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Who's Behind This?
Y
our Editors for Planet Cheapskate are John and Susan Malmstrom.
One of our surprises when we launched this site was that people wanted to get to know the source.
Swingin' the clarinet. (And yes, that's one of my $12 suits).
We met in college while studying art in Long Beach, California during the early 80’s. Back then, being cheapskates was a matter of survival. Ahh, the stories we could tell. But our poverty was self imposed (we chose careers in the Arts, after all) so there were no complaints. Over the years, conscious — some might say creative — consumerism become a pleasant way of life. Any money we’ve managed to retain over the years has been not the result of great investments or high paying jobs, but rather spending wisely. That’s why we started Planet Cheapskate!
John’s career has been as a Creative Director in advertising agencies and corporate America and freelancing. This gives him the special perspective of a professional marketer when uncovering the tricks that companies use to separate consumers from their cash. His greatest joy is making music. John plays saxophone and clarinet and leads a jazz band, Radio StarDust Jazz Orchestra.
Susan enjoys a successful career as a fine artist. Her celebrated digital photo-collages draw from historical photographic techniques and her training as a printmaker. Her work has been the subject of solo and group exhibitions in the US and Canada. She is the recent recipient of a Nova Scotia Culture Grant and Art Bank Purchase. Her images can be found in both private and public collections internationally.
Susan at an opening for her art, "Beyond Words." Photo © Paul Pickrem, The Halifax Herald Limited
In 2004 we achieved our “personal best” of Cheapskatieness by finding a beautiful 4.5 acre estate in rural Nova Scotia, Canada for less than $130,oooUS. We knew we’d never see another chance like that, so we left our urban lives in the United States and now make art, music, websites, teach, and dispense frugal tips from this northern “Fortress of Solitude.” We’re assisted by our three cats, Debbie, Midge, and Willie, and our dog Monty.
The brains of the operation: Monty!
—the Editors, on April 23, 2009
You can tell Monty is the brains behind the op, just look at the thought provoking pose, the steely eye look, and the air in which he raises his nose to the sky.
Frankly, I think Monty might be the inspiration behind the “brains behind the operation,” but
clearly Midge, L’il Debbie and Willie are the masterminds. Please. Felines invented the
“easy life for less.”