Until recently, being frugal was honored. People were proud of doing things economically, of not wasting, of making do with what was available. This book will help you to be thrifty in ways your grandparents would find familiar.

A Challenge
It’s a fascinating challenge to see what is the absolute minimum you can lead a good life on—and it’s a lot less than most people imagine. It’s not necessary to be a fanatic, only thoughtful. Once your necessities of food, shelter, and medical care have been met, an honest evaluation of your experience will almost certainly show that, beyond a certain point, most added expenditures bring decreasing returns of satisfaction.