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

by Lauren Weber

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Economics, Finance, Personal Finance, Sociology, Business

320 pages, Hardcover

First published August 20, 2009

Reviews

[Jacki · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://www.lovelylittleshelf.com/2009...
The Story: The first half of this book was basically a brief history of America’s spending and saving habits. It started from the Puritans who first settled here and went through May of 2008. She talked a lot about the role that women have played in household finances and what scrimping and saving looked like 100 years ago versus now. She also talked about how thriftiness was viewed by the masses and the different government pushes to either spend or save.

Something she pointed out that I’d never connected in my mind was that during World War I, the government really encouraged saving, saving, saving. They had ads out about how to reuse and conserve and ration. After the war was over, people continued to do this, leading to the Great Depression. So, when World War II came around, they had to have everyone ration again, but this time all the ads were more to the tune of “Ration for NOW! After the war, feel free to buy everything you can touch,” and it worked, that’s exactly what everyone did. And that led to one of the largest economic booms in our history. They did this again after 9/11, when Bush and Giuiliani’s immediate response to everything was “go shopping, go on vacation,” because they knew the effects a scared nation could have on the economy. Interesting.

After getting into the history pretty throughly, the author went into what all of that led to, what it looks like today. The second half went into the different movements that are happening right now, including people going green, and the Freegan movement. She talked about how we consume and what that is doing to us psychologically and doing to our world as a whole. I know that Americans are big consumers, but the figures she threw out there were gasp-worthy. She said that our population makes up about five percent of the world but that we use something like 60 percent of the world’s paper. She went into how this is making landfills huge, and they in turn are producing gases that are destroying the environment. She went into ways to save money and at the end of the book provided further reading and websites to check out that have to do with living cheaply.

What I Thought: I am cheap. Seriously, I am. Everything I’m wearing right now came from a thrift store. There are very few days that’s not the case. I would never have bought this book full price. I read it because I won it in a drawing. I shop primarily at a discount grocer. I’m just cheap. I have been this way for as long as I can remember and I can’t make myself not be. Just this past weekend, I altered a pumpkin pie recipe because I refused to spend 8 dollars on a little jar of spices.

Because of that, I thought that this book was fascinating. For me, one of the things that made the book was the chapter on the psychology of cheapness and the total anxiety that comes with making purchases for a cheap person. Literally, the thought of spending those 8 dollars on a spice made my heart speed up. I could not do it. My husband thinks I’m crazy, but according to this book, I’m not. It’s pretty normal, actually.

I started getting a little depressed when I realized just how much of this was a history book, but I was surprised about how quickly it went by. I really enjoyed reading it and felt like I learned a lot and connected a lot of dots. I am not a financial wizard by any means and she really spelled things out and put things in this kind of “cause and effect” view, which was helpful. It was also interesting just to see normal events that we’re used to hearing about, but under the scope of “what did this mean for spending”. It just put a new spin on things.

I liked that the author, while admittedly cheap herself, showed both sides of the coin. She talked about how during certain times, some people embraced thriftiness, while others thought that it was stupid and spoke against or just ignored it. She really did well at providing a balanced view. She showed extreme misers and how they live, as well as normal people living cheap just because they want to.

Conclusion: I think that this is a great book for people who are currently cheap or what to become cheaper. It provides a lot of practical tips and resources. It is also a good book for a history buff. There is a lot here for different people to enjoy. And it really is enjoyable. The author has a funny tone and often mocks herself and her family for their cheap ways. I know that some of you will shudder at the idea of spending money on a book, but I’m sure your library carries it!

[Susan Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

In an era when a president encourages us to buy-buy-buy in the aftermath of an enemy attack and "consumer confidence" is measured by how willing we are to shell out our shillings for things we may or may not need, a book about our complicated attitudes toward consumption and thrift is timely, to say the least. Written in lively, engaging prose, this exploration of thrift helps to explain our American spending habits.

Lauren Weber begins with some snips of personal history, describing her thrifty father and her own occasional splurge ($90 shoes: "Reader, I bought them"). Her research into the history of thrift in America (going back to pre-Revolutionary days) surprisingly reveals that we have long been a nation of spendthrifts and debtors, saving on small items in order to blow it all on the big ones. Weber is at her best when she describes how American women have been co-opted by advertisers and merchandisers into becoming major consumers, and when she describes the government's wartime efforts (both First and Second World Wars) to divert dollars from household consumption to investments in war bonds. And then, as the wars inflated manufacturing capacity, businesses began to see that consumption, not savings, was the way to grow the economy. Wars over, both government and private sectors began to encourage Americans to buy. "We are a nation that consumes its way to property, security, prosperity, and freedom," an economist wrote. (I'll bet you've heard that one.)

But in that solution to bolstering our economy lies a very grave danger, as Weber shows. Not only are we likely to spend our way into debt (as the recent housing bubble so clearly demonstrates), but we're likely to enjoy a "sense of entitlement and false confidence" about the natural resources that fuel our consumption. Our consuming passions require the burning of vast amounts of fossil fuels, contributing to global warming and resource depletion. The best way to save the planet, Weber says, is simply to stop buying stuff. "The less we buy, the fewer materials and industrial products we consume. Cheap is the new green."

If you need any special encouragement to stop consuming stuff you don't need, this book may be the best thing you'll read all year.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed it. I’m interested in American history and thrift (and all the related and/or competing things like sustainability, materialism, commercialism, and investment) so this book was right up my alley.
If nothing else I learned that you can make your own Hersey’s syrup, an idea that hadn’t occurred to me. A quick google search yielded a very simple recipe.
And I learned that for every bag of garbage I put out there are 70 put out on my behalf by the manufacturers and retailers and all the other people upstream. A good encouragement for me to continue being thrifty and to consider where else I can do better without becoming cheap and miserly, because there are values that mean more to me than just saving money for a rainy day. But that’s important too. Buy cheap/low and sell high, and save when things are good so we can spend when things are rough. The opposite of what the mainstream is doing.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received for free through Goodreads First Reads.

This was not at all what I expected it to be, but I was pleasantly surprised. In CHEAP We Trust is both a history of cheapness (you can call it thrift if you like, if it helps you sleep at night, but let's face it, you're cheap) and a guide to how to leave more cheaply. The beginning half is a well-researched look at cheap as an American virtue, and it was really enlightening. Turns out, we just pretended to value cheapness/thriftiness and economy before--we were really well on our way to becoming the madly consumer-driven society we are today by the Revolution. And it just got worse. I found this book to be really educational, but also super fun to read. I'm recommending it to family!

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I wouldn't consider myself an overly thrifty person, but I do hate waste, which is why this book's premise intrigued me so much initially. However, this book is more of a historical review of America's economy through the lens of cheapness than it is a how-to guide about living a thrifty life. Weber's historical survey is pretty broad, and it can be a little dry at times, a drawback that other reviewers have noted. She clearly did her research, but I wish she had included more anecdotes in the historical chapters, something she does successfully in the more contemporary sections of the book. Her basic thesis seems to be that Americans' spending habits reflect the overall economy — spending when the economy is good, cutting back and being thrifty when it's not — even though this behavior doesn't make sense financially. (You should save when times are good so you have money put away for the proverbial rainy days.) I already knew quite a bit about Americans' current lack of thriftiness through my research on fast fashion and textile waste, so I didn't personally gain a ton from this book. But for someone who isn't that familiar with the history of waste and the American economy, this could be an interesting read.

[May · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gave a good overall view of being cheap and frugal in America. And it also examines it in different points of view. I think the author did a great job of explaining why certain groups of people are cheap and the psychology of being cheap. This subject is something that many people can relate to because many people know people who are cheap or frugal. Being cheap or frugal might be important to certain groups of people for some particular reason. Some people might have trouble with being cheap or frugal. Being cheap might be a value to certain people and it might not be a value to other people. Being cheap might become a hinderance to participating in certain social activities. Or being cheap might be a form of self-control. Or not being cheap might cause pain or anxiety for some people. Nonetheless, many people view being cheap differently. Many people will have different opinions and values when it comes to the subject of being cheap. However, it's best to empathize and coordinate with people, even when their views and opinions are different.

[Nichola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of history of how cultural and governmental priorities encourage people to value different things at different times. Cheapness and thriftiness and value seem to be perceived differently depending on who benefits. Interesting history to connect the whens with the whats, depression era, post WWII, modern politicians saying buy buy buy to save the economy. Mostly it still seems a shame to have policies that encourage people to spend more (sending the money where?) as a way for a whole country to move forward.

[Specialk · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's nothing overly new or fantastic, but I will say if you're struggling with the first half, skip onwards. I would say the first two chapters and last three or four chapters were the most interesting, so if you skim the middle bits, I won't tell. And to be honest, you might not notice. I did this on audio, and in that middle section, I didn't need to rewind to pick up where I fell asleep previously.

[Alexander Rippey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buying a beat-up secondhand copy of this book just felt right.

It’s a bit slow at times, but nonetheless interesting to see the complete reversal of general sentiment toward frugality as the American economy became heavily dependent on personal consumption. It does raise an interesting question — if the national savings rate was too high in early America and too low in the present day, what is the optimal level that can balance savings, investment, & consumption?

[Katjusa]

Really enjoyed this history of American thrift and its complicated relationship with our culture & politics. In the last few chapters, Lauren Weber profiles freegans and other contemporary thrifty types (my people!). This book came out 15 years ago, so it naturally felt dated at times, but it's still a solid and relevant read. Recommend!

[Z.T. Zaryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book. The majority of the book is a history of the US through the lens of savings and consumption. The last part is a present day (2007-2009) analysis of the same with some pondering on the future. Well researched, well written.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book that looked at governmental and marketing influences with regard to societies "moral obligation" to save money, or to spend money. Great insight to how our views of money are manipulated, and for what reasons.

[Chelsie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book wasn't exactly what I expected. I was hoping that they would get into the psychology of why people are cheap and found this to be more of a history lesson in why people are cheap and where that comes from historically.

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up In Cheap We Trust: The Story of a Misunderstood American Virtue because I liked the cover, and I liked the subject.

At times, I've been accused of cheapness. I worry whether or not I'll seem generous, I over-tip or worry about undertipping. I wanted to explore what "cheap" was, a bit. I wanted to read someone else's take on it.

Mission accomplished. Lauren Weber's book is packed with information, and looks at so many facets of cheapness, and it's hard-partying foil, spending. The book was much more personal than I'd anticipated. In addition to picking up on a lot of Weber's political beliefs, parts of the book read like a love letter to her father, a "cheapskate" who she respected very much.

She gives a history of thrift in America. The book is packed with fascinating tidbits. First, the virtue of "thrift" was not, contrary to popular belief, embraced by early settlers. Almost all business was transacted on credit in early America, as hard currency was scarce. Consumer debt piled up as early as the late 1700s and in the first decades of the 1800s. Before the American revolution, when British parliament passed the Townshend Duties, imposing taxes on the United States, Americans first attempted to boycott all taxed goods. In essence: "Don't drink the tea, drink anything that won't give Britain your dollars." Saving money, wearing clothing you made at home out of fabric you spun yourself (homespun), was seen as a patriotic act. Of course, the Boston Tea Party came later, after everyone was tired of wearing homespun and drinking tea made out of bark and camomile, but thrift was still seen as a virtue.

Later, with the founding of the new republic, thrift was seen as a cornerstone. "Without virtues like honesty, temperance, thrift, independence and self-control, mean would easily succumb to the vices of greed, degeneracy, corruption, and ultimately, tyranny, the very vices that were weakening nations like England and France."

She gives an overview of savings movements throughout American history, giving examples of men like Booker Washington, who advocated for newly freed slaves to save. "The possession of money, the having of a bank account, even if small, gives us a certain amount of self-respect."

Weber, too, looks at changing attitudes towards poverty, and changing attitudes towards consumer debt. With the rise of the First World War, spending money on the war effort was seen as a sort of patriotic duty. Spend less at home, so you can buy a war bond, sort of thing. After the war, consumers were encouraged to spend money, so that the country could move as seamlessly as possible from a wartime economy to a peacetime economy, and avoid a severe recession once guns were silent and soldiers returned, unemployed.

In the 1920s, with inventions like plastic and the improvement of railway transportation, middle-class families could live better than ever before. You could get fresh fruit and vegetables in any season. Buying on credit became acceptable. For the Victorians, there were two forms of credit: "productive credit", which is when factories buy new machinery to improve productivity, or: "consumptive credit", which is money spend on frivolous things and will have no lasting economic benefit. According to E.R.A. Seligman, and economist of the time, "all credit was productive since it stimulated economic activity".

Weber also looks to John Maynard Keynes, an economist I've been meaning to learn more about, but know very little... She writes that, in traditional financial models, savings were seen as the pool of funds that made business investment possible. Following Keynes, whose theories were called upon during the Depression, savings was not seen as important. "In a sophisticated financial system, where money moves quickly between players and banks can even borrow from other banks to finance their loans, companies have ready access to funds... it is investment that leads to savings, since only investment creates jobs, which increases incomes, which leads to higher savings." The idea that higher savings lowered the economy's total output was known as the "paradox of thrift".

She goes on: there's a lot of history, and if you're a history buff, like me, it's a great read. Weber establishes a history to set the stage for where consumers are today: saving less than nothing, and spending more than ever before. She looks at the ecological impacts of where we are today, as well as the social impacts. She quotes the poet Wendell Berry: "We ought to be a more materialistic society. Materialistic people would care about their things, not just use them up and blithely discard them."

Spending is a social act, just as money is a social tool. I'm more conscious about being "cheap" than I was, and, after reading this book, less embarrassed. I'm even a little proud, and wish I was more cheap. Being called "cheap", while an insult, is one with so many layers. Someone can be cheap and generous, at the same time. And being "cheap", in general, is good for our environment, and can be for ourselves, as well.


http://www.moneychallenge.ca/blog/201...

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really interesting book talking about the concept of being "cheap." Apparently the word cheap originally meant a quality product for a good price, but now has devolved into an insult. The author goes through America's history of thrift and how that concept has gone up and down in our society's view. The scariest parts are when she describes the shift in economic theory/practice with John Maynard Keynes and how he turned our country's economic policy on it's head - and how that has continued to today. It was also REALLY interesting to read about the propaganda about spending money that happened after the Keynes economic shift took over - I mean there is no other word to use for it than propaganda! She also talks about how little American's save and how that will REALLY hurt us in our retirement years. The last few chapters were about newer pockets of thrift like freegans - who dumpster dive for almost everything they use. It was a really unique and interesting book and definitely makes you think twice about how you spend your money and America's economic policy. Definitely worth reading!

Some quotes I really liked:

"This [war-time] productivity was terrific for economic growth; gross domestic product rose 20 percent in 1917 and 27 percent in 1918. But it also raised the specter of a severe recession once the guns fell silent...In this light, the old virtue of thrift began to look more and more suspicious...the war had so inflated America's manufacturing capacity that business interests began to see consumption, not savings, as the key to maintaining stability and growth. Corporations feared that if consumers internalized the war's scarcity message and withheld their cash even after the battles ended, corporate profits would suffer permanently." (p. 142)

"This was a shocking reversal of traditional theory, which held that savings created the pool of funds that made business investment possible. Keynes argued the opposite: in a sophisticated financial system, where money moves quickly between players and banks can even borrow from other banks to finance their loans, companies have ready access to funds. Thus, Keynes said, it is investment that leads to savings, since only investment (and the prospect of higher profit) creates jobs, which increases incomes, which leads to higher savings. This idea - that higher savings lowers the economy's total output (and thus, that thrift is a private virtue but a public vice) - became known as the 'paradox of thrift'." (p. 154)

"The marketing analyst Victor Lebow summed up the official ethos of the era when he wrote, in 1955, 'Our enormously productive economy...demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption. We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced, and discarded at an ever-increasing rate'." (p. 177)

"In 1975, almost 40 percent of American workers could count on a steady income from their employers from the day they retired until they dropped dead. These 'defined-benefit' (DB) plans, as they're called, were the traditional pensions many of our grandparents received. Today's employee-retirement plans look very different. Approximately 63 percent of workers who participate in corporate-sponsored retirement programs are now enrolled in 'defined-contribution' (DC) plans - generally 401K accounts that allow participants to invest a portion of their pretax income in a limited number of assets, such as stock or bond mutual funds or company stock...The main result of the switch to 401Ks is that they shift risk away from corporations and onto workers' shoulders...Classical economics tells us that Americans should save more money outside their pension plans to compensate for greater uncertainty in the plans. Instead, as we've seen, the opposite has happened...Social security was never meant to be a retiree's only source of income (though it is, for 21 percent of Americans over age sixty-five); it was designed to supplement personal savings and employer-provided pension plans." (p. 191-3)

"Until 1985, the United States was the world's creditor, lending money to other nations. Now, with obligations of over $10 trillion, we are the world's largest debtor nation." (p. 201)

"In 2007, the U.S. government paid $430 billion per year in interest payments alone - that's apart from principal - on the loans it's taken out. That's $430 billion in taxpayer money that went largely to overseas governments rather than to schools, transportation networks, research programs, and other investments here at home." (p. 203)

"The story that's told about the United States, both at home and abroad, is that we're a nation of spendthrifts, a debtor nation, a credit card nation. In the aggregate, that's absolutely true, and the statistics bear it out. But look a little closer and you find a different story. On the margins, often quiet and invisible, are pockets of Americans who are questioning and, to varying and sometimes astonishing degrees, opting out of consumer culture." (p. 223-4)

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this rat race never-ending
Cultural forces push our spending
Some opt out by swapping, lending
Saving, Dumpster diving, mending

[Amadeaus Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book read like a lightly edited Masters thesis.

[Jan Norton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book deals with some of the history of thrift and spending in America. The author tells of her journey into becoming more frugal.

[Anastasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched and comprehensive without being preachy.

[Susan Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough history of the economics and social consequences of consumerism. Extremely interesting and well-written. Enjoyed a lot.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

In CHEAP We Trust: The Story of a Misunderstood American Virtue was a book I began loving from the first pages. Lauren Weber is singing my song when she discusses why those who are responsible with their resources are called "cheap," "tight," "stingy," etc.

"We feel a peculiar pleasure in judging what other people do with their money ... The censure we heap on others for their expenditures is so intense that it calls to mind Freud's theories about projection ... Teasing (others) for being cheap seems to neutralize some of the confusion or shame critics feel about their own relationships with money, and perhaps helps them validate their own choices. I'd call that a cheap shot." Preach it, sister!

I've often wondered, as someone accused of being "cheap" (by my own relatives, no less!), why it's thought of as a negative to be a wise steward of the resources allotted to me. Yet, others who spend more than they can afford to are lauded as "generous." Something about this always seemed "off."

Weber traces the roots of frugality in America, and I was intrigued to learn that many of our forefathers had frugality in mind as one of America's founding virtues: "Observing the colonists' appetite for imported luxuries and modern conveniences, they despaired that the Revolution had failed."

The book is filled with quotes I love:

To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly .... This is my symphony." ~William Henry Channing

Just when Weber veers close to telling me more than I wanted to know about thrift in early American, I run across a gem like this: a schoolbook from the late 1800's - early 1900's called Gateway to Independence featured monthly lessons on thrift, illustrated by cartoon elves called "Thrifties," accompanied by verses like

The Thrifties all know how to work;

They earn in many ways,

And a part of what they earn is saved

For they know that banking pays.

I want a little set of Thrifties! What a cool idea for Happy Meal toys, huh? (Oops, maybe that's defeating the purpose ...)

I also learned that thrift was formerly an especially prized attribute for women, as an 1875 book quotes: If the woman who has a household to manage be innocent of addition and multiplication; and if she fail to keep a record of her income and expenditure, she will, before long, find herself in great trouble ... The most worthless unit in a family is an ill-managing wife, or an indolent woman of any sort. I have to say, that's quite true. Looks like the Proverbs 31 woman had it right all along.

The book does tend to bog down in details, and although I think Weber truly tries to be even-handed, my conservative eye was caught by passages extolling Jimmy Carter's supposed efforts to make our country more frugal, and others tsk-tsking "the deficits left behind by the Bush administration." Uh oh; here we go again.

She mentions all the stimulatin' passed by Obama and only states that "financing these projects is a thorny issue." Yeah, yeah - I know how it works. Deficits run up by Republicans are just bad, while those run up by Democrats require thoughtful monologues. Some things just never change!

In summary: I enjoyed the first part of the book, slogged through the middle (although there were some interesting bits), and found myself annoyed by the end's liberal turn. Read it and see what you think ...

[Jennifer Campaniolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book after hearing the author being interviewed on NPR. I'm not thrifty but lately we've been trying to pay down our debt and build up savings and that has meant cutting back on my spendthrift ways where I can. It's interesting how this country has see-sawed between overspending and saving, between being profligate consumers and conscious savers. It's not just recently that there's been a sea change toward thrift--cutting corners and increasing our savings balance is just a part of the cycle of our capitalist economy, and has been so since the beginning of American history.

Some of the movement toward thrift makes sense to me--not equating all your happiness with what you own (though I still maintain money can buy SOME happiness, like a coveted winter coat or a trip to Europe), saving for the inevitable crisis, enjoying what you already have. When it came time to send me to college, my parents--who were spenders like me--couldn't afford the private school that I wanted to attend. Ultimately, going to a state school was the right thing to do because it meant I graduated with a liberal arts degree without a hefty loan to repay. But the experience was my first taste of instant versus delayed gratification.

Then there's the chapter about "freegans," who are most notable for their dumpster-diving but who are also active urban gardeners and are skilled at bartering. More frightening than eating food out of a garbage bag is the woman who was so cheap that she caused her son to lose an appendage because she was looking for a free hospital. Those parts of the book sound nuts to me, but then again, I've never been one for extremism.

[Caro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Out of attempts to read more nonfiction, i picked this book up from what seemed like a plausible list. Unfortunately, this book is long winded, hardly informative, and seeks to repeat information i've read everywhere else in a pathetic copy. Ms. Weber fails to focus on any single aspect of cheapness or being thrifty, never really quite explaining why people are thrifty, nor giving good histories of it. The only aspect of the book that I found even remotely amusing was her take on the ethnical slurs for cheap races like the Jews and the Chinese. Everything else, I could have skipped.

The final terrible atrocity she committed was explaining that thriftiness comes from the Freudian psychology that we as children are exceedingly proud of our feces seeing they are what we create ourselves and have trouble parting with them.
Okay, first of all, I think Freud has been long since dubbed FALSE ever since we pretty much assume not all of us are in love with our mothers and fathers.
Second, what? I don't recall any sort of attachment to my own bowel movements and I never presented my mother with them. I was a normal, potty trained child and I don't remember wanting anyone to really see my waste. Because it was waste.

Either way, anyone who credits Freud even halfheartedly in their books automatically gets a gigantic NOT PLAUSIBLE mark from me.

This was more a sermon on why we should be cheap and thrifty (we are already aware of that Ms. Weber) rather than an enjoyable read on the story of cheapness.

I basically forced myself to finish it and I will never recommend it to anyone. Sorry.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book as a how-to, and although it was not particularly guiding, it was really, really interesting. I appreciated the review of economic history in the US. The book reminded me that in our early wars, thrift was a measure to support the troops and war effort, and it wasn't until after Keynes developed his "supply and demand" theory that politicians began telling the public that the best way to support the country was by spending money. I like the chapters on saving as a way of life (or lack thereof)- I cannot imagine having nothing to fall back on, or retire on, and how that has become the norm for many is scary. Weber discusses thrift as it relates to international power (with other countries buying our ever-growing debt) and how we may well lose our power if we continue to see capital savings as optional. Weber does talk about the environmental implications of being thrifty, and talks about the waste we generate as being counter to thrifty.
One thing I feel is important that Weber did not mention is the choice of having children as it relates to saving money and being thrifty. Although people without children may well have more disposable income, resources (monetary and environmental) to raise a child may well surpass that income, to say nothing about the children THAT child may have. Obviously nulliparity is not a choice for everyone in our species, just as not buying anything, ever, would soon stagnate the economy of our country.
There were a ton of great quotes from this book- overall a great read.

[Nari · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting look at the social history of frugality in America dating back to the founding fathers (namely Benjamin Franklin).

The chapters dealt with the American response, necessity and dependence of consumerism through various eras of our history. There is a huge list of titles at the end, both in resources and in the chapter-by-chapter bibliography, for readers who want to learn more.

Overall I liked the book and found myself questioning my spending habits during the week or so I spent reading this book. I agreed with her on many points. There were only a couple of (rather glaring) elements that I didn't like about the book.

The Bad:

The chapter regarding stereotypes of Jewish and Chinese immigrants seemed out of place and took away from the chronological flow of the book. It felt forced into the book when I think the concept of immigrants and frugality could have been interwoven throughout the entire text rather than jammed into the middle.

The chapter on freegans on contemporary anti-consumerist mentalities was interesting, although I would have preferred to learn more about people actually dealing with poverty rather than those that take on the poverty mentality just to make a statement or feel at peace with the inner conflict of having too much money in their bank accounts.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is basically exactly what it promises to be - an overview of the virtue of thrift throughout American history.

It starts off in the early days of the nation with the Puritans and moves through the rise and fall of thrift as it tracks the boom and bust cycles of the American economy. This part was all a little ho-hum, and I considered giving up on the book as she went through a detailed history of thrift and how it was valued by women and various racial groups in America.

However, it started getting much more interesting as she started covering what happened to thrift in the 20th Century, around the World Wars, Great Depression, and into the 1950's when it was ultimately abandoned. The book moves into modern territory and covers the wild years of the 1980s, and late 1990s, and how consumerism and individual debt continued to explode and were strongly encouraged not just by culture, but by our very government.

Finally, she closes the book with a very enlightening look inside various groups who today abstain from consumer culture and remain thrifty for largely environmental and political purposes. It was at this point that I was actually glad she had spent a significant amount of time going over the early history of thrift in the country, as it gave a unique mental lens through which to think about modern thrift and environmentalism.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author relates the history of frugality in the United States. She traces its journey from its beginning in colonial America and follows the it through modern times. What I most enjoyed about this book was its accessibility. Although the author does not delve deeply into any of the topics it broaches in relation to cheapness, it is a great overview for anyone interested in discovering what it means to be "cheap," either by choice or by circumstance. The down-side is that I often did not feel quite satisfied when it was time to move to a new chapter. The author did capture my interest in the issues by providing attention-catching anecdotes such as that of Lydia Marie Child and her use of ear wax as chapstick, and of a freegan New Yorker, that trades his services as an electrician for meals. She maintains that for many cheapness is not a bid to save a couple of dollars, but a lifestyle. For some, that lifestyle stems from a refusal to participate in our traditional, capitalistic society, for others it is a way to minimize their impact on the planet. She also discusses the what it is to be "eco-cheap" and relates her struggles to reconcile her own desire to spend less with her desire to be mindful of the effect her purchases may have on the planet.Recommended!

[Shari Larsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book explores the historical side of thriftiness, beginning in the pre-revolutionary days with Ben Franklin, up to the present day. Thriftiness is practiced for all kinds of reasons, some out of necessity, some because of environmental concerns, moral or religious reasons, and some just absurd.

The author explores all the reasons for being "cheap" or thrifty, and delves into her own family's history of thriftiness.

I was a little disappointed in this book; the parts discussing banking and economics were for the most part dull for me to read, but then, I've never been a person interested in finance. I don't follow the news of finance, Wall Street or the stock market; maybe someone that does would enjoy those parts of the book more.

But I did enjoy enjoy reading about what our ancestors did to save money; it's amazing how they could stretch what they had because they had too. It really makes me think about all the things we use in our daily lives and maybe we throw too much of it away too soon, and much of that we probably didn't really need to buy in the first place. I also like the stories of those whose thriftiness had a quirkiness to it; I wish there were more of those included in the book.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Cheap We Trust is a chronological history of America's thrifty and spendthrift ways.

I didn't like the focus on the stereotypes of Jewish and Chinese people in America although this reality dominated early life here circa the Gold Rush and the 49ers era.

Possibly I was looking for a more definitive take on the topic. I'm halfway through reading the book so it's possible towards the end Lauren Weber will focus on the modern day techniques.

I'm not a big fan of history so this might account for why I was disenchanted with the first half of the book.

I will return to this review when I finish reading the book.

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Towards the end it focuses on the modern day. I preferred The Cheapskate's book better although in my estimation cheap will not ever be chic.

Cooking hot dogs because you can't afford seafood is one thing. Having money to dine in a restaurant once a week and choosing to exist on Ramen noodles is another thing entirely.

I say:

Neither cheap nor a spendthrift be.

A happy medium is here.

I'll be treating myself to lunch at a farm-to-fork restaurant.

Need I say more?

[Tessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lauren Weber has written a timely book. In the midst of calls to return to the traditional value of thrift, Weber has traced frugality's history in the U.S. Well, surprise, it turns out Americans as a whole are thrifty only when it's thrust upon us. Thrift was a widespread value in Colonial America because a large percentage of the population lived in poverty. Since then our preferred mode as been to spend (to increasing excess as credit has become ever more available). Yes, we'll tighten our belts during times of economic downturns and war, e.g. when we have to.

This also contains a good discussion on the relationship between consumer spending and supporting the economy Remember Bush and Giuliani's urging folks to "go shopping" after 9/11? There's a lengthy history leading to that suggestion.

For anyone interested in the role money plays our lives, this is a very interesting read.