'The Ultimate Cheapskate' Coming to Lorton

Don't throw away that fancy wine bottle! Fill it up with boxed wine the next time you entertain - just another trick to save yourself a bundle during a tough economy. Plus, did you ever hear of leftover night? And how much do you spend on bottled water?
 
If you need some solid advice on curbing spending while maintaining a fulfilling lifestyle, don't miss Jeff Yeager, author of "The Ultimate Cheapskate" books, at the Lorton Library on Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m.

Yeager and his wife have lived in the same house (paid off) for 30 years in Accokeek, Md., own one car (a Toyota pickup truck with 200,000 miles on it) and don't own cell phones.

"Nothing awful ever happened to us because we don't own a cell phone," said Yeager to Patch. "My contention is that most Americans would actually be happier and the quality of their life would increase if they spent and consumed less. They want more than they have and soon they've whiled away their time looking for more money or more stuff."
 
Yeager, 55, was raised in Toledo, Ohio, in a lower middle class family. "At that time spending money was a last resort. You didn't have a lot but you made what you had last," he said. "And my grandparents lived in the depression, had a lot less stuff around, but they seemed happier."
 
For Yeager it's about the big picture - how much money you can save over time. "Soda, for instance," he said. "We drink more soda than any country on earth. The average adult American drinks $375 in soda per year. If you're going to drink it, buy two liter bottles and it will save you $5,500 during the course of your lifetime."

And it's not as if Yeager and his wife are living like paupers. The family takes two months off every year for vacation, and recently returned from Europe. 

"If you rent out your house then you can actually come out ahead," he said. 
 
Yeager has made appearances on NBC's Today show, CNN, ABC News, CNBC, FOX News, PBS and hundreds of radio shows across the country.
 
See you at the Lorton Library!