8 Lessons I Learned From The Cheapest Family In The Nation

I’ve read about America’s Cheapest Family in various articles and posts but haven’t really seen them in action till I caught a repackaged episode of 20/20 where they were once more featured. I cannot believe how a family of seven with children ages 10 through 21 are able to pull off living on an annual budget of $35,000. They are the aptly named Economides family from Arizona, and they are super-savers.

After watching their segment my main impression was that living that frugally indeed takes a lot of work, organization and effort, which would appear especially more challenging to the uninitiated. Some impressive facts:

  • The family paid off their house in 9 years even as their income averaged $33,000 a year. Of course, the ease of pulling this off would depend on the original cost of their home.
  • Steve Economides refers to himself as his family’s CEO or “Cheap Economizing Officer” and is a freelance graphic artist. Both he and his wife Annette operate the family business called “HomeEconomiser” which offers a Web site and newsletter for frugal living.
  • They spend $350 per month for food and disposable items covering paper goods, cleaning supplies and personal care items.
  • A freezer is a necessity to them. They devote a few days a month to cooking all their family meals then store 13 to 17 meals in the freezer each time.

From their experiences, I picked up these lessons based just on what they’ve shared in their interviews and stories. To be able to stretch those dollars hard, here’s what they did:

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Map that named America is a puzzle for researchers

The only surviving copy of the 500-year-old map that first used the name America goes on permanent display this month at the Library of Congress, but even as it prepares for its debut, the 1507 Waldseemuller map remains a puzzle for researchers.Why did the mapmaker name the territory America and then change his mind later? How was he able to draw South America so accurately? Why did he put a huge ocean west of America years before European explorers discovered the Pacific?

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Beard Research

brdexperi-3.jpgDoes a beard keep you warmer?

I ski (XC) in the winter. I run in the winter. I cycle in the winter. I have a beard. People have been saying, “A beard keeps you warmer.”

Sure it sounds good, but has anybody ever really tested this theory? In the interest of science, I thought of cutting off my beard for a winter to determine if it would be colder without it. Thinking about it for a while, I realized that this was no good. Maybe it would be a warmer (colder) winter this year. Maybe I would forget how cold (warm) it was last year.

I needed a control! Another person was no good; their perception of cold may not agree with mine. I had only one choice. Shave half of my beard.

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