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In CHEAP We Trust: The Story of a Misunderstood American Virtue |  | Author: Lauren Weber
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Category: Book
List Price: $24.99
Buy New: $9.95
as of 11/27/2009 20:24 CST details
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New (39) Used (10) from $9.95
Seller: bookie1049
Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 12366
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 0316030287
Dewey Decimal Number: 332.02400973
EAN: 9780316030281
ASIN: 0316030287
Publication Date: September 7, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product 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.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 14
 Worth Every Penny November 27, 2009
Alpha Betty (New York, NY)
Gross over consumption as a synonym for the American way never made sense to be before. Thanks to Weber's book I now know why. Cheap was never meant to be a bad word in America and Weber employs a bright, entertaining style to cleverly tell how it become one. After reading this book you'll never be able to look at or think about American history and your spending in the same way again.
 Money, money November 23, 2009
www.bookshipper.blogspot.com/ (Montreal, Quebec)
First, let me tell you what this book is not. It is not a "how to" giving us hints and ideas on how to be cheap or save money. Yes, there are a few passing suggestions, but this book is not really about that.
Rather, this book is actually about detailing for us, the history of "cheap" - where it came from, how it was viewed throughout history and who actually took up the movement. I found this part of the book absolutely fascinating. I liked that the author did so much research into the subject and goes way back in time to show us the basis behind the "cheap" attitude. Its amazing to me how much of a bad reputation the word or the attitude of "cheap" has gotten over the course of the "excess" years/generations.
Of course, I am not sure that I can dumpster dive - as this author mentions in the book - but I believe this is more about security for me than about "never been caught dead doing something like that".
This book is a fascinating look at the subject matter that, suddenly seems to have become almost fashionable again!
I loved it.
 Saving money? November 13, 2009
maison ikkoku fan
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
I do not recommend you waste your money buying this book. I thought it was about how to manage home's budget, but in truth is about changing our standard of leaving. For example, she writes about using the bike instead of the car, I wonder who living in a large city can do everything using a bike, if you are sick and need to see the doctor can you ride a bike or to do groceries, or to go to work? What about if you have kids, elderly parents? Do you have the time to go biking to do all the errands? She also say we need to save energy, so if you need to dry your cloth, don't use the dryer, just do it the all fashion way. And the entire book is like that, I think for people who like the standard of living of Cuba or Haiti, this book is a must.
This book is not about common sense savings, but it goes to the extreme. I don't like to waste, I'm not advocating for mass consumption, but to live like she says in this book; it is like living in the Great Depression. So if you believe in what this author says, do not buy this book instead check it out from the library, stop consuming, and this is the first step.
Penny for Your thoughts November 13, 2009
runeliza (New York)
Now, what are you going to do with that penny? Save it? You're thrifty, and the Puritans would be proud of you. Hoard it? You're a miser, and possibly fulfilling an unpleasant ethnic stereotype. Spend it? You may be carrying thousands of dollars in debt but congratulations, you're a patriot! Of course, that depends on when you spend that precious cent and what you spend it on.
In Lauren Weber's entertaining "In Cheap We Trust: The Story of a Misunderstood America Virtue," the key word is "American." The Founding Fathers, arriving in a land of unparalled raw abundance, worked hard, prospered, and then preached but did not practice that idea that material attachment leads to moral decay. As Weber writes, "... no amount of hellfire sermons against pride and excess scared giddy American consumers away from enjoying the benefits of their burgeoning wealth and their vital trade with the rest of the world." The rest of the world doesn't consider spending habits a key piece of their national identity, but thrift has always been a defining American concern, because how we handle our money is tied to our independence. Buying a new car, riding mower, washing machine, in the 50's, meant freedom from drudgery. Going "freegan" today means scavenging out a living in support of values which the Founding Fathers would sanction. Our reluctance to pay unjust taxes, in the first place, sparked our campaign for freedom. How we spend our money is, in the end, a reflection of what kind of independence we truly prize.
Weber traces our topsy-turvy relationship with thrift through the history of our country, profiling such notables as Franklin, Penn, Emerson, and the Typical American Housewife, and outlining the waxing and waning of thrift versus indulgence in both these advocates and our society. One decade preaches "Keep up with the Jones," followed by a decade which preaches "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without," which takes us to a decade which advises, "Buy days mean paydays ... and paydays mean better days ... So buy, buy!"
An enlightening read. Buy this book, if you've got the pennies.
Great ideas for the budget minded! October 26, 2009
P. Dodia (Dallas, TX USA)
I love this book. It gives you dieas you can implement- Even if you cant do all of the things she reveals , grabbing a few ideas will be very fulfilling.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 14
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