In Cheap We Trust

The Story of a Misunderstood American Virtue
Little, Brown and Co.
Sept. 7, 2009

You can probably find the book at your local library. But if you'd like your own copy, you can buy it at

 

 

News & Events

Q & A with the New York Times Frugal Traveler

October 20th, 2009

This Q & A between me and Matt Gross, aka the NYT’s Frugal Traveler, covers some of the joys of seeing the world on the cheap: street food, public buses, the hassles and serendipities that ultimately make a trip memorable. If there’d been more space, I would’ve liked to have included one of my experiences where it paid to spend the big dollars: seeing the mountain gorillas of Rwanda in 2007. The permit cost $500 alone — and it was worth every penny. Still, I love the challenge of visiting new countries with a small, fixed budget and then letting the adventures unfold.

ICWT on NPR’s “Morning Edition”

September 13th, 2009

I talked to Steve Inskeep about the history of cheapness and frugality in America, in an interview that aired Sept. 8. Want to know what pop-culture tidbit drew a guffaw from him? Listen in below, or visit the NPR website for the text and audio version.

Morning Edition – In Cheap We Trust

Book Tour!

September 10th, 2009

Friends and readers,

I’ll be visiting Chicago and the West Coast in the next few weeks for a series of readings, and then heading back to New York City and the Northeast for more events. Please try to catch me at one of these great independent bookstores, libraries and literary venues.

Thursday, Sept. 17
WORD Brooklyn
126 Franklin Street
Brooklyn, NY
7:30 PM
This is the official launch party for ICWT! The evening will feature a short stand-up routine by my father about — what else? — being cheap, along with a clothing swap (bring something, take something; whatever’s left at the end of the night will go to Goodwill).
***
Monday, Sept. 21
Barbara’s Bookstore
1100 Lake Street
Oak Park, IL
7:30 PM — Reading and Q&A
***
Tuesday, Sept. 29
Elliott Bay Book Co.
101 South Main St.
Seattle, WA
7:30 PM – Reading and Q&A
***
Wednesday, Sept. 30
Powell’s Books
1005 W Burnside
Portland, OR
7:30 PM – Reading and Q&A
***
Tuesday, October 6
Green Apple Books and Music
506 Clement Street
San Francisco, CA
7:00 PM – Reading and Q&A
***
Thursday, Oct. 8
Atwater Village Library
3379 Glendale Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA
3:30 PM — Reading and Q&A
***
Tuesday, Oct. 13
KGB Bar
85 East 4th Street
New York, NY
7:00 PM – Reading and book signing (I’ll be doubling up with Rachel Shteir, author of the forthcoming Nation of Thieves, a book about shoplifting)
***
Friday, Oct. 16
RJ Julia Books
768 Boston Post Road
Madison, CT
7:00 PM – Reading and Q&A
***
Saturday, Nov. 7
East Lyme Public Library
39 Society Road
East Lyme, CT
2:00 PM – Reading and Q&A
***
Tuesday, Nov. 17
American Antiquarian Society
185 Salisbury Street
Worcester, MA
7:30 PM – Lecture and Q&A

Launch party for In Cheap We Trust!

August 27th, 2009

Please join me on September 17 for the official launch of In Cheap We Trust, hosted by the wonderful Brooklyn indie bookstore WORD.

A special treat: my father, the inspiration behind every page of ICWT, will be offering a taste of his post-retirement career as a stand-up comic. He’ll do a short comedy routine about — what else? — his famous ability to stretch a dollar til it rips. And in the spirit of the book, there’ll be free treats and a clothing swap after the entertainment, so clean out your closet and bring a few items to trade.

Here are all the details:

September 17, 2009

WORD

126 Franklin Street, Greenpoint, Brooklyn

7:30 PM

Directions By Subway: Take the G train to the Greenpoint Ave. stop. Exit at the corner of Greenpoint Ave and Manhattan Ave. Walk down Greenpoint Ave towards the East River, away from Starbucks. Make a left at Franklin Street. We are 1 block down at the corner of Franklin and Milton.

My father is being immortalized for rationing our toilet paper

June 29th, 2009

“Marketplace,” the excellent public radio show about business and economics, asked me to write a short tribute to my dad for its Father’s Day broadcast. After it aired, my dad told me he felt the opening was a little harsh,* but he said he appreciated the sentiments at the end. It was all meant with great love. If you’d like to listen to the piece, here it is.

* My father doesn’t remember the heat being as low as 50 degrees in our house. But when I pointed out that my mother and sister back me up on this, he apologized and said he should take us all on a trip to a warm climate. (A friend of mine, on hearing this, said, “Like to the laundry room?”)

Upcoming events

  • Sunday Salon at Jimmy's 43
    October 17, 2010 at 7 PM
    The subterranean bar at Jimmy's 43
    43 E. 7th Street (btn 2nd and 3rd Aves)
    New York, NY
    Please join me to celebrate the release of my paperback at this terrific East Village reading series


    Oct 18, 2010
  • SALON Series at the Providence Athenaeum
    Nov. 5, 2010 at 5 PM
    Providence Athenaeum
    251 Benefit Street
    Providence, RI
    "From Cheap-Jacks to Scrooge McDuck: A Brief History of Frugality in America"
    Book talk and signing

    Nov 6, 2010