If you haven't heard of Jeff Yeager, you probably live braver than I, sans television. Dubbed the ultimate cheapskate, Jeff's proof that living cheap is good for the pocketbook, the earth, and your life (spend less, work less).
Jeff's website is a goldmine of tips, tricks, and plain common sense. If you haven't given up the dryer yet, give up lint for Lent might be just the kick you need. Love lentils? He's an big advocate, and has even caused quite a little stir.
Jeff's now got his own blog over at The Daily Green. An excerpt from Give Up Credit Cards for One Week, and See How Much You'll Save:
Studies have shown that we are, on average, two to three times more likely to purchase an item when we're using a credit card rather than paying with cash. We're also willing to pay, on average, thirty percent more for the same item when paying by credit card. That's how much the credit card skews our critical judgment when we go shopping.
The consequences of buying something on credit, of going in debt, seem remote, almost like we're spending Monopoly money. It causes us to buy things we can't afford and often don't even want. Credit cards trigger what I call "Debtor's Dementia," a delusional state in which debt begins to seem natural, and where a few thousand dollars in credit card debt starts to make things like taking out a second mortgage on your house or borrowing money to buy a new car you can't afford seem like reasonable things to do.
