify your life, three things happen. It usually costs less, it's nearly always better for the environment, and - here's the best part - it inevitably makes you happier.

Simplify. Drive less by consolidating trips, telecommuting, shortening your work week, walking or bicycling. Stay at home more with family and friends, making your own fun rather than paying to be entertained. Cook more meals at home and eat lower on the food chain. Consider downsizing your house, moving closer to where you work, or living in - and heating! - only part of your home in the wintertime. De-clutter your life and boost your finances by selling stuff you don't use or no longer want. Do more things for yourself rather than pay others to do things for you, and maybe then you can even cancel your gym membership.

How is any of that about sacrifice or hardship? It's all about living a better life - and living lighter on the planet - by consuming and spending less. Ghandi said it best: "Live simply so that others may simply live." I agree, and I think Chance the Gardener would, too.

It's Easy Being Green (if you're cheap)

2008-06-17T10:35:00.000-07:00

I've been flattered - in fact my Inner Miser has been blushing a lot recently - by all the attention my little book has been receiving. Of course it didn't hurt sales that just about the day it was released back in January, the U.S. economy promptly collapsed, ushering in the Era of the Cheapskate.

OK, fine, we cheapskates know how to survive tough times. But I didn't write my book as a survival guide, I wrote it as a revival guide; a way of reviving our non monetary souls and reminding us that there's a lot more to life than money and stuff. Of course, my Cheapskate brothers and sisters understand this and enjoy life more because of it.

But I have to say that one of the most heartening - and positive - responses I've had is from the burgeoning "green" movement. You see, as we cheapskates know, if you're a typical American you can't truthfully embrace the green movement without first accepting that it means YOU need to consume - and spend - less in your own life. We are 5% or the world's population, but we consume more than 30% of the world's resources.

So we of the Cheaphood have always know that we're the Ultimate Greenskates, too, but others in the environmental movement have sometimes been slow to recognize us as such. I guess it's easy for most Americans to think of environmentalism as something that's important for us to promote in the Amazon basin, but not so easy when it comes to accepting that maybe you shouldn't replace that 1970's avocado colored wash basin in your bathroom, since it still functions perfectly.

But here's the good news: Attitudes in the environmental community and public at large are changing. Cheap is the new cool, and it comes in only one color --- a cool shade of green.

As a result, I've locked arms with a number folks involved in the green movement, hoping to bring the cheapskate's perspective on consumerism into the public dialogue about conservation and the environment. To that end, I recently started blogging as the "Green Cheapskate" on the marvelous website The Daily Green. You can read my blog posts at http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/blogs/save-money/, and I'll be posting the introduction to each new post in this space going forward.

Stay Cheap ... and Get Green!

Cheap Pride Sack of Courage

2008-02-03T08:40:00.000-08:00

In the overall scheme of personal finances, the amount spent on disposable brown paper bags or reusable lunch boxes to transport your daily noontime fare is not a terribly large sum.

In fact, I would estimate that it costs about $126.19 to buy a lifetime supply of brown paper lunch sacks, assuming that you carry your lunch every day throughout a 30-year career and throw away the sack each day (NOTE: This is based on generic store-brand bags, and allows for sick days, vacations, sacks that need to be replaced prematurely due to overripe bananas, and occasional lunches out with the boss). Unlike non-cheapskates who mindlessly shell out each and every day for a fast food lunch or something even more frivolous, the cheapskate is still far ahead of everyone else by packing his own lunch, even if he treats himself to a new bag everyday.

No, this story is more about pride - pride in being cheap - than it is about generating huge economic savings (even though there's hardly anything the Ultimate Cheapskate wouldn't do for $126.19). When Miser Advisrr J.P. of Grand Rapids, Michigan, shared with me this story about a dollar stretching friend of hers, I realized that this story is really about the Red Badge of Cheapskate Courage, a symbol that all of us who are tight with a buck can use to declare our miserliness to the rest of the world.

According to J.P., her friend has managed to get SIX YEARS (and counting) of lunch bag service out of something you probably have in your cupboard at this very moment. His Domino Sugar bag, with its multiple layers of industrial strength, indestructible paper, has served him faithfully, day in and day out, for six long years.

Now, if this same idea had been conceived by the Madison Avenue marketing firm that probably represents Domino Sugar, you can bet that by tomorrow Paris Hilton would be sporting the trendy new lunch sack (and little else), every child and many adults across America would be scrambling to get theirs, the price of Domino Sugar would soar, supplies would run short, trade embargos against Cuba would be lifted, Fidel would be offered a position managing the Yankees, and so on. But it is, once again, the cheapskate who must blaze this trail.

I can think of no more fitting symbol of Cheap Pride than the one offered by J.P.'s friend. For years frugal people have been "brown bagging it," but now true cheapskates can proudly "sugar bag it." And nothing bothers a cheapskate more than paying for something with the express intention of throwing it away. The Cheap Pride Movement could have no more poignant symbol; one that makes a statement and saves money, but involves no actual sacrifice or decrease in standard of living. In essences, it symbolizes all that we stand for and believe in.

And so, I call on my tightwad brethren to throw down your brown bags and store-bought lunch boxes and proudly fly the yellow and blue colors of the Domino Sugar bags. When we see a fellow cheapskate with the distinctive Sack of Courage, we will lift our heads high and proudly declare: "We will not pay for what we do not need and already own!"

Cheap Pride Sack of Courage

2008-02-03T07:54:00.000-08:00

Teach Your Children Well ... Or NOT

2007-11-12T08:41:00.000-08:00

Cheap Talk Blog Post 11/15/07: Two experiences in the last couple weeks have made me think about the lessons we teach our kids about money, or maybe don't teach our kids. In the interest of full-disclosure, first let me say that my wife and I don't have any children (and, in the interest of fuller-disclosure, that's kind of surprising, since we've always purchased our birth control from the Dollar Store).

The first epiphany I had was at a conference where I heard a very interesting speaker, Nathan Dungan , talk about how so few American families these days make any type of formal effort to teach their kids about money. I think it was something like only 10% of families even make the effort.

But as I mentioned to Mr. Dungan after his presentation, I think 100% of parents actually teach their kids about money ... by the example they set. And based on the latest research about our proclivity for consumer debt and a negative savings rate, it's clear that the lessons we're teaching our kids about money by the example we set are mostly the WRONG lessons. Mr. Dungan and his organization Share, Save, Spend has a family-based program aimed to correct that problem, but it's a huge task, particularly when so many kids see their parents modeling just the opposite behavior.

The second experience I had recently that has my miser-mind thinking about the issue of teaching kids about money was when I had a chance to speak to two Independent Living classes at Maumee High School in Maumee, Ohio. I'd seen a news article about this course developed and taught by MHS teacher Jennifer Bayer. I was impressed with her program because it goes well beyond just how to balance your check book or maintain a good credit rating. As important as those life skills are, Bayer strives to engage students in a bigger conversation about their goals and ambitions in life and what money does - or doesn't - have to do with it.

I wasn't disappointed by Bayer or her classes of high school juniors and seniors. Bayer herself is as energetic as she is dedicated when it comes to teaching life lessons about money, a true Comrade in Thrift-craft. And the impact on her Independent Living pupils was apparent. Although like most American young people (and most American adults, for that matter), there was still an undercurrent of "more is, of course, always better" attitude, at least Bayer's students intelligently indulged my perennial question: "What's enough for you?" -- that question that each of us needs to answer if we ever hope declare victory in our own personal War for More and achieve some level of happiness and fulfillment.

While folks like Jennifer Bayer and Nathan Dungan are to be commended for their efforts to educate our children about the role money plays in our lives, their task is made immeasurably harder if the example they see at home - through their parent's behavior - is a bad example.

Thanks for reading and Stay Cheap!

[Post your thoughts, questions, or comments about my Cheap Talk Bolg and you'll automatically be entered in a drawing to win a free copy of my book - "The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches" - when it's released in January 2008.]

Buy American! (Even if it costs more?)

2007-10-05T07:56:00.000-07:00

Maybe we'd had too much box wine. After all, the half empty box was starting to remind me more and more of Sponge Bob Square Pants. I reached over and let the little guy tinkle in my plastic cup one more time.

"How can you call yourself a patriot if you don't buy American?!" My friend Lenny was starting to turn as red in the face as the California burgundy we were drinking.

We'd been talking money and politics most of the evening, and eventually the two topics collided when I made the statement that I buy based on price - with a nod to quality (particularly as it impacts durability and maintenance costs) - and not based on where a product comes from.

Man, what a mistake. It's true what they say: "You can't put the wine back in the box after it's been poured."

As I tried to explain to Lenny between his vino-fueled outbursts, it's not just that I'm a cheapskate (after all, that's a matter of public record). I believe that competition in the marketplace - a key element of which is pricing - needs to prevail. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know all about trade restrictions, etc. that effect price and take some of the freedom out of free trade. Although last I knew, they worked both ways here and abroad, limiting both what the U.S. can export as well as what it can and can't import.

My point was that there is nothing wrong with letting price dictate your buying decisions over "Made in America." Add to that multinational conglomerates, foreign ownership of U.S. companies, and manufacturing operations spread out around the globe (like in the auto industry), and determining whether a product is truly "American Made" is next to impossible. And since the people of the world consume more goods and services from the U.S. than from any other single country, isn't it only fair that we reciprocate by consuming some of theirs, especially if they cost less?

But that's just one cheapskate's opinion, and I'd like hear yours. How do you feel about buying American-made products, even if they're more expensive? If, like Lenny, you've vowed to buy American-made, is there any price point at which you'd reconsider?

Thanks for reading, and Stay Cheap!

How to Spend Less on Yourself and Share More with Others (Who REALLY Need It)

2007-09-24T08:36:00.001-07:00

Despite my well publicized spending phobia - or maybe because of it - people often assume that the Ultimate Cheapskate must be a mean spirited, selfish, greedy individual.

My wallet anxiety aside, in fact just the opposite is true. Simply put, my goal is to amass a quality of life, not a quantity of stuff. For me it's not just about finding the best values, but valuing the best things in life, which are usually things without a price tag. In short, it's about how to spend less on yourself so that you have more to give to those who really need it. And I'm talking about giving of both your treasure and your time.

Here's an idea: Rather than spend $40 on a six-hour audio tape by some financial pundit telling you how to make a bundle in the stock market, send the 40 bucks to your favorite charity and volunteer for six hours at a homeless shelter. Trust me, spending time with those who are truly needy will do more to motivate you to spend less - and value all you already have more - than any talking head ever will. It'll teach you to spend more time taking stock, and less time buying stock.

"Giving the gift that costs nothing to give, a gift of your time as a volunteer," was the subject of one of my recent appearances on the NBC TODAY Show, and one that's near and dear to my heart. The point of the piece is to present a different perspective on the old adage: "Time Is Money." Sure, that's true enough. So, I say, if you spend less money, you'll have more time --- including more time to volunteer.

If you're interested in finding nonprofit groups near you that need volunteers, try these online resources:

www.VolunteerMatch.org

www.Idealist.org

www.BeTheChange.org

www.211.org (United Way)

www.give.org

Remember that many out-of-pocket expenses incurred while volunteering are tax deductible, including transportation/mileage (See IRS Publication 526 Charitable Contributions). And why not double-down like I do, and donate your tax savings back to the nonprofit organization, since you've already paid for the expense upfront?

Click here to view the Ultimate Cheapskate on the Today Show talking about volunteering:

Spring Fashion News Prompts Ultimate Cheapskate to Increase Spending Threat Level to Code Magenta

2007-09-24T08:21:00.000-07:00

(Accokeek, Maryland April 24, 2006) U.S. fashionistas from New York to San Francisco have declared magenta the new pink, shocking the free world and prompting an increase in the Spending Threat Level.

With U.S. consumers already spending more than $330 billion annually on apparel (roughly equivalent to the combined Gross Domestic Products of Africa's fifteen poorest nations), Jeff Yeager, the Ultimate Cheapskate, estimates that the breaking news about magenta will likely generate billions in new spending, although he's convinced that the switch to magenta was in no way based on that consideration.

"I'm confident that the fashion industry has the scientific data to support its position regarding the superiority of magenta over pink, otherwise I'm certain that these discretionary dollars would have been directed to world hunger or other secondary priorities" said Yeager.

"This magenta crisis is really a wakeup call, and our speedy response in terms of focusing public attention and financial resources on the problem bodes well for the priority response system we have in place. Given our response to the news regarding magenta, we can all sleep easier tonight, knowing that well be able to effectively address issues like global warming when the time comes," Yeager added.

In the interest of full disclosure, the Ultimate Cheapskate has filed documents with authorities verifying that he has spent nearly $23 on personal clothing in the last 48 months. He also confirmed that he does not own any magenta colored clothing, although there is a grape juice stain on his good dress shirt that bears a remarkable resemblance to America's 22nd President, Grover Cleveland.

About the Spending Threat Level

The Spending Threat Level System (STLS) was established by the Ultimate Cheapskate to alert the public to emerging threats to their pocketbooks. Modeled after the highly confusing and ineffective Terrorism Threat Level System developed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security at a cost of several billion dollars, Jeff Yeager, the Ultimate Cheapskate, was surprised to find that he could establish an even more confusing and ineffective rating system without requiring the expenditure of a single additional tax dollar. "It just came to me when I saw the big 64 pack of Crayolas sitting on my desk. Undoubtedly the government was working with the basic 8 pack, but that's how new ideas and technology evolve," said Yeager.

Suze, Oh Suze

2007-09-19T10:52:00.000-07:00

Although I've never met her, Suze Orman scares the pants ($12.95 @ Costco) off me. In part that's because I'm always a little frightened of anyone who obviously feels better every single day of their lives than I will probably feel on my very best day, ever.

Like a lot of people, sometimes I feel like crap. And then I have my bad days. Occasionally I feel OK, and sometimes even pretty good. On rare occasions I actually feel really good or even great. But I've never achieved the kind of toe curling Orman-gasm that Suze seems to be experiencing every time I see her on TV.

Whenever I watch her PBS show and see her entranced in a 100,000 watt performance that would scare even the Energizer Bunny back into his hole, I think maybe Suze's right. Maybe I'd feel better if I had more money. Because like most personal finance pundits these days, that's ultimately what Suze is prescribing: How to be happy by having more money. Or maybe, more accurately: How to get more money, to buy more stuff (including more Prozac), to be happy.

You see, I appear to be among a small and shrinking minority of Americans who actually believe the old saying "money can't buy happiness." And while I, like most people I know (other than Suze), have my ups and downs, I don't think money really has much to do with it. Other than I believe you can waste a lot of time getting
money you really don't need in order to enjoy life. In this way, money - or the exercise of pursuing money - may actually ensure that you won't find happiness, because you'll never have the time. Pretty ironic, isn't it?

Money is a relative commodity. That is, what's a lot of money to someone is considered very little money by someone else. All most people - particularly Americans - know is that they want MORE of it. They never really stop to think about what ENOUGH would even look like. All they know is that they want more than they have now. More than their parents had, and certainly more than the guy next door has. More than they ever thought they'd have, and probably more than they'll ever need.

One of the smartest, most accomplished businessmen I know was recently telling me that he was thinking about retiring, but couldn't figure out how much money he needed in order to do so. It wasn't because he couldn't do the math; he's a brilliant financier and God knows retirement savings calculators can be found on every finance-related site on the web. Heck, Suze publishes a new book on the subject every six months! No, as I talked with him I realized that what he was really saying was that he could not decide at what point he, personally, was prepared to say he had "enough;" that it was OK to stop the exercise of amassing wealth, that it was OK to declare victory and retire with his spoils.

In his must-read book The Progress Paradox, Gregg Easterbrook tackles the question I think more Americans, particularly those in the middle and upper economic class, should be asking themselves: Why, at a time when we enjoy a higher standard of living than ever before, are more of us feeling less happy than in previous generations? Easterbrook's conclusion isn't necessarily that "less is more," but it's absolutely clear from the research he presents that "more is NOT more." When it comes to the relationship between money, "things," and happiness, there isn't one. At least not beyond a base level of financial resources, which is north of the official U.S. poverty level, but not by much.

And so when you look at the advice brokered by Suze Orman and so many other personal finance gurus these days, understand that it's probably terrifically solid advice about how to get more money, although that's admittedly not my primary area of expertise. But if you accept that money truly can't buy happiness, then you find yourself, as I have, asking the next question: So why should I spend so much of my life in pursuit of more money? Why can't I just cut to the quick? Why can't I just live on less, and use my time to enjoy life more?

The Last Lunch Bag You'll Ever Buy (and you probably already own one)

2007-09-19T10:40:00.000-07:00