News

The Cheapskate Edition

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He moved to Burbank, California, where he spent two years working for the Navy, overseeing government contracts at a Lockheed aircraft manufacturing plant. That's when he decided to start living cheap. He didn't want to have to move again if he lost another job. Whenever he got a raise, he plowed it into a savings account. His income rose, but his spending didn't.

In 1989, Roth published his experiences in a book called Living Cheap: The Survival Guide for the Nineties. A few years later, after reading a Wall Street Journal story about frugality newsletters, he thought he could write one that was better than the others. He started Living Cheap News in January 1992. Later that month, a New York Times reporter called him for a story about penny pinchers.

In the Times story, Roth talked about not giving Christmas presents to his friends. "If one of us wants something, we buy it for ourselves," Roth said. "The stress caused by worrying about gifts is gone. And we enjoy each other's company. To me, that's what Christmas is for."

Thanks to the Times' story, Roth says, "I had subscribers all over the country and a few outside the country."

At its peak, about 3,000 subscribers paid for Living Cheap News — $12 a year for 10 issues packed with Roth's secrets. He preached that they should never buy new if used would do. He has since revised the motto: Never buy at all if you can find what you need on the curb.

Roth retired in 1995 and moved back to Kansas City. He'd saved enough — and invested wisely enough — that he never had to work again. He discontinued the newsletter in 1999 (it was becoming repetitive, he says, and subscriptions had fallen off as the economy rebounded). Over the years, though, Roth self-published three books — Living Cheap, Beating the System and Political Frugality — and put out two with commercial presses: The Simple Life (Berkley Publishing Group) and The Best of Living Cheap News (Contemporary Books). All of his books are available from living cheap.com and Amazon.com.

On a cold day after Christmas, with snow falling in Kansas City, the thermostat inside Roth's spacious, three-bedroom home in Waldo is set to a cool 60 degrees. It's not uncomfortable, but Roth offers to crank up the heat for a guest.

"I keep the house fairly cool in the winter, fairly warm in the summer," he explains. "It's good for the environment. That's the altruistic way to put it. It also saves me money."

The 59-year-old Roth is wearing five layers — T-shirt, sweater, sweatshirt, vest and fleece. He got most of these clothes at neighborhood giveaways and online at kcfreecycle.org. "These don't fit great," he says of his jeans, "but they work as far as walking the dog."

When he has to look a bit nicer, he wears dress clothes left by his father, who died a couple of years ago. "And they actually fit me."

Roth's cheap week starts with the Sunday paper. He clips coupons, then browses the ads for sales. On Wednesday, he scans the grocery ads. For grocery shopping, he recommends combining coupons with sales. "You just don't want to go buy stuff because you have a coupon," Roth says. "But if they have something on sale and you have a coupon that makes it a good deal, then you can buy it."

As of December 1, his grocery bill for 2007 was $1,588 for one person and a dog.

He admits that his tactics aren't always popular at some stores. Once, when the Thriftway at 40th Street and Main had a sale on peanut butter, Roth tried to use a coupon. The store refused to take the coupon, he says. So he wrote to the Star to complain. The store manager eventually sent him two jars of peanut butter — along with a letter asking Roth not to come back.

Roth also peruses the classifieds for estate and garage sales. He gets the best deals when the sale is put on by the family or a private owner. He purchased most of his living-room furniture secondhand; for his latest find — a 1951 vintage yellow chair and ottoman — he paid $50 at an estate sale.

Roth's lifestyle doesn't appear miserly. He has credit cards and uses them frequently, but he pays off the balance every month and uses them to collect frequent-flier miles. He has earned free trips, traveling to Australia twice and Europe several times.

He owns two cars, both 1989 Oldsmobile 88s. He bought one cheap from a friend who was moving to Boston. He inherited the other one when his father passed away.

But Roth doesn't drive much. Last year, as of December 1, he'd spent just $399.02 on gas.

When he does drive, Roth maps out a circular route. He never drives to just one place. But he lives within walking distance of CVS, Walgreens and Aldi.

"He likes to rape and pillage stores," says Dan Mugg, Roth's partner of three and a half years. Mugg once watched Roth walk into CVS with rebates, CVS bucks and coupons, and use them to buy $20 worth of stuff for 60 cents.

"I was just in awe," says Mugg, who affectionately refers to Roth as "a cheap bastard."

"CVS has had some deals lately where you can actually get paid to take stuff if you work it right," Roth says.

The chain pharmacy ended up paying him $2.25 to take three tubes of Colgate toothpaste, after he combined coupons with the sale price; CVS also paid him $1 to take Schick Quatro razors that were on sale, and Roth had coupons.

"A lot of people will say that's too much trouble, and it could well be," Roth admits. "But for me, it's kind of fun. I've kind of turned it into a hobby."

Roth's friends say it's more like an obsession.

"The first time you go to his home, it's like a shock," says Jim Miller, who met Roth at the Writers Place in 2001. "You don't know many people who have 30 jars of peanut butter. Or 18 to 20 pounds of coffee."

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