Josh Corlew's grocery bill is zero. The furniture in his Nashville home didn't cost him anything, either. His fridge, TV, and microwave—all free. It's been two years now since he last bought the ingredients for his signature sausage dish. Corlew, a 26-year-old nonprofit manager, has effectively dropped out of Consumer Nation. He goes shopping in the disposable culture's garbage instead.
Corlew is part of a growing number of Americans for whom getting stuff for free is next to godliness. Yes, most everyone is cutting back. But these folks take frugality to its extreme. In cities like New York and wealthy suburbs like Grosse Pointe, Mich., and Plano, Tex., it is possible to live like a king (well, a duke anyway) out of a dumpster. Sushi, cashmere sweaters, even Apple (AAPL) computers—all for the taking. "We're used to fulfilling most of our needs through the marketplace," says Syracuse University culture professor Robert Thompson. "But now with technology there is access to more that is free than in any time in the history of the world."
