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In CHEAP We Trust: The Story Of A Misunderstood American Virtue (2009)

by Lauren Weber(Favorite Author)

3.4 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0316030287 (ISBN13: 9780316030281)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Little, Brown and Company

review 1: Ms. Weber set out to understand just what it means to be thrifty, where it crosses the line into parsimony and why being cheap got such a bad name. In doing so, she crosses boundary lines of wealth/poverty, war/peacetime and class/culture. History and circumstances have combined to make Americans into spendthrifts and wastrels but some of us have decided on other courses. Like any good journalist, Ms. Weber sifted through history and personal interviews to bring together a coherent, probing and detailed look on America’s love/hate affair with saving money. Without being preachy, Ms. Weber shows that it’s possible not to overspend or even spend at all and still live a happy, wholesome life. She also shows the dark side of saving—hoarding and, in so doing, gives a bala... morenced view of what it means to be “cheap”.In this financial straitened times, this is a book worth having, reading and passing on to your friends and family or anyone you know who is struggling to make ends meet.
review 2: In Cheap We Trust is a fascinating journey through American history and culture exploring the frequently paradoxical relationship between Americans and money. Thrift and frugality are not, as is often touted, lost virtues from the past but rather responses to broad cultural movements and world events. Weber does an excellent job examining the role of this misunderstood characteristic and our shifting perspective on its place in our life. An excellent primer on why of living cheap rather than the how (though the appendix lists some excellent resources covering this piece). A brilliantly executed book of financial history. less

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