If I ever had any doubts about it, after reading this book I now know that I’m cheap. Not as cheap as many, but definitely cheap. I resemble too many comments in here to deny it.

Actually, I’m not sure if I’m really cheap or thrifty or frugal. Author Lauren Weber tends to use the terms interchangeably, which I don’t wholly agree with. But she admits to doing it intentionally, while her broader point, that whatever you call it, it’s a virtue honored more in theory than in practice in America today, is tough to argue with. Especially after reading her book.

Lauren grew up with a father who practically defined cheap. When she found herself turning into him as an adult, it got her thinking about our somewhat conflicted attitudes about thrift. Sure, everyone loves a bargain and "being green" about things like reducing waste and using energy efficient lightbulbs and appliances. But how far will most people really go, and what do they really say about people who seem, well, obsessed with saving that last penny?

The bulk of the book is a sort of history of thriftiness or cheapness in America, from Benjamin Franklin practicing and preaching thrift as a means to independence, to economists today telling us we need to both spend to save the economy, and save for our own future good. That’s not the first time that particular mixed message has been spread, while opinions about which drives production in an economy—thrift or consumerism—have done their own flip flop. A key point the author makes is how cyclical much of this is. One of the more interesting features of the book concerns changes in attitudes, and their ripple effects. In early America when cheapness was more generally considered a virtue, it was assumed that anyone who was poor was so strictly because of their own fault—lack of industriousy, or wasting their money on drink and other excess. Now that thrift is less surely a virtue, there’s still some of that belief, but also a parallel lack of surety about exactly where the fault lies. It’s the economy stupid, and all that.

The last two chapters take a look at who is and isn’t cheap in America, the psychology behind that, and what it all might say about them. Then it offers some ideas for gentle change without having to go all radical and dumpster diving with the freegans. Because thrift today isn’t just about saving yourselves a few bucks, it’s also about not creating waste that can harm others.