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While I was on the treadmill at the gym this morning, I eavesdropped on the two old men behind me. They were talking about the current market meltdown. “It’s all because of greed,” one of the guys said. “Oh yeah,” the other nodded in agreement.
“Those damn fools weren’t satisfied with what they had. They wanted more, and they wanted it for nothing,” said the first guy. “Oh yeah,” the other nodded in agreement.
As I listened, I watched the television in front of me. AMC was playing Gordon Gekko’s “greed is good” speech from the 1987 film Wall Street. I listened to the old guys moan about greed, and watched the subtitles as Gekko praised it. It was surreal.
I plugged in my iPod and took refuge in a magazine article about index funds.
Speaking of the gym, a reporter from the Associated Press recently found my article about low-cost fitness. She called to chat, but was disappointed to learn that, in the end, I had actually joined a fitness club. “You’ve got to do what works for you,” I said, repeating my mantra. “And exercising at home wasn’t working for me.” She was unimpressed.
She perked up, however, when she learned that Kris has been exercising all summer to an $8 yoga video. “Can I talk to your wife?” the reporter asked. And so my wife ended up being featured in an article on frugal exercise, while I was only included in a photo (as “J.D. Gates”). We think this is hilarious, but we don’t mind.
“Kris Gates, left, and husband J.D. Gates follow yoga instructions together from a DVD at their home in Portland, Ore., Friday, Sept. 12, 2008. Kris Gates does yoga every morning before going to work. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)”
Here are a few other financial stories from around the web:
- Marc at Wheaties for Your Wallet explains what happens if your bank closes. Top advice: always keep your money in FDIC-insured accounts (or an equivalent), and never keep more than is protected by law.
- Gather Little by Little suggests that you should buy things brand-spankin’ used. “If you get a used product that was well taken care of and in good shape, it can serve you well for a long time and save you a tremendous amount of money upfront.” Amen!
- Five Cent Nickel wonders, “Is it Un-American to ask for a discount?” We’ve covered this before at GRS: some people do it, some people don’t. I want to ask for discounts, but most of the time I’m too shy.
Finally, I plan to update my list of personal finance sites from around the world soon. If you know of a non-U.S. site worth including, please let me know.
![[LIFE REMIX]](http://www.getrichslowly.org/images/liferemix_small.gif "Proud member of the LifeRemix Network")
![[MONEY SCRIBES]](http://www.getrichslowly.org/images/ms.png "The Money Scribes")
September 16th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
I can’t help but point out that Kris’ yoga mat is the one pictured at the bottom of this entry. We bought it for a buck. We bought the yoga DVD for $8. The television is from 1992. Kris really is enjoying frugal exercise!
September 16th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Haha talk about frugal, that is amazing.
Those old guys at the gym sounds pretty funny. It is good to find solitude in an ipod. I am actually thinking about getting a new ipod nano (not really frugal of me)….but I really want one.
Thanks for the post. It was really entertaining
September 16th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
I always ask for a discount. The worst could happen is that they would say “No”. I walked out of designer stores with discounts because I asked for it. I called my credit card company and they waived annual fees because I asked for it. Here is the article I wrote on this - Updated - Is it possible to hold an annual fee credit card and still pay no annual fee? http://adawnjournal.com/2007/08/23/updated-is-it-possible-to-hold-an-annual-fee-credit-card-and-still-pay-no-annual-fee/
Also, three years in a row, I called my home phone company and told them that I would discontinue if I don’t get a discount. Guess what? I am paying incredibly low on home phone service. Cheers,
A Dawn
http://www.adawnjournal.com
September 16th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
one of the perks of the university is the free gym membership.
i ask nicely for a discount and most people behind the counter are very accommodating. when they can’t, they can’t and i thank them anyway. but you’d be surprised how often they can.
September 16th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
There is nothing wrong with asking for discounts as long as you’re polite to the retailer.
Sometimes the retailer really wants to get rid of an item that has been sitting there for a while, and you happen to need it at some point in the near future. You and the retailer can make a deal, they get rid of something and make space in their retail store, you get something you need for less money, it’s a win-win.
What’s not a win-win is if you ask for a discount, get a “no”, and act as if you’ve been wronged and throw a temper tantrum. Just be polite.
September 16th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Dear JD Roth,
I’ve been lurking here for sometime now and I’m really amazed at the success of your site. 63K readers is just mind-boggling.
Anyway, I just started my own personal finance blog. Hope you find it interesting enough to include in your list.
Wonder, Wealth & Wisdom
Thanks for your kind consideration.
Rgds
September 16th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
My wife works “on-the-side” as an instructor with 24hr fitness, which means both of us get free memberships.
There is some startup cost to doing this (for rather pointless training classes & materials) but for us it’s worked out quite well.
It involves the sacrifice (on my wife’s part) of one evening a week for which she earns enough to basically cover gas — but the free memberships (which are good for any and all 24 hour fitness clubs — even the SuperSport ones) represent a decent savings of something that we’d be paying for otherwise.
September 16th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Hey J.D.
You should check out Yoga Today. Everyday they feature a new 1 hour yoga session, free of charge. The address is http://www.yogatoday.com/
September 16th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
speaking of low cost fitness.. i do all my cardio during my breaks at work (20 minutes x 2 = 40 minute walk).. i walk to each wing in my building (north, south, east, west) and back.. i’ve been doing it for about a month now and have lost 5 pounds already
i also have a weight training regimen at home using strictly dumbells.. i’m only a week into it though
i made it a priority to lose 15 lbs by november.. i have 10 more lbs. to go
i actually do have a gym membership (i pay yearly).. but i haven’t gone in over a year lol.. i promised myself i will start going back again
September 16th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
I find I am confronted with many more free exercise alternatives than I’m willing to use. Unless the gym offers some kind of motivational benefit, I don’t think I’ll ever pay to use a gym again.
September 16th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Please stop with the “don’t keep more than $100,000 in any one bank”. Talk to the individuals at YOUR financial institution. You can be insured for more than $100,000, depending on the types of accounts you maintain there and whether they are joint or not (AND STILL BE FDIC INSURED 100%).
September 16th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
You’re right, Lazo. You’re absolutely right. I’ve removed that statement from the post. It’s accurate for most individuals, but there are several exceptions. Thanks for calling me on that.
September 16th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
there’s also always “jimmy norville’s” method of gaining free gym memberships:
http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1559877&vid=149800
September 16th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
One nice free method, which I haven’t seen mentioned anywhere that I use to work on my chest & shoulders is the “100 pushup” challenge.
Details are here…
http://hundredpushups.com/
September 16th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
I’m spending a small fortune on working out. My condo has a gym, so I don’t have to pay for my facility (it’s part of the strata fees, whether I go or not). But I’m paying around $60 a month for a once-a-week boot camp and another $130 to $260 for personal training sessions. And then there’s the cost of all the new clothes in smaller sizes.
Oh, but that’s the thing. My fitness and health are improving. And I’m way more motivated than if I was doing this alone. The trainers also help keep me from injuring myself, since they emphasize form over speed or weight.
So, do I mind that I’ve been spending $200 to $320 a month on exercise lately? Not one bit. It’s the best money I’ve ever spent. Moreover, I think it will save me money in the long run, since my health care costs should look better as I age.
September 16th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Definitely ask for discounts. We recently helped my fiancee’s parents buy a new laptop for their other daughter’s first year at school.
This was at staples. They were asking $699 for the laptop, but the one sitting out was the only one left. I asked politely if we could have a discount since it was technically a “floor model”.
The manager took 10% off (around $70) just for asking, and then the sales clerk said “why don’t we just give it to you for $500. They also threw in a 4 year warranty. Ultimately we left with a $900 retail value computer for $500 + tax.
This is the exception, but little discounts happen all the time, and add up over time. As long as you’re polite and don’t argue if they say “no”, I think nothing could be more American.
September 16th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Greed isn’t the problem, and never was. Greed is the central motivator in a society that values individual rights. The problem with the markets was a combination of ignorance, incompetence, and laziness. Certain people thought they could get something for nothing, and they were still dancing around, far from the chairs, when the music stopped.
I keep noticing Bank of America buying up all these other failed enterprises, with the biggest two being Countrywide and now Merrill Lynch. What is Bank of America doing so correctly that they seem to have money to spare these days while the others are going belly-up? Seems their investment strategies might be more sound than Wall Street’s trendy hype and hoopla. I heard once, back when the subprime crisis was just starting, that Bank of America would emerge unscathed because they were still tightwads about underwriting mortgages even when the buying frenzy was at its peak. Even when you could get a NINJA loan (no income, no job, no assets) with a mediocre credit rating and everyone and their dog was buying a 4,000-sq-ft box in the suburbs, Bank of America was sticking to the 20%-down, FHA, and VA loan applicants, fundamentally sounder loans to make. Well, here we are in late 2008, and I think the scoreboard says it all.
Disclosure: I have no affiliation with any company mentioned here or anywhere. I’m a legal analyst for the state government.
September 16th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
I have a small collection of fitness tapes, and I love how I can do things I would be normally be embarrased to do in public (bellydancing for beginners anyone?) and get in shape for about $5 a tape.
September 16th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
I’m not a huge fan of the name “spare change” - doesn’t give a lot of info. If you must change it, leave in the word links.. something like “Spare Change: Daily Links” or whatever. Something more informative is better, IMO.
September 17th, 2008 at 5:00 am
I agree with Arebelspy, “Spare Change” doesn’t really do it for me. How about “High-Interest Links” … get it?
September 17th, 2008 at 6:14 am
I realize I have been on a frugal fitness trip myself except for a membership in a running club. Our apartment has a descent trail to run and a swimming pool. Also I keep rotating the workouts to keep boredom at bay - http://snurl.com/3r34b. Also the chaotic raffic in our city(Bangalore) doesn’t make it easy for us to have a membership in a fitness club and be regular at it.
September 17th, 2008 at 6:26 am
The 2 old guys are right–i’m as conservative as they come and do believe capitalism is not inherently evil. its greed run amok. the whole financial mess was watched and purpetrated [sic] by “responsible” people. I dont know much about financial markets–but i do know it looked like a shell game from the get go. but it looks like the gov keeps bailing out these thieves.
September 17th, 2008 at 7:08 am
I have belonged to gyms in the past, but I can’t stand the gym atmosphere (though I went to a boxing gym in college and that was completely different, just too far now).
I went for a free gym trial week over a year ago, and it reaffirmed the reasons I don’t like gyms. Plus their kickboxing class was a joke. (Why are people wearing wraps if they are only punching the air?)
So with an upcoming wedding and a mom who lives next door and needed to lose some weight for her health, I started working out with her five days a week. We walk our street, then lift weights, then I jump rope while she works out on a no-frills, inexpensive elliptical. We use the weight workouts from the book 5-Factor Fitness. I dropped a dress size for the wedding, mom has dropped a couple, and we’ve kept this up for over a year. I’ve never had visable abs like I do now.
I also added in a yoga session once a week that they offer here at work for $28/mo. I’m checking out yoga videos through Netflix, as well.
I LOVE working out at home, but I would like access to a pool. My husband has a gym membership because he enjoys playing basketball for cardio, and he can always join a game when he goes to the gym.
September 17th, 2008 at 7:23 am
I have never been one for gyms. My wife and I love to walk and bike so we do our cardio doing that together. We both lift weights twice a week in our house and do cardio three times a week.
September 17th, 2008 at 7:36 am
I’m curious — which Yoga DVD does Kris use?
September 17th, 2008 at 8:19 am
I may have missed it in one of the stories, but what tape does Kris use?
My fitness program costs around $700 a year in food & vet bills, but it doubles as personal trainer, security system, and will even heat my bed if I let it.
September 17th, 2008 at 11:37 am
I’ve had pretty good success asking for discounts sporadically. I think you can do it even if you are shy, just don’t badger the poor salespeople about it.
This usually works particularly well when you are getting served by an assistant manager or manager at somewhere like a sporting goods store. I wouldn’t recommend it on small purchases, but for things like a bike or set of golf clubs, definitely do it, it doesn’t hurt to ask politely “Is there anything you can do on the price?”
http://chinoandfriends.blogspot.com
September 17th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
@April,
If you want a pool for swimming, you might look for Masters swim teams in your area (www.usms.org). Don’t let the name Masters scare you, it’s an organization of adult swim teams nationwide and you don’t have to be a pro to join. I’ve made many friends through my local swim team, it’s a cheap way to get access to the pool, and swimming with people is just more fun anyways(in my opinion :-)).
September 17th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
I also agree with the old men. Your Vanguard 500 wouldn’t be on such a wild ride without the bubble and greed and ignorance are behind bubbles.
September 17th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
@ Ryan:
You can pick-up a Nano on Ebay for relatively cheap. Mine got stolen a couple month’s back and I just got the used one. Forgot how easy running is when you can focus on something besides yourself.
And congrats J.D. I just started a new iGoogle page yesterday to compile the blogs / sites I go to, and your’s came up automatically when I added a finance tab… pretty impressive.
September 17th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Kevin’s Guide To Frugal Exercise:
1. 1 Pair of running shoes ($80)
2. No iPod
3. The great outdoors
If you like to replace your running shoes at around 400 miles, you’re paying $.20/mile. So if you like to go on 5 mile runs, it costs $1. Pretty cheap.
September 17th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Congratulations on being featured in the story!
Mike is dead on, and I’m glad somebody said it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWsx1X8PV_A
September 17th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Kris should check out http://www.yogatoday.com/ . They post a new yoga routine daily and all for free.
September 18th, 2008 at 5:53 am
My husband is not into frugal buying because he has some OCD and gets very freaked out by used items. He likes buying high quality items that cost a lot of money. To compromise, I found a top of the line elliptical machine (Precor) that had barely been used on Craigslist. We bought it for less than half the price of a new one, and then I helped him rub it down with hand sanitizer wipes, though it was in pristine condition.
The things we do for love.
September 18th, 2008 at 11:21 am
The best fitness deal I got was buying a used Kathy Smith exercise video tape “Body basics”. It’s a basic no frills one hour routine with sections for warm up, arms, aerobic, abs, legs, butt and cool down. I’ve purchased other videos I use but this one is by far my favorite.