[This interview appeared on Boston.com on Feb 4, 2009]

Jeff Yeager, a former chief executive with various nonprofits in Washington, D.C., launched his career as "the ultimate cheapskate" five years ago, and has started a website, www.ultimatecheapskate.com, and authored a book, "The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches." These days he is increasingly in demand as people look for creative ways to save money. He spoke with us by phone from his Maryland home.

Q. Has being cheap hurt your relationships?

A. No, I have a lot of fun with the title cheapskate. To me, it's just the opposite of being a conspicuous consumer. They spend and consume at warp speed just to show off to others. Cheapskates like me, we're too self-confident and too smart to spend money on things we don't need and, if we stop and think about it, we probably don't want.

Q. What do you waste money on right now that you shouldn't?

A. Oh, I don't really waste money. I do lead a very frugal life. Sometimes people ask me, if money wasn't an object, what would you splurge on? I'd say I like to travel. We travel on the cheap. Maybe I'd do more of that. What I write about is the whole idea of enough and deciding what's enough for you. Everybody's answer is different. Most people don't seem to ever stop and ask themselves that question. All they know is that they want some more. More than they have right now.

Q. Do you really take barf bags off airplanes and use them as lunch bags?

A. I take those things when I can. I like to have some fun with being cheap. Right now, I'm experimenting with dryer lint.

Q. What do you use that for?

A. It's very flammable, so you can use it to start your wood furnace.

Q. Is lint a great thing to burn?

A. You can compost it easily. Dryer lint is kind of symbolic for me because it represents tremendous waste. It's your clothes having the life being beaten out of them. You're better off hanging them on a line.

Q. You also have this thing where you try to spend a dollar a pound. What's a perfect example of a healthy food that's that cheap?

A. Lentils are probably the all-time perfect food. The things we're supposed to eat the most of, they cost the least. It's the things that are the worst that cost the most.

Q. Like what?

A. Red meat. Processed foods.

Q. But I'm a big believer in wild salmon. That's not cheap.

A. I'm not saying you can buy any food you want for a dollar a pound, but I'm taking on this common myth that it costs more to eat healthy. You can score beans and rice and whole grains, legumes.

Q. Tell me two things people can do to save money.

A. First, simplify your life. By that, I mean everything from staying around home more to eating lower on the food chain to using up stuff you have on hand. In general, whenever you simplify, you save money, live lighter on the planet, and it makes you happier.

Second, contact your insurance company, phone company, bank, cable company, et cetera and ask them how they can help you reduce the amount you pay them every month.

Q. Can this economic downturn actually be good news for a guy like you?

A. It is. We're fighting a cultural battle here. My quest is to make cheap, as I defined it, the new cool. I'm trying to tick that pendulum back and say maybe that waste is not cool. The current rates of spending and consumption in America are unsustainable on the earth. . . . A victory in my camp I would point to would be the rapid decline of the Hummer in the United States.

Q. Do you own a house?

A. It's the only house we've ever owned, and we've been here 20 some years. My theory is finish in your starter home. Buy a modest home, pay it off as quickly as you can, and stay in it as long as you can. We started with a 30-year mortgage, reduced it to 15, and ended up paying it off by 13 years.

Q. If you were Bill Gates, would you act this way? What sorts of things might you allow yourself?

A. I'm not opposed to having money. But . . . I don't think I would change my life at all with the possible exception that I would maybe travel more, though I'd maybe travel on the cheap. I'm not a rich person by certain standards, but my wife and I decided this is the life we want.

Q. Who is to blame for the economic collapse?

A. You mean consumers? I think there's plenty of blame to go around. Certainly at the core of this problem we're having has been greed and excess and blind ambition to amassing more money. Many consumers are guilty of that. But certainly our institutions and banks have been guilty of the same thing. This is a financial orgy we've been going through.

Q. Wouldn't another Great Depression be the ultimate lesson?

A. I think we're getting that. It's a question of what degree you need to inflict that pain. A whole bunch of people are learning a very hard-earned lesson. That's part of the learning exercise.

I feel like the government probably ought to do something to help out. I bristle at the thought government money might be used to pay off people's mortgages and put them back in homes they couldn't afford in the first place.

Those people were stupid and greedy, and I don't think that should be rewarded. At the same time, I don't want to see people out on the streets.

Did you know that there is a "Free" subcategory on CraigsList, listed under "For Sale"?

I have a friend who listed his 50" projection TV there (in fine working order, but too big once he got a Plasma) and some lucky college kid with a truck picked it up in 30 minutes.

Dig through that--who knows, you may find your next table there.

I am a transplant to New England from thousands of miles away, and one of the things I first read about when I moved to Boston was the 'Yankee Sesnibility', AKA 'Being Cheap.'

In these tough times, being Frugal is a necessity, but when does that morph into being cheap? Here is a quick exercise. Open a notepad window (or a blank email, or some other document--don't waste paper. I consider that frugal. Would you call it cheap?)

Are You Frugal Or Cheap?

1. Do you eat out (not counting lunches at work, if you have a job, that is)?

1. All the time
2. 2-3 times a week
3. 2-3 times a month
4. Never

2. When you eat out, do you?

1. I order whatever I crave
2. Order an entree for each person and take leftover to go
3. Share our meals to save some money
4. I don't eat out!

3. What do you drive?

1. The latest and greatest 2 years lease can buy
2. I buy new car every few years
3. I always buy used car
4. I don't own a car

4. What kind of TV do you have?

1. 1080 HDTV, of course!
2. A flat screen TV, but not the latest and greatest
3. I still have the one I bought 10 years ago
4. I don't have a TV

5. What cable/satellite package do you have?

1. Premium channel with everything under the sun
2. Just the basic channels so I can watch the news
3. Whatever I get with the rabbit ears
4. I don't have a TV

6. You have some old clothes, do you?

1. What are you talking about, I don't have old clothes.
2. I donate them when they get a little older
3. I turn them into rags
4. I am still wearing them

7. When you buy something, do you?

1. I buy what I want, whenever I want
2. I occasionally splurge on what I want
3. I only buy what I need, clip coupons, use discount cards, etc.
4. I avoid making any kind of purchases

8. When you receive gifts, do you?

1. I take them back to the store to trade up
2. I keep all my gifts
3. I may return or re-gift some
4. I sell them on eBay for cash

9. When you buy clothes, do you?

1. I always shop brand names
2. I usually buy when they are on sale
3. I usually shop at goodwill and thrift stores
4. I ask my friends and family for hand me downs

10. Regarding your lunches, do you?

1. I always go out to the local restaurants
2. I mostly eat low cost take out lunches
3. I occasionally pack my own lunch
4. I always pack my own lunch

Rate Yourself

For each question, give yourself: 1 point for any #1 answer, 2 points for #2, 3 points for #3, and 4 points for #4. Add up the points and rate yourself:

• 35+ = You're definitely cheap
• 25-34 = You're frugal. Good job!
• 16-24 = You're not frugal, but you appear to be reasonable with your spending habits
• 10-15 = There are a lot of opportunities for you to save money

So how did you score?