Jeff Yeager is the author of the new book The Cheapskate Next Door.

"Sure, we could afford to spend more, but why would we? It wouldn't make us any happier." Those are the words I've spent the last two and a half years traveling the country to hear. It's a simple but rare statement, given that nearly half of all Americans say that they literally live paycheck-to-paycheck and have little if any savings. How can some people live not only within their means, but substantially below their means, even when their incomes are often less than the national average? And here's the biggest question of all: How can some of those same people insist that they are happier -- joyous really -- because of their thrift and frugality?

I traveled thousands of miles -- nearly 3,000 of them by bicycle! -- and surveyed more than 300 of my beloved "Miser Advisers" to find the answers. In my new book, The Cheapskate Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of Americans Living Happily Below Their Means, I share what I discovered about people and families who not only know how to stretch their money, but who are more content and happier because of it. The book also includes hundreds of their practical, money saving tips -- unique ideas that anyone can use every day.

Some of what I found may not surprise you: they despise debt and have found creative ways to eliminate it from their lives; they differentiate between "needs" and "wants," and between "affordability" and "borrow-ability;" and, yes, most of them own and still wear at least one article of clothing dating back to the Carter administration (or earlier).

But other findings surprised even me, the Green Cheapskate: only about 10% have a written household budget ("we live our budget -- it's second nature -- we don't waste time writing about it," one cheapskate said); while they have savings in the bank, less than 15% have a formal "emergency fund" ("an emergency fund is for people who don't have their financial house in order otherwise," another cheapskate said); and more than nine out of ten say that they think, worry, and stress-out about money less -- not more -- than their non-cheapskate peers. They are 100+ times more likely to have a dog or cat adopted from a shelter than one purchased from a pet store; far more likely to own a crock-pot (or several) than an iPod or flat-screen TV; and they divorce at less than half the national average.

These aren't your miserable, Scrooge-like cheapskates. These are folks who know what's important in life, and they skip the rest. Here's a glimpse inside the mind of the Cheapskates Next Door:

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Jeff Yeager, who normally writes in this space about going green by saving money, has a new book out, The Cheapskate Next Door. To find out what he learned while researching the book, including many interviews he did with "cheapskates" around the country, we decided to turn the spotlight back oh him, and ask some questions of our own. Here's the result:

The Daily Green Editors: What is the worst hating anyone has done on you for being cheap?

Well, of course, I don't condone being dishonest or greedy or unkind when I talk about being a "cheapskate." Just the opposite. For me -- and the folks I talk about in my new book -- it's all about being less materialistic, less focused on amassing money and stuff, and more focused on amassing a quality of life that money can't buy. It's truly about enjoying life more, by spending and consuming less. So, no, I generally don't have people hating me because I'm cheap, as I've just defined it.

That said, I do occasionally have people tell me that folks like me caused the current recession, or that we're being unpatriotic because we're not "good consumers." I've ranted on that topic before here on The Daily Green, so I won't repeat myself. I like to conserve when it comes to my blood pressure, too, not just conserve resources and money.

What do you think is your greatest cheap accomplishment?

Well, there is the five-pound can of garbanzo beans I once scored for 69 cents on sale -- slightly dented, of course. That's like a cheapskate trophy for me. But honestly, I think it's that, largely through the use of humor (most of it at my own expense), I've been able to engage people in a discussion about some very serious issues -- the impact of consumption on the planet, solving the world's problems by being more charitable, valuing what's really important in life over simply buying more stuff. I'd like to think that, because I try to add a laugh track to most of what I write, I'm reaching at least some folks who otherwise would never engage in such a discussion.

See 50 Healthy Foods for Under $1 a Pound

You mention some pretty extreme examples of cheapskates in your new book -- dumpster divers, a woman who uses her used Q-tips to detail the inside of her car, a number of cheapskates who consider underwear to be an optional luxury. Do you really expect most people to live like that?

No, of course not. And taken in the context of the entire book, as you know, those are truly just a handful of stories, examples of what I call "bizarre cheapskate behavior." But they do show what's possible, how different people live...plus, frankly, they add color and entertainment value to the book. In fact, the thing I'm proudest about when it comes to the new book, is that I think it has something to offer -- some ways to live happier on less -- for everybody, regardless of your family situation or lifestyle. So, don't worry, I'm not asking you to give up your tighty whiteys.

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If you are what you eat, then I should weigh-in at under $1 a pound.

That's because, as a general rule of thumb, I try to only buy foodstuff that costs under a buck per pound. Under $1 a pound, year-round --- that's my grocery shopping mantra.

It's not just because I'm a world-class penny-pincher and smart shopper; believe it or not, it's also about eating healthier. When you look at the USDA "food pyramid," many of the things we should be eating the most of -- grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables -- happen to cost the least. It's often the stuff that's bad for us (at least in large quantities) -- red meat, fatty dairy products, and processed foods high in trans saturated fats -- that cost the most, on a per pound basis.

To prove my point, I've put together this list of 50 healthy foods that I've purchased at least once in the last six months for under $1 a pound. First, a few disclaimers about my list-o-fifty:

NO, I don't live on another planet or in a part of the country where the cost of living is deflated. In fact, I live and shop in the Washington, DC metro area, which has one of the highest costs of living (and groceries) in the country.

NO, I'm not saying that all of these items are available in every store, at all times. But if you shop carefully, you can always find at least some variety of these foods around which to plan your meals. Many of the items on the list (e.g. most root vegetables, bananas, beans, etc.) can usually be purchased for under $1 pound even when not on sale or in-season. Other items on the list were "store specials," and typically would cost more than $1 a pound, and/or they were in-season so cost less.

NO, none of the items on my under $1 a pound list are organically grown. The pros/cons of that debate aside, for most people with a limited budget, the choice isn't whether or not to buy expensive organic, it's whether or not to eat highly processed crap like fast food or eat inexpensive healthy foods like those on my list.

See the dirty dozen foods with the most pesticides to maximize organic purchases.

NO, I'm not saying that by eating only these foods you'll have a complete, healthy diet. But they certainly can be the backbone around which to plan healthy, inexpensive menus for your family.

NO, I don't burn up a lot of time and gas by running around to a lot of different grocery stores, and I rarely use coupons. I shop only once every week or two, and I usually shop at only one or two stores. I plan my meals around the-best-of-the-best weekly store specials (aka the "loss-leaders"), the sale items that are usually on the front page of the weekly circular most stores publish. If you're not a creative cook like me, try a website like Delish or Epicurious, where you can enter the ingredients you have to work with and get all kinds of recipes.

So rev-up your shopping cart, but be careful: There's a Green Cheapskate loose on aisle five!

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Composting is the ultimate act of green frugality, turning unwanted organic material into rich humus for use in the garden rather than sealing it in plastic trash bags to spend eternity in a landfill. But for some of us, composting is something even more special – a hobby, a passion, almost a religion. I've even named my beloved compost pile; "Gomer," as in Gomer Pyle (get it?).

As compost enthusiasts say, "A rind is a terrible thing to waste." But composting fruit and veggie rinds and other trimmings, along with leaves, grass clippings, shredded paper and cardboard is only the beginning. Here are some compostable items you might not think about:

Dryer Lint
If you must dry your clothes in an electric clothes dryer (it significantly shortens the lifespan of many garments, wasting energy and money) instead of using a clothesline, at least compost the lint.

Hair and Fur
With my receding hairline, I don't have a lot of my own hair to share with Gomer, but our four cats shed enough to make up for it. Hair adds nitrogen and other beneficial nutrients to compost...

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My wife and I recently endured fifteen days of living without running water while a new well was being drilled on our property. If I was a more conscientious blogger, I suppose I would have chronicled the experience daily, as it unfolded.

But the truth is, I couldn't spend much time at the keyboard during that period. Every time I stopped moving, I felt like Pig-Pen in the Peanuts cartoon, with a visible cloud of filth and stench ready to descend all around me if I stopped long enough for it to catch up.

Photo: 15 days without water was enough to make the Green Cheapskate psycho

Now that the water is mercifully flowing once again at the House of Yeager, I want to take a minute to share what I learned from our waterless ordeal. As my father-in-law always said, "If you don't have a good time, you usually have a good experience." That about sums it up:

* 10. Toilets are an engineering marvel: By keeping a bucket of water handy, we almost got use to manually filling the toilet tank whenever it needed flushing. I appreciate the fact that you can still flush a toilet this old-fashioned way in a pinch, and I can hardly believe that in this technological age someone hasn't invented a "new and improved" toilet that would make it impossible to do so. Still, most older toilets use more water than is really necessary, so keep a water-filled plastic soda bottle in the tank to limit the excess.

* 9. Never take water for granted: Access to water -- particularly safe drinking water -- is truly a matter of life or death. Yet more than one billion people, nearly one out of every seven individuals on Earth, have an insufficient supply of potable water. Nonprofit organizations like Drop in the Bucket are working to solve that problem, and they deserve our donations and other support.

* 8. Clothes don't really need to be washed so often: We went the entire two-plus weeks without doing any laundry, when normally we'd probably have done at least a couple of loads. And you know what? Our clothes and other linens still smelled and looked fine. Laundering clothes less often not only saves water and energy, but it also makes clothing last longer -- and that all adds up to a closet full of financial savings.

* 7. I have the best wife on the planet: Of course, after 27 years of marriage (or, as Denise says, "almost three and half good years"), I already knew this. But my mate showed her true grit (not to be confused with her "true grittiness") as she helped me clear a patch of land where the well could be drilled and kept her sense of humor throughout the entire waterless siege. Boy do I love that woman.

* 6. Remodeling an outdated bathroom doesn't look like a financial priority post-drought: We've been meaning to remodel our bathroom, since it's looking rather dated. But once you've lived without running water, you realize that functionality -- and not fashion -- is the important thing. Besides, I'm pretty sure avocado-colored bathroom fixtures will eventually come back into vogue, and then we'll be ahead of trend.

* 5. You don't need as much water in the kitchen as you might think: Without a flowing tap at the ready, we found that we could easily cut down on the amount of water we normally use -- and waste -- in the kitchen. Potatoes and pasta cooked just fine in about half the amount of water we typically use, and the still scalding water used to soft boil eggs in the morning was poured directly into a dishpan to scrub up the dishes from dinner the night before (later rinsed, of course). Even washing the kitchen floor with a small bucket of water and a handheld sponge rather than a mop saved us at least a couple of gallons.

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I've confessed before that my enthusiasm for gardening usually dies on the vine long before the first cucumbers of summer are ready to harvest. I'm always looking for easy ways to satisfy my green thumb and, of course, ways to get the most broccolis for my gardening buck. That's why I'm a big fan of growing perennial vegetables in my garden -- plant them once, and enjoy the fruits (well, actually, vegetables) of your labors for years to come.

I'll always remember when the UPS man delivered a mysterious, rather dirty looking box to our new home the first spring we lived here. The box was carefully packed with damp sphagnum moss, the packaging material of choice for shipping the sacred Yeager Roots, a housewarming gift from my parent.

Other families pass down jewelry or antique furniture, but for the Yeager clan, the holy triumvirates of family heirlooms are root starts of asparagus, horseradish, and rhubarb. They are the direct descendants of the original Yeager Roots, dating back at least to my great-grandparents, and -- family legend has it -- much, much further. After all, my great-great-grandmother was a Lungfish (that was her maiden name, not her species, mind you). But I digress.

Although -- unlike fruits -- there aren't too many vegetables that are perennials, many of the ones that do exist grow in a wide range of climates and, once established, are low-maintenance enough even for a lazy gardener like me. They're also among the healthiest veggies for you, and they're generally inexpensive to purchase, if you don't come from a family with its own royal roots line. Here are my personal eight great perennial vegetables:

* Asparagus: Grows best in full sun and non-soggy, somewhat sandy soil. I like it cut into one-inch pieces and stir fried raw with sesame oil and a little sliced ginger (top with toasted sesame seeds). Or, brush with olive oil and crushed garlic and grill whole spears on the bar-b.

* Bamboo Shoots: We have a good sized stand of bamboo that was on the property when we moved here, so I guess bamboo will be my contribution to the lineage of Yeager Roots. Not all varieties of bamboo shoots are edible (or tasty), so do your homework first. We boil ours to remove the bitterness, then sauté them in butter and a little sherry or sweet vermouth for flavor. Also, be advised that many varieties of bamboo are highly invasive and can be toxic if eaten in large amounts.

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Ah, springtime, and a cheapskate's fancy turns to ... trash. As Jim Carrey said in the movie The Grinch, "One man's toxic waste is another man's potpourri." Well, not really. But I've found some pretty nifty stuff scavenging through what others have cast aside.

In the springtime particularly, I combine my love of trash picking with my passion for being outdoors and helping the environment. This Saturday (April 10th) I'll be participating in the 22nd Annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup, sponsored by my friends and neighbors at the Alice Ferguson Foundation here in southern Maryland. Over the years more than 50,000 volunteers have spent a day picking trash out of the Potomac and its surrounding watershed.

Last year alone, that effort netted 290 tons of trash collected at over 500 sites throughout the region. Not only is it a day to give Mother Nature a makeover -- and realize just how much trash ends up in our rivers and other waterways -- but it is, at least for me, "My favorite shopping day of the year." (Check out the photo of some of my prized Potomac finds over the years.)

If you don't live in the Potomac watershed or can't join us on Saturday, don't despair: This spring and summer there will be more than 3,000 river cleanup projects across the country, all looking for able volunteers. The nationwide campaign -- 2010 National River Cleanup -- is coordinated by American Rivers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and restoring America's rivers for the benefit of people, wildlife and nature. On their website you can find a cleanup near you. Or, if you want to organize a river cleanup of your own, you can register it on the site to help generate volunteers and publicity for your project -- American Rivers even provides free trash bags and instructional materials to cleanup organizers if you register your cleanup in their database.

June is National Rivers Month, and many cleanups happen during that month or earlier, a sort of spring cleaning as people get outdoors to enjoy nature's waterways. Since the start of the nationwide cleanup campaign in 1991, more than 600,000 volunteers have cleaned up 100,000+ miles of waterways. All that trash, and still no sign of Jimmy Hoffa.

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[Don't Use So Much! That's the Green Cheapskate's mantra. In an ongoing series of articles on The Daily Green, Jeff Yeager will show you easy ways to save money -- and the Earth's resources -- by cutting back on things you use every day.]

I was never a big believer in feng shui, the ancient Chinese art of design and aesthetics intended to improve life by receiving more positive energy. Although, I was reading a book about feng shui the other day and the author was talking about how the water drains in your house, if not properly positioned, can "drain wealth" out of your life.

"Aha!" I said to myself. "Maybe there's something to this feng shui stuff after all!" You see, I know for a fact that most people waste a lot of money in their bathrooms every day, and there are usually more drains in the bathroom than any other room in the house. Here's how to save in the bathroom: ...

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My enthusiasm for gardening normally peaks right about now for the year. It's triggered by the first prematurely warm days of spring and the stack of colorful seed and garden catalogs stockpiled on the nightstand for my bedtime reading. I fall asleep dreaming of my perfect garden: one filled with eggplants bigger than my head and bordered by neatly spaced rows of zinnias in every color of the Crayola 64 pack.

But it's always all downhill from here. When I actually stick the spade in the ground for the first time every year, I'm reminded that my clay soil isn't nearly as easily tilled as the pillow-soft-loamy-stuff they always picture in the catalogs. Then, when things finally start to sprout, The Great Rabbit Wars begin. I start dreaming less about my forthcoming meals of braised carrots, and more about braised rabbit, served with carrot stubs.

By the 100-degree days of July -- when the weeds have officially overpowered everything I so carefully planted in neat little string-lined rows with the seed packets stuck on sticks to mark them -- I've pretty much had my fill of gardening for the year. Yep, I'm at best a recreational user when it comes to gardening.

But this year my gardening enthusiasm is really revved-up by a terrific new book I just read called Grow Your Own Drugs, by James Wong. Wong was trained at the Royal Botanical Gardens (Kew, England) in "Ethnobotany" -- that's the study of "plant lore and customs."

Wong writes in the introduction to his book:

"... this perception of plants as purely ornamental objects is a strange cultural anomaly that has existed in only one civilization in history -- our own (i.e. modern day western culture). In every other culture, the plants that surround us are a living supermarket, pharmacy, a home improvement center, and even a liquor store -- all rolled into one."

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It's official: I've become my grandmother. I realized it the other morning when I opened the door to our freezer.

That icy vault was packed to the brim. But -- in the finest tradition of my Grandma Yeager -- it wasn't filled so much with leftovers, like you'd find in most household freezers. You see, my Grams had a few deep frozen secrets. She knew about weird stuff; weird stuff you can deep-six in the freezer and maybe save some money in the process.

* Candles: Keep your wax candles in the freezer and they'll burn longer. It's especially good for slim table tapers that normally burn very fast.

* Batteries: A number of studies have shown that storing batteries in the freezer helps them retain their charge longer. This is less true for alkaline batteries (freezing extends their shelf life by only about 5%) than it is for NiMH and Nicad batteries often used in electronics. Keeping NiMH batteries in the freezer can boost battery life by 90%.

* Plant Seeds: Many (but not all) types of plant seeds will keep longer and germinate more successfully when stored in the freezer. Consult a copy of Seed Storage of Horticultural Crops, by S.D. Doijode, for more than you'd ever want to know about this fascinating topic. Many of the planet's most important seeds are being stored in the chilly "doomsday" seed vault in Norway.

* Cheap Booze: In the interest of full disclosure, my Grams was a teetotaler. Me, I need an attitude adjustment from time to time, and I've found that storing cheap booze -- not just vodka, but all types of distilled spirits -- in the freezer makes it taste smoother (and more expensive).

* Wine Cubes: Speaking of keeping alcohol in the freezer, when you have a little leftover wine from dinner, pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze it. "Wine cubes" are perfect to use in making stock and other cooking.

* Plastic Soda Bottles Filled with Water: Grandma knew that keeping her freezer chockfull helped to insulate it and perform better, and kept things cold longer if the electricity failed. I like to fill empty plastic soda bottles nearly full with water, and put them in the freezer to take up any vacant space. Plus they make convenient "drip-less ice cubes" to use instead of real ice cubes in my ice chest.

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Happy America Saves Week! Whatever you do, don't run out and buy me a present. That would defeat the whole purpose of the holiday.

America Saves Week 2010 (February 21-28) is a nationwide campaign involving more than 1,000 nonprofit, government and corporate groups that encourages individuals and families to save and build personal wealth. Their website is loaded with free resources and advice, including a nifty calculator that allows you to track your net worth. (WARNING: The calculator is easy to use, but the results might be hard to take.)

America Saves Week is a perfect time to start getting your financial house in order and maybe jump-start that flagging New Year's resolution to spend less and save more. Here are my top five tips to help get you started:

1.) Go on a Fiscal Fast:
Swear-off all spending for a couple of days - or ideally an entire week - as a sort of "spending detox." It's time to use it up, make it last, or do without. A fiscal fast will save you some money (put it into savings or pay off some debt with what you save!), and teach you about how you spend -- and probably waste -- money in a typical week. It'll also remind you of how many terrific things in life are free.

2.) Practice Spending Procrastination:
When it comes to discretionary spending, it usually pays to put off buying until tomorrow what you're tempted to buy today. Studies have shown that we have regrets about nearly 80% of the discretionary purchases we make within the first year of making the purchase. Force yourself to wait at least a week between the time you see an item in a store and when you go back to purchase it. Chances are great that you'll reconsider and never go back to buy it.

3.) Put Your Finances on Autopilot:
To paraphrase Jack Nicholson's character in A Few Good Men, "The money? You can't handle the money!" Have your paychecks and other income deposited directly into your bank account(s), including automatic allocations into designated savings and investment accounts. Then authorize your creditors (e.g. credit card companies, mortgage lender, insurance company, etc.) to automatically withdraw your payments every month from your account. By putting your finances on autopilot, savings becomes automatic and you'll never have late fees or missed payments again.

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Given my proclivity for adopting minimalist New Year's resolutions, I'm really pushing the envelope this year by vowing to thoroughly declutter my house and my life.

In January, I dove head over long into my decluttering campaign, rummaging through the garage, closets, and dresser drawers for items I haven't used in at least the past year or two. I've told myself that those are the things I should seriously consider parting company with. My pile of rarely used items quickly began to take over the living room floor, and when I stood back to appraise my progress, a wave of anxiety hit me. It was a veritable tsunami of materialistic nostalgia.

This is great stuff, I said to myself. I can't give it away!

My original intention had been to cart everything off to a local thrift store, or maybe post it on the Freecycle Network, as those are terrific ways to redistribute things you no longer need But I decided that my old stuff is so special, it deserves the best possible new home. Parting is such sweet sorrow, but after some online research, here's my last will and testament concerning the distribution of my stuff to some very special new homes:

* My favorite-but-now-sadly- threadbare fleece jacket: I'll drop it off at the local Patagonia store, where it'll be recycled into new clothing as part of Patagonia's Common Threads Recycling program.

* The speed-bag that nearly knocked me out last time I tried to use it: SportsGifts.org will pass it along to an aspiring Rocky Balboa, since they use donated sports equipment to create community-based sports programs for underprivileged kids around the world.

* A duplicate copy of Stuart Little, one of my all-time favorite books by E.B. White: I know it will find a good home and delight some young reader when I donate it to Project Night Night, a nonprofit organization that provides "Night Night" tote bags filled with books and other items to homeless children.

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