Yesterday I rode my bike over to the library to pick up a book that had come in for me – Jeff Yeager’s Ultimate Cheapskate book. Since the library is a 5 minute bike ride from our house, and since just about everything known to woman can be found on the internet, I don’t buy books. Well, every once in a while I’ll get something for 75 cents from our library book store, but very rarely. There are a few books that I check out over and over, and ponder buying. But then I remind myself that I can just keep checking them out of the library – for free. And returning them so that they don’t take up space in my house long-term.
Anyway, so far I’m loving the Ultimate Cheapskate book. It’s funny and non-preachy, but full of great ideas. I’ve read just about all of the personal finance/frugality books in our library. I skipped the get rich quick ones that detailed complicated day trading schemes, or real estate ventures. I’d rather not give myself an ulcer in the process of building our net worth. And I’m really not looking to get rich at all. Just to pay off our mortgage and have enough money to live on comfortably. Really, we already make enough money to live comfortably – and we save more than 25% of what we earn. The mortgage is the only major financial project we have right now, so we’re working to pay it off as quickly as we can. We’re happy with what we have – old cars, thrift store clothes, used bikes, a smallish house within biking and walking distance to most of the places we go. We’re slowly growing our savings, but there’s no fancy tricks to anything we do. We just live on less than we earn and save the rest. And we pay extra on our mortgage every month, since paying it off is a big goal for us.
So Jeff’s book is very much my style. It’s all about being happy with what you have, and not always striving to have more stuff, more money, etc. He writes about slaying your “Enoughasaurus” – that beast within us that keeps wanting more and more. He suggests finding a point where you’re happy with what you have, and staying at that lifestyle, no matter how much your income goes up in the future. He suggests the lifestyle you have at 30, which is convenient since I’m 30 right now.
I’m only about a quarter of the way through the book, and I’m excited to keep reading. I love books like this that inspire me on my frugal journey to live simply and happily, without needing vast amounts of money to do so. Invariably I find some little idea I hadn’t thought of, or just renewed motivation. So far, I highly recommend this book. Just make sure you check it out of the library!
Sherry says
Frugal Babe – Haven’t heard of this book, butit sounds like fun!…I totally agree with your sentiments about libraries – let them store the books, and save your shelf space. However, I have discovered that libraries tend to weed my favorite books (usually fiction, but non-fictions too sometimes) out of their collections, right behind my back! Very annoying when you go to look for something and it’s GONE……I think your frugal philosophy is spot-on! Keep these wonderful and inspiring blogs coming.
neimanmarxist says
this book sounds great! our library doesn’t have very much of a pf selection at all but i will keep an eye out for it (isn’t that the weirdest expression?) i have a question about paying mortgages early: i know some people whose company does not allow them to pay extra on the principal, or has a cap on the principal of $250 extra/month or somehting. I would not want to get a mortgage unless I was able to pay it down as quickly as I was able- are such mortgages available?it sounds like you have one of those. I have been reading PF books but have not been able to get a clear enough answer. thx!
Frugal Babe says
@neimanmarxist, We have a mortgage with no prepayment restrictions at all. when we bought our house, our mortgage broker worked for a compsny that was all about paying off mortgages quickly. So the only mortgages they dealt with all allowed for prepayments. My brother also makes extra payments on his mortgage, and has no issues with it. Our mortgage is through Chase, if that helps. when you’re looking for a mortgage, just make it clear that you won’t take one with prepayment restrictions – there will still be plenty of options for you.
RetiredAt47 says
That book sounds great! I love books like that and have read most of them (I think) but here’s one I hadn’t heard of. I am going to see if our library has it, or try interlibrary loan if not. Thanks for the recommendation.
Sherry says
FB – Our library has ordered this in the last few weeks – before I even had a chance to request it. So, I am on the reserve list….There are two books that I would like to recommend, neither of which are strictly about frugality, but rather sustainability and simplicity. There are wonderful and thought provoking questions and exercises in both.HOW TO WANT WHAT YOU HAVE (Discovering the Magic and Grandeur of Ordinary Existence) by Timothy Miller – and SIMPLICITY (Notes, Stories and Exercises for Developing Unimaginable Wealth) by Mark A. Burch. I have had these for several years and return to them frequently – worth the space they take up on my bookshelf. However, get them from the library if you can. Try interlibrary loan, a priceless library resource!
Jeff Yeager says
Hey FrugalBabe –
Love your blog. Thanks for mentioning my little book. It’s my first book, and I’m really proud of it. Hope you enjoyed the rest of it, and I admire and respect you for borrowing it from the library — you’re a true sister of the Cheaphood.
Stay Cheap!
-Jeff Yeager