“America’s Cheapest Family”

July 12, 2008 at 6:48 am | Posted in Nonfiction, Personal Finance | Leave a comment

(October 16, 2007)

You can imagine how a book with a title like this might stop me in my tracks.  America needs frugality now more than ever before, and things just haven’t been the same since the Dacyczyns retired.  The question is, can the Economides family fill their shoes?

I realize you may not be a tightwad.  It’s okay; this is an equal opportunity blog.  I’ll explain.  Back in the 1990s there was a newsletter called The Tightwad Gazette, the purpose of which was to help people cut their expenses, get out of debt, and save money.  It was self-published by Amy and Jim Dacyczyn, parents of six children.  They were a phenomenon – the books were best-sellers, and they appeared on Donahue.  After a few years, they felt they’d said everything there was to say on living cheaply, so they retired.  You can buy the complete collection in paperback format, get it from the library, or come over and look through my annotated copy, tabbed for quick reference.

So choosing the moniker America’s Cheapest Family is on the order of throwing down a gauntlet:  is the Economides family actually cheaper than the Dacyczyns?  True, both families live without debt; raised a large family of well-behaved, thrifty kids on one income; and have been willing to do things others wouldn’t in order to save money.  There are some key differences, though.

The Economides family has five kids; the Dacyczyns have six.  The Economides lived on an average income of $35,000 (though Steve still works and they earn closer to $60,000 now), while the Dacyczyns did it on no more than $30,000.  (Jim Dacyczyn was also able to retire early, in his 40s).  The Economides family goes on vacation all the time, dines in restaurants, and drinks (gasp) soda.  The Dacyczyns’ message was always that you don’t need those things, and if you’re willing to forego them you might have a happier home life.  They also discussed how our choices impact the economy and the environment.

The Economides family lives in Arizona, while the Dacyczyns live in Maine, which may explain some things.  Maine seems to be an environment both more supportive of frugality and more tolerant of eccentricity.  The Dacyczyns were unafraid of being laughed at for reusing tinfoil and quite straightforward about the spiritual and environmental benefits of living cheaply.  The Economides seem to want to live a lifestyle distinguishable from their neighbors’ only by their family values, saying there’s no need to go to extremes.  For them the thrill is in beating stores at their own game and getting the best deal, more than proving we don’t need consumer goods to be happy.

As far as budgeting, though, the message is the same:  you must find a way to live within your means.  What does this mean?  It means you should have money left over every month after you pay your bills and buy groceries.  It means you’ve estimated how much you need for expenses that don’t come up on a monthly basis, and you’re saving for that as well as in case you lose your job.  Living within your means is when you know how much you earn and how much your lifestyle costs, and it doesn’t take credit cards to pull it off.

If you spend more than you make, what could be a simple run of bad luck can turn into financial catastrophe.  If enough people live beyond their means, we’ll find half a generation of people (Boomers, are you listening?) with no retirement savings, slated to live longer than any generation the world has ever known, crushing the future of their children and the nation’s economy.  You have to make plans and take accountability for yourself.  If you don’t, multiply your behavior by 300 million and consider the ramifications.