In the midst of economic ruin

When Wall Street banks hit rock bottom three years ago and investors across the nation were crying uncle, members of one American subculture emerged relatively unscathed: the Amish.

"Their whole worldview is based on living below their means, never ever above their means," said Lorilee Craker, author of the book Money Secrets of the Amish: Finding True Abundance in Simplicity, Sharing and Saving (Thomas Nelson, $15.99).

"They are so much more prudent than the rest of us," Craker said. "They like the sense of security. They like to know they have a big cushion for a rainy day."

In a material world where economic success is defined by big houses and flashy cars, the Amish way of wealth is found in delayed gratification, hard work, and thrift.

The No. 1 dream item on an Amish family's wish list is often to own a farm that can be passed down to future generations.

One 45-year-old Amish farmer Craker interviewed saved $400,000 over 20 years toward the down payment on a $1.3 million farm. He and his wife accomplished that while renting a farm and raising 14 children.

"I looked for signs of stinginess, of a wife and children suffering somehow under the regime of a tightfisted, straw-hatted Scrooge," Craker wrote of her visit with this family. "No one seemed deprived; in fact, just the opposite. Amos and Fern's adorable children have a calmness and peace I find striking and appealing."

The Amish do not buy into the added expense of modern conveniences that many others take for granted, such as automobiles, telephones, and electricity.

But another notable aspect of their lifestyle is the absence of personal debt. They also have little respect for people who do not pay their bills on time.

Lancaster banker Bill O'Brien can vouch for their creditworthiness.

HomeTowne Heritage Bank services $225 million in loans to Amish people, and O'Brien's customers are almost exclusively Amish. In 20 years, he said in an interview, he has never lost money on an Amish loan, and he can count on one hand the number of forbearances - requests for a temporary delay or reduction in loan payments - that he has been asked to grant.

O'Brien said 85 percent of his institution's loans to Amish people are for the purchase of farmland. The other 15 percent are loans for primary residences and rental property.

Amish customers limit their borrowing to real estate, he said, and they will always save at least 20 percent of the purchase price.

"After 20 years of working with the Amish, I have learned a lot from them," O'Brien said. "The Amish are like us, but they have certain beliefs that keep them from making the mistakes we make economically. They are more apt to stay within their means than the rest of the population."

Craker is an entertainment writer for the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press and author of Through the Storm with Lynne Spears, mother of Britney Spears, a memoir of a middle-class family caught up in fame they were not prepared for.

Her interest in Amish culture was piqued in 2008 by a National Public Radio report on how a bank in Lancaster serving the Amish community was having a record year while banks across the nation were reporting heavy losses.

Craker wanted to know what the Amish were doing differently. What she found was that it's not just one thing that allows them to save small fortunes. Saving money is built into their culture.

For Money Secrets of the Amish, she traveled to Lancaster for two weeklong research trips and spent nine months writing. She discovered that, in many ways, they are so far behind they're ahead.

The Amish lifestyle is very green, Craker said: "They like their food sourced naturally. They raise their own beef and chicken and butcher it themselves." They find a second or third use for everything, going to great lengths to fix what is broken, patch what is torn, and repair what is repairable.

At Christmas, most families pick names out of a hat and buy one Christmas gift for one family member each year. Gifts are often useful items and need-based gifts that can be handmade.

The secret of their financial success could have much to do with realizing the best things in life are free. Recreation has nothing to do with trips to the mall or high-priced vacations; they opt for hiking, volleyball, and badminton. Ice cream is a popular extravagance, eaten quickly due to the prohibition against electricity in the home.

One Amish woman admitted Ritz crackers were her biggest indulgence.

"I told one of the Amish teenagers how much movie popcorn costs, and she nearly fell out of her chair," Craker said. "She and her family play dominoes on Sunday nights and start a fire and make big bowls of butter popcorn for way less than $9."