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The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches by Jeff Yeager
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The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches

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The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches by Jeff Yeager
Paperback $19.00
Dec 26, 2007 | ISBN 9780767926959

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    Dec 26, 2007 | ISBN 9780767926959

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  • Dec 26, 2007 | ISBN 9780767929240

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Praise

"A compelling—and highly entertaining—look at improving both the quality of our lives and the health of our planet by consuming wisely and laughing out loud."

—Carl Pope, Executive Director, Sierra Club

"People today think frugality is no fun. Jeff puts the lie to it. I recognize in him my own delight at concocting high joy, low cost solutions to life’s challenges. Less doesn’t mean deprivation–it means less stress, commuting, illness, loneliness and the other ills of our ‘more is better’ and ‘it’s never enough’ culture. Enjoy!"
–Vicki Robin, co-author of the classic betseller,Your Money or Your Life

"Jeff Yeager’s Ultimate Cheapskate book will not only save you a bunch of money, it’ll put a smile on your face while you’re doing it. Finally, there’s no need to be afraid to face your finances. Jeff explains things in clear, easy-to-understand language all the while showing you how to get the last laugh on your money."

–Gary Foreman, Publisher, The Dollar Stretcher, www.stretcher.com

"What do we all want out of life? To enjoy it to the fullest! Jeff Yeager does a great job showing the way to enjoyment is to be free from debt and clutter, and to have a great time while getting there!"

–Janet Luhrs, author of The Simple Living Guide and the Simple Living newsletter, www.simpleliving.com

"I’ve read and reviewed dozens of personal finance books. This is the first one that is truly funny throughout. And Yeager’s advice is solid, too!"

–J.D. Roth, GetRichSlowly, www.getrichslowly.org

“Slay your Enoughasaurus and learn to skip the Money Step with help from The Ultimate Cheapskate. Jeff Yeager’s edgy humor and surprising insights make this book a very different read than the usual financial tomes. This guy takes thinking outside the box to a new level.”

-Gregory Karp, “Spending Smart” newspaper columnist and author of Living Rich by Spending Smart


"The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to True Riches, by Jeff Yeager, has landed a vaunted place next to my economic bibles, Your Money or Your Life and the Tightwad Gazette trilogy. Yeager — between jokes — advises readers to find financial security the old-fashioned way, by spending less than they make."
-Liz Soares, The Morning Sentinel

Author Q&A

Q: What twist of fate helped you become a cheapskate?

A: I think you’re referring to the bizarre story I tell in the book about how I first ended up on the Today Show, which branded me the "Ultimate Cheapskate" and launched my writing career, all as a result of losing a "Penny Pincher Contest" sponsored by finance columnist Michelle Singletary. Now keep in mind that Singletary was offering a $50 top prize so I was plenty psychedand I’m still plenty miffed that she shafted me on the cashola, but she did tell the Today Show that I was at least the funniest cheapskate in America. And, of course, long before I became a frugal celebrity, the miser gene has run in my family. I’m the latest in a long line of tight-knit tightwads. The Yeager family crest even bears the inscription Spartica Homo Erectus, Latin for "Cheapskate Who Stands Erect."

Q: What does your wife think of being married to one of the cheapest men in America?

A: With all due respect, I’m deeply offended by your question. I’m the Cheapest Man in America, not one of several equals. Matt Lauer even said so! If you don’t believe him, then, fine, just ask my pooooor wife, Denise. She should know. After all, we’ve been married twenty-four years, or, as Denise says, "Nearly three and half wonderful years." Not all at once, mind you. In all seriousness, Denise is a good sport to put up with me and my out-of-control frugal libido. That’s why I dedicated my book to her, even though she hasn’t read it yet. Yep, I’m still waiting for her to cough up the $12.95, just like everyone else. Sorry honey, you gotta buy a ticket to see the show, even if it’s dedicated to you.

Q: So what does it really mean to be a "cheapskate"?

A: All kidding asideand as you may have guessed by now there’s a lot of it in my bookmy real message is that we spend and consume too much. The fact is that our current consumer culture in the U.S. and some other developed countries is both unsustainable to the Earth and, frankly, unfair to all the other people on the planet. Wow, I know, that’s a serious, even painful message to hear, and that’s why I wanted to deliver it with a laugh track. But ultimately the cheapskate philosophy behind what I’m saying is an optimistic, uplifting one. You see, not only is spending and consuming so muchas we currently dounsustainable and unfair, but in the end it’s also unsatisfying and unnecessary for leading a full, happy life. My book is about two things: how to find the best value in things, and, more importantly, how to value the best things in life, which often come without a price tag. Its true message is that you can have it all, but only if you’re willing to not pay the price.

Q. Can you be a cheapskate and still be fashionforward?

A: Funny you ask, because I’ve noticed that being cheapspending and consuming wisely, for maximum life enjoymentis becoming the new cool (or would that be the new black?). You can’t embrace the green movement, as so many Americans are rushing to do today, without also accepting that it probably means you need to consume less in your own life. The good news is that being more of a cheapskate, as I define it, isn’t about sacrificeit’s really about choices. It’s about setting out to amass a quality of life, instead of just a quantity of stuff. It’s about the fact that you may very well already have everything you really need or truly want in life, if you’ll just slow down along the Road to Riches to realize it.

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