The Biggest Cheapskate in Charlotte?

I began to take note of James Standyck when he sent me the bar chart of his gas and electric costs of the past three years.

Before then, he was merely one of several readers emailing me tips on how to save dollars and pennies in this difficult economy.

But the bar graph, well, it was pinching to behold - a month-to-month illustration, colored in dark greens and light greens, with some nifty shadow effects.

It's almost as impressive as his energy savings video.

Say hello to the Biggest Cheapskate in the Charlotte Area. At least we think he is. If you can top it - or know of someone who can - tell us.

For now, it's a title that Standyck wears proudly. "Living good," he says, "on a short budget."

He is 49 and married and works full time as an X-ray technologist. He has always been thrifty, he says, but he became especially watchful of his outgoing dollars a couple years ago, when the economy began to stagger and his wife lost her job.

He has a well-rounded game plan - "every bill and mortgage," he says. He asks for discounts on phone bills and cable bills. He goes to financial planning lectures - not so much for advice, but if they are offering a free meal to listen.

A sampling of his X's and O's:

On food: "We primarily buy only items that are on sale and only items that we use or eat. Nothing goes to waste. - especially over the past year. When toilet paper goes on sale we buy lots. Last year Harris Teeter mailed us 40% off coupons for three months. One coupon for each week of the month. In most cases, we would only buy meat that was discount - day old meats that were sold at 50% off the regular price. Add in the 40% off coupon and we gave been getting meats at 30% of the original cost. We bought a lot of the discounted meats and filled our freezer section of our fridge."

On utilities: "We installed a programmable thermostat that only heats or cools when we are home. Often during the warmer months we suffer by wearing light clothing in the house and setting cooling to 74 to 76 degrees. This past winter ad well as previous winters, we wear warm clothing- sweatshirts in our home, turning the heat down to 64 for most periods of the day. Another thing I did was to turn the hot water heater down so that we don't mix cold water to take a shower. ... Additionally, based upon conversations with my extremely green friend, we unplugged all vampire energy suckers (appliances he doesn't use) and the door bell."

On driving: "(We're always) using the cruise control on the highway, planning our trips to the grocery store, dump, not wasting a mile on side trips or duplicate trips to the grocery store."

Now, you might be thinking there's nothing revolutionary here. But Standyck stands out because of his commitment to the cause - an attentiveness to detail that borders on obsessiveness. All the greats are driven in ways we aren't.

Plus, he gets results: A 25 percent savings - or $277.66 - in his 2008 electricity bill from the year before. A $40 savings in gas in 2008 despite the sharp increase in prices. He hopes to be debt-free, other than his mortgage, by June 2010.

"Cheapskate I am," he says.

But: "Doing all this ain't magic."

Which makes it that much more impressive - and instructive to the rest of us. Can you top it?