Review: Cheapskate in Lotusland by Steve Burgess

Cheapskate in Lotusland: The Philosophy and Practice of Living Well on a Small Budget by Steve Burgess

Madeira Park: Douglas & McIntyre, 2026

Here's a great book by a local to Vancouver author that can serve as an examination of the frugal life, with some tips and tricks along the way. I reviewed this for The British Columbia Review, and this article was originally published at The BC Review on Feb 18, 2026. 

***

When I saw that Vancouver author Steve Burgess had written a new book about living on the cheap, I couldn’t wait to dive in. For one, I read his previous book Reservations, about the ups and downs of travel in the modern age and enjoyed it. Secondly, I identify as a bit of a cheapskate myself and felt drawn to the idea of reading his humorous yet personal account of frugality in Vancouver. Would I encounter a kindred soul? In Cheapskate in Lotusland: The Philosophy and Practice of Living Well on a Small Budget, I think I did. 

Burgess is a freelance writer and clearly loves his career and recognises the financial sacrifices his choice of work necessitates. Frugality is a requirement of his lifestyle but has also become a passion that brings him satisfaction. He enjoys a good bargain, to say the least. He’s transparent about the fact that his habits around getting a good deal on almost everything in his life border on obsession. This book is his ode to the tips and tricks he’s found to aid his frugal quest; a look at some wider-ranging topics around the cost of living; and an introductory examination of the ethics and philosophy of penny-pinching. 

Vancouver freelance writer Steve Burgess.
Photo Jesse Winter

The first chapters hooked me completely. Burgess deep dives into the world of the local grocery store. Most of us have to grocery shop, and I suspect many readers are somewhat attuned to the price of food, especially as it rises with inflation. His main locale is No Frills (owned by parent company Loblaws), supplemented with produce from small, local stores. Always scanning for discounts, he recalls the public outcry when Loblaws discontinued the practice of labelling almost-expired food with deep-discount stickers. “The uproar across Canada in 2024 when Loblaws announced plans to phase out the ‘50 percent off’ stickers (they quickly reversed the decision) suggests that such discounts are highly sought after.” I remember that keenly, and was unaccountably happy when the 50 percent discount was reinstated. I’m sure Burgess was too. 

Trish Bowering previously reviewed Steve Burgess’ book Reservations: The Pleasures & Perils of Travel (Madeira Park: Douglas & McIntyre, 2024). He writes on responsible vacationing and as our reviewer noted, Burgess “tackles it with a good helping of humour and doesn’t let himself off the hook.”

Burgess’ trademark humour is apparent throughout. A bargain is great, he notes, but the grocery store is using its own tricks to entice the shopper into bigger and more expensive purchases. “As I try to game the shopping trip to my own advantage, the supermarket is simultaneously attempting to manipulate me into irrational expenditure.” Perusing the clearance shelf sometimes yields discount gold, but “there are no good prices on useless items. If you buy a half-off box of gluten-free budgie food on the chance you might someday acquire a bird with finicky digestion, shame. You wear the checkered costume of a fool.” 

Into couponing or freegan curious? There are chapters for that! Remember the bread price-fixing scandal in Canada involving several retailers who apparently conspired to raise the price of bread at a steady rate? It was interesting to delve behind the headlines and learn more about it. And what book on bargains would be complete without a bit on Costco? I’m not a Costco member, and neither is Burgess, but I’ve considered joining. His chapter on the history of that behemoth corporation was illuminating. 

If the first part of the book hooked me with these bargain bites, the middle sections settled into a focus on some meatier topics. While remaining agnostic about parenting and pet ownership (he is neither a parent nor a current pet owner), there is a chapter on the costs of each, which provided fascinating reading. Always, he brings in the human element, relating conversations from folks he interviews. 

Gradually, Burgess weaves in a discussion about the psychology and ethics of frugality. I was particularly fascinated by his look at a 2018 study by Dr. Maren Ingrid Kropfield from Germany, published in the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing. She outlines four groups based on their consumer habits: spendthrifts (big spenders), frugals, tightwads, and voluntary simplifiers. Frugals are always seeking a good bargain, and tightwads are folks “for whom the idea of spending money produces real psychological pain.” It was a fascinating exercise to categorise myself, and Burgess is open with his own tendencies. The study also drew conclusions as to which types are better or worse for the environment, and you may be surprised by the conclusions. 

Steve Burgess trailer for his new title is entertaining in its own right

There’s a reasonable discussion throughout regarding how much penny-pinching is just too much. Frugality feels right for him and has allowed him to remain debt free for basically his whole life, on a limited income. Burgess questions his own adherence to this lifestyle: “The question is, where is the line?…How does one distinguish prudence from mania?” 

When I am at the kitchen sink, washing a piece of plastic film to stick into a drawer; when I am at the bathroom sink, squeezing an empty toothpaste tube like a python squeezes a doomed monkey; when I add another empty yogurt container to the kitchen cupboard that is already a plastic avalanche hazard, I sometimes experience an unpleasant dissociative episode. I step back, gaze upon myself, and say, ‘You sir, are unusual.’ 

This book doesn’t present one topic in depth; rather, it’s like a tasting menu of several different aspects of living frugally, both the practicalities and the deeper issues, a place to start and to learn, that may prompt further reading. I liked the way Burgess wrapped up his exploration of living the frugal life. He quotes St. Augustine of Hippo’s words from his 5th century work The City of God regarding the principle of ardo amoris, or “the order of love.” 

Virtue, he believed, lies in loving things in the appropriate degree and relation…With apologies to Saint Augustine, ardo armoris transfers well to the secular world. We need to figure out where our priorities lie. That’s really the essence of frugality–it comes down to an ordering of philosophy. 

 If frugality expresses itself as greed, a love of money, then it is disordered. If frugality comes down to pure love of bargains, it has lost its way. 

Burgess continues with how he has found his own balance, slowly and with life experience, that works for him, his loved ones, and the earth. It’s good reading, and shows much insight gained from life experience.  

I found a lot to contemplate here, and as a frugal person myself, I can recommend this book for different reasons. One is the satisfaction of feeling seen in Burgess’ words and frugal habits and adventures. But another is in the opportunity for self-examination in an effort to determine my own consumer habits in the context of community and the environment. I’d be very interested in how a person who is not particularly driven by frugality will experience this book. In this compelling overview of the frugal life, I suspect everyone will find something to ponder.