Cheapest Man - Lessons on Life and Money from the World's Cheapest Man

The Cheapest Man is Back

Mike — Tue, 20 May 2008 16:04:54 +0000

It’s been a rough couple months with this website but I’m happy to say that I’m back to writing.

Over the past few months my wife and I have been on a bit of a spending spree:

plane tickets = $800
new couches = $900
another plane ticket = $300
deck = $3,000
misc = $1,000

The misc includes things like a Flip video camera, Wii games, and more leisure stuff.

I haven’t been living the ‘Cheapest Man’ lifestyle, but starting NOW I’m back on it. So, be prepared for some all new valuable resources to help you live the ‘Cheapest Man’ Lifestyle.

March Challenge - Fiscal Fast

Mike — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 16:38:42 +0000

The wife and I are committed to a fiscal fast for the month of March. What is a fiscal fast? Let me explain below.We will not spend money.

We will still pay our monthly bills.
We will do our best not to buy ay groceries besides the necessities (milk, eggs, and bread)
We did not stockpile a bunch of food to make it through the month.
Not buying any alcohol. Now if friends want to share that is a totally different story.

Today is day 4 of the fast and so far so good. I think we’re heading to the mall tonight to get some exercise. There will be plenty of temptations around us, but I think we’ll be ok with NOT spending any money. Stay tuned…

Rich Dad, Poor Dad - Cheap Resource

Mike — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 22:01:52 +0000

One of the many books I own is Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I’m sure many of you have read this book, but for those of you that haven’t I’ll give you a real quick summary.

Robert talks about the 4 types of people:

Employees - You work for someone else
Self-employed- You are your own boss. You don’t work, you don’t get paid.
Business Owners - You own a system of making money
Investors - You invest your money and let it do the work

The book is a great resource but an even greater resource is his website RichDad.com. I spend a lot of time on that site especially in the forums on the site. There are many great people on the forums that are more than willing to help you out…for FREE. Now keep in mind you usually get what you pay for, but weed through the results and I’m sure you’ll find a nugget of wisdom on there somewhere.

Ever lick a turd….you just may have…

Mike — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:26:26 +0000

Most people know I’m cheap…thus the cheapestman.com domain name. Make sense, huh? Well when I go out to eat (which isn’t that often) I usually order water to drink with my meal. I can’t see paying $2.75 for a fountain drink of Coke. I understand unlimited refills but still knowing that most estamblishments pay 3 cents for a drink they charge you $2.75 for is ridiculuos.

So…back to my water. I usually order a lemon in my water to give it some flavor. And occasionally I’ll put in a packet of sugar for some cheapest lemonade. Well that was before a friend forwarded me this little video.

Take a look:

Grossed out yet? Ready to pay the $2.75 for a fountain drink? I’m not.

Cheap Way to create a Podcast/Radio Show

Mike — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:57:42 +0000

I’ve searched high and low to find an easy and cheap way to Podcast/Radio Show. Here’s what I came up with.

TOOLS
PC Microphone - A generic PC microphone will do. I use this one Logitech USB Desktop Microphone

SOFTWARE
Audacity - Open Source sound recording and editing software. I learned how to use the basic features on this in 30 minutes.

OTHER
Intro music - Revostock - This site has a great selection of stock music you can use for your Podcast.
Hositng at BYO Audio - Some people think that iTunes stores and shares your Podcast. That is not the case. You need to host it with someone (or if you have the capabilities to do it yourself). This company charges $20/month up to 5GB of transfer. Additional $1.95 per 1GB. You can sign up for this service here.

PUBLISHING
I use iTunes to distribute my Podcast. You can also embed them on your website. Most of the time I do both.

That’s it. All the tools you need to create a Podcast/Radio Show the Cheapest Man Way!

Wii selling makes man $4,500 in only 6 weeks

Mike — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:19:10 +0000

An unnamed man made roughly $4,500 in roughly 6 weeks selling this Christmas’ most sought after toy, the Nintendo Wii. A little background on this unnamed man. He’s 40, has a masters degree, two kids, and drives a minivan. Sound like a typical Dad. So how does an ordinary Dad make so much money in such a little time off one particular toy. A few ways:

He scammed eBay - it’s against eBay’s policy to jack up bids by having your “friends” bid on your products. It is illegal, but hey I guess you do what you have to do sometimes.
He outsmarted/outworked everyone - simple calls to stores and asking when they’ll get the Wii’s in was a huge benefit for him. He studied the distribution schedule and worked around it. He knew when stores were getting the consoles in versus just showing up and hoping.
He beat the holiday rush - this man made all his sales before Thanksgiving. The early bird once again gets the worm.
He slowly entered this idea - he didn’t buy as many as he could and try and sell them. He bought one to see how it would go. If the idea failed he wasn’t gonna be out that much money. You see a lot of people jump all over an “idea” and end up losing their shirts. Slowly enter into your idea and as soon as you know it works, jump all over it.

The point of this story is not that the man made a nice little profit from selling Wiis. The point is we need to always be on the lookout for our own little money making strategies. Pay attention to what you see, what you hear, what you expect to happen. Anticipating a demand is not always easy but executed correctly you can make a nice little chunk of change.

Tata Nano - World’s Cheapest Car

Mike — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:45:20 +0000

India has done it. The Tata Nano is the world’s cheapest car. The car is being dubbed as ‘The People’s Car’ and will run roughly $100,000 rupees (~$2,500). The Nano is a little over 10 feet long and nearly 5 feet wide. It is powered by a 623cc two-cylinder engine at the back of the car. With 33 horsepower, the Nano is capable of 65 miles an hour. Its four small wheels are at the absolute corners of the car to improve handling. There is a small trunk. The Nano will go on sale in India later this year with an initial production run of 250,000 a year. Tata says it will offer the Nano in other emerging markets in Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa within four years.

Personally I like the idea and the concept of this car. Will I buy one if they come to the US? Probably not. There are certain aspects I like (the gas mileage (54 miles per gallon) but the car does not justify it’s usefulness to me. And don’t even get me started on the safety of driving around this modified toaster.

I’ll watch the progress of this car and who know maybe someday the cheapest man WILL be driving around this bad boy.

Cheap Music on iTunes

Mike — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 15:38:18 +0000

Many people cringe when they hear FREE MUSIC. I am a one of those. But, I have to say the FREE MUSIC on iTunes has won me over. Many people are on iTunes and many people know that they give away one free song a week. These songs are from all sorts on genre’s (country, rap, pop…you get the idea). I have been very loyal to the free song each week and I have to say I’ve filled a few CDs up just from the songs I’ve downloaded.

Dollar Diary - February

Mike — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 02:00:17 +0000

Feb 1st

ITEM	COST
SODA	.50
MORE SODAS	$14
DINNER (GREEK GRILL)	$12

TOTAL	$26.50

I did pass up on a couple of my normal sodas (50 cents each). And my wife and I wanted to go out to dinner, but chose to get takeout instead (saved ~ $20) there.

Feb 2nd

ITEM	COST
WINE	$11
SODAS	$14


TOTAL	$25

Well..it IS Super Bowl weekend (thus all the booze).

Feb 3rd - I didn’t spend a dime!!
Feb 4th - I didn’t spend a dime…again!

Feb 5th - Nope…nothing…nada…

Feb 6th - I made a couple purchases today. Although this was through my business account..but $$ nonetheless.

ITEM	COST
DOMAIN NAMES (2)	$14
SONG ON ITUNES	$1.03

TOTAL	$15.03

Today I spent some money. The $14 was for a couple domains I’ve been watching, and that money came out of my business account, but I included it already.

I also bought a song on iTunes. I had a gift card balance that should of covered this cost, but I just realized I was charged for it anyway, so that was included as well.

Feb 7th - Feb 17th = $0
How did I achieve such a streak? Well, I have a newborn at home and don’t really get out of the house. It’s hard for me to spend money when I’m sitting at home. Easy enough.

Roy Haynes - Living Cheap the Wrong Way

Mike — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 17:01:22 +0000

Roy Haynes is cheap. Kudos to him for being cheap, but personally I think he goes about it in the wrong way.

Why..you ask? Here’s why?

He garbarge picks - not only is this disgusting but it’s also illegal. Seriously, do you want this guy going through YOUR trash?
He takes advantage of things - You will see he has ketchup packets that he puts into a ketchup bottle. Now I’m assuming this, but I can see him as the kind of guy who goes to McDonald’s and cleans house at the condiment station. No one wants to look that desperate.
He recycles….the wrong items - This guy reuses paper towels…at least 5 times. I’m no doctor but that cannot be good for your health.

Don’t get me wrong, the guy knows how to pinch pennies. I just don’t think the average Joe can live this lifestyle. Through the CheapestMan.com we will show you some normal people ways to save a buck or two.