Planet Cheapskate

Manifesto

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e’ve created this website because we’ve been told that our personal experiences can be of help, interest, or perhaps just amusing to others. If you’re the type who doesn’t read instructions, but prefers to tear open the box, by all means jump in and begin exploring. There’s very little that can harm you here. (We remind people to consult their trusted professional advisers prior to making changes in their health care, insurance and so on.) But if you’d like to know what defines our vision of frugality, this “manifesto” is for you.

Be an aware, thoughtful, and engaged consumer.

Our brand of Cheapskate isn’t anti-consumerist or anti-advertising. Instead we believe that by being an aware, thoughtful, and engaged consumer you can spend less, live well and enjoy life more fully.

Being a Cheapskate can be a passing fancy; a novelty inspired by need or curiosity; or a lifelong hobby driven by a desire to spend responsibly with respect both to self, and the world.

Being a Cheapskate need not mean enduring grinding austerity.

Being a Cheapskate can even be fun, and allow you to choose to be generous with friends and those in need.

Money is Time
You’ve heard the inverse of this formula (“Time is money.”) for years. But what do we mean here? Every dollar (or Euro, or Yen) you spend must first — or if borrowing, eventually — be earned. And that earning takes time. In the best of all possible worlds you might become almost infinitely wealthy, but in life, you can never get more time. So whenever the Editors of Planet Cheapskate spend money, we ask ourselves this simple question:

“How long did it take to earn this?”

The answer is often sobering. It cuts down on impulse buys, and has inspired the creative, original solutions that this web site can teach.

False Economy
The successful Cheapskate is also a contrarian thinker, always ready to question the established wisdom. Often taking a second look at some accepted fact reveals foolish frugality — and an opportunity that others have passed by. For example: you’ll read on these pages why we believe that coupon clipping is not a good way to reduce your grocery bill, or how our vintage refrigerator is actually more efficient than the latest Energy Star behemoth.

In each of these hints, we calculate your true savings both in time and money, and the impact on the environment.

Watch your pennies and the dollars will… aw, forget about the pennies.
We didn’t invent this perspective, but we believe it’s true. What’s your time worth, after all? You don’t want to become a miser, obsessed with each tiny amount. You just want to save money so you can enjoy life.

Long Haul
Perhaps you’re inspired to be cheap today, but will you still be at it in a year… in a decade? Spending sensibly on a budget is the same as eating sensibly on a diet. Make it a game. Celebrate your small successes. After a while, look back on the progress you’ve made. Do it with a friend. And, we believe, most importantly: Know that you can, and should, reward yourself with a small splurge now and then.

A few words about the Advertising you’ll see on Planet Cheapskate
Marketing can inform, or mislead, be a help or an annoyance. Like any tool, it’s in itself neither good nor bad — but must be used responsibly by the advertiser and the consumer. In our case, it allows us to share Planet Cheapskate for free.

Since part of our mission is consumer education, we want you to know how this advertising works. One of our sponsors, Google, for example, scans the text of each page for significant words, uses computers to match those phrases with its stock of advertisers — and voilá a relevant (they hope) ad appears on Planet Cheapskate. When a reader clicks on one of these links and investigates an advertiser’s site, we occasionally receive a penny or two (we’re not being coy or modest here — while the rate varies, it’s often that low!). Other than saying no to pornography, we don’t determine what Google chooses to place in its ads. Sometimes, these mindless computers

Google will scan for phrases like “Disposable Diapers.”

produce unintended results. For example: We believe that Disposable Diapers are a wasteful, expensive product and would never recommend them. But if we write an article complaining about Disposable Diapers and use the term Disposable Diapers often enough, Google will notice this and think, “Aha! This might be a place to sell Disposable Diapers.” Even though we’d recommend against Disposable Diapers. In fact, there’s a good chance that you’re looking at an ad for Disposable Diapers right now! More often than not however, we’re amazed at how well this system does present our readers with products or services that are genuiely of interst and value. That’s why we encourage our readers — as aware, thoughtful, and engaged consumers — to support Planet Cheapskates sponsors… responsibly.

Why do we do it?
Your Cheapskate Editors are mid-career professionals who find that they are increasingly invited to share their specialized knowledge both in structured teaching environments and in less formal settings. We love to share and help! And this site is offered in the same spirit.

Many thanks,

— the Editors

PS: Please help your fellow Cheapskates by posting your comments and joining in the discussion.

—the Editors, on February 8, 2009