I would never recommend making heavy use of credit if you're coming up lean at the end of every month. But we do have enough that we could pay off last month's credit card bill and pay for this month's spending.

"Cheapness" typically conjures images of people who buy cheap goods at Wal-Mart, instead of the more expensive, higher quality goods that last longer. However, "immigrant cheapness" is more nuanced than that, existing over a continuum that goes from practical stories of sacrificing to get ahead, to just plain silly.

“I know you won’t tell anybody what I bought for Christmas,” he told reporters.