Notes & Quotes: America's Cheapest Family by Steve and Annette Economides

The following are my favorite quotes from Steve and Annette Economides' America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money: Your Guide to Living Better, Spending Less, and Cashing in on Your Dreams.

1. There will be three themes that you'll see recur throughout this book: avoid debt like the plague, live below your means, and embrace the thrifty lifestyle.
2. After spending freely, eventually you'll have to pay back what you've borrowed. This will have to be done with money that could better be spent on today's needs rather than yesterday's desires.
3. Grapes and bananas usually last a week. Once they're gone we move on to other fruits. Pears, lettuce, cucumbers, and peppers can last two weeks. Apples, cabbage, radishes, oranges, and celery can last a month.
4. The less you shop, the more you save.
5. Seasonal prices usually follow this pattern:
1. Spring: strawberries, artichokes, asparagus.
2. Summer: melons, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums.
3. Fall: apples
4. Winter: Citrus
6. In our lives, we view the lack of money as a sign that the answer is No, or at least not right now.
7. The average car requires $1000-$1500 per year for maintenance.
8. We recommend that your house payment, insurance, taxes, maintenance, and utilities exceed no more than 40% of your monthly net spendable income -- less is always better.
9. In a letter that public relations expert Robert L. Dilenschneider sent out to his clients, he encouraged them to have a more accepting and understanding view of people with different perspectives. His numbers illustrate that we continue to have an abundance of the world's resources at our beck and call. If we could shrink the whole earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look like this: 59% of the wealth would be in the hands of only 6 people and all 6 would be citizens of the United States. 80 would live in substandard housing. 70 would be unable to read. 50 would suffer from malnutrition. 1 would be near death. 1 would be near birth. 1 would have a college education. 1 would own a computer.
10. Contentment is important and that knowing when enough is enough not only is going to allow us to enjoy our lives but most likely will allow us to share our excess with others in need.
11. Learning to live with less brings more to relationships.
12. You have at your disposal one of the most powerful tools available to mankind: the power of choice. You can choose to be defeated and give up, or you can choose to become a victor.