Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bargain Babe digs the Stingy Scoundrel!, September 29, 2009
I like to laugh, and I bet you do to. Which is why I'm digging Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel. I can tell this book is funny from the Table of Contents, which makes me like it even more.
Chapter 1. All the free t-shirts, hats, squeeze bottles and hip sacks a man could ever want. How to clothe yourself by signing up for on-the-street credit-card promotions.
Chapter 5. Don't smoke. That's it. Just don't become addicted to cigarettes, you moron.
Chapter 14. Kids eat free. Let your bottomless-pit stomached rugrats punish foolish restaurants.
Chapter 18. Art of the well-timed fight/breakfup. Why you should save your big fights for just before holidays and birthdays.
Are you giggling as much as me? Okay, then. I'll just share one more.
Chapter 19. Things you never ever have to buy. Napkins, mustard and ketchup packets, and straws - the best things in life are free.
And on till Chapter 100. Each chapter is two or three pages long, so it moves along quickly. And the paper is really nice with curved corners so it feels like a luxurious read. The illustrations by cartoonist Adam Wallenta are also pretty cool.
Here's an excerpt from Chapter 16: Yay WNBA, that illustrates how sassy and cheap the author, Phil Villarreal, is. Phil is a contributing editor at Consumerist and a reporter for the Arizona Daily Star. His personal blog is called Because I Told You So.
"As you flip through the newspaper sports section or watch SportsCenter, it's common to wonder, "Why the hell does the WNBA exist? The answer is twofold. One is to provide a role model for young girls, teaching them that basketball isn't as pointless as softball or soccer and could actually pay off if they work hard enough. Never mind that most players make less than your garbageman. The other reason is to provide silver-bullet dates for horny young men looking to pretend they're evolved and sophisticated.
"It's the second purpose of existence we'll focus on here.
"While the average real NBA ticket price is about $50, the average WNBA admission is less than $15, meaning you won't have to sell your spleen on the black market in order to afford a game, parking, and a soda.
"Volunteering to go to women's athletic events elevates you to heroic status in the eyes of your potential beloved. All their lives, athletic-minded ladies have had their endeavors belittled and marginalized by even the men they love the most, but you emerge as a white knight who appears to actually take an interest in girls' meaningless sporting pursuits. You can boost your credibility by reading up on the teams involved so you can toss of little inside-baseball-ish tidbits as you watch the game unfold. And because the tickets cost so little, you won't even need to wince when she orders at the concession stand."
Got you hooked? I highly recommend this book if you like to save money, have a sense of humor, or are looking for a gift for someone who is frugal.
|
|
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fulled with hilarious tips on how to get the most out of life, September 28, 2009
Money saving tips books are a dime a dozen, but Villarreal's book separates itself from the pack in two very distinct ways:
1. The tips are meaty. They aren't your "use dryer sheets to de-static your clothes (tip #1), use dryer sheets in luggage to prevent musty smells (tip #2), use dryer sheets..." type of tips. You can pack in a few thousand of those in no time. His are multiple pages long and designed to save you dollars more often than cents.
2. He's hilarious. He's self-deprecatingly funny as he teaches you the "black arts of scoundrel-ism." None of the books I listed before are funny. They are straight-forward, a bit dry, useful, but not funny. Phil's book is a hoot to read.
|
|
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesomely Scroundrelish Humor, September 14, 2009
While the tips range in stinginess and ridiculousness (with the last chapter winning in both categories), the book is truly funny throughout. Just ask my boyfriend, who had to endure my giggles and donkey-braying as I read the book.
Is there advice (if you want to call anything in this book "advice") that I disagree with? Absolutely. Most of it, actually. There are even several things I've personally discouraged on my own personal finance website. For example, the very first tip in the book, signing up for credit cards just to get the freebie t-shirts and frisbees? Yeah, don't do that.
Still, if you can take every word in this book with a grain of salt, there are numerous gems hidden inside it. In the aforementioned "free t-shirts from credit card companies" tip, there's a bit about how useful t-shirts can be as "carwash towels, dishcloths, flag football flags, spaghetti strainers, lampshades, and do-rags." Good plans for old t-shirts you don't wear anymore!
So there are quite a few good ideas, hidden amongst the suggestion to not tip and the dubious medical advice (Cinnamon Toast Crunch as a headache cure!?! As much as I disbelieve, I also know that I'm going to get some and try). But the main benefit of the book is that it's wicked funny. Phil Villarreal is a hilariously snarky writer who I can't quite do justice to in this review. You've really just got to read it.
Normally I do my recommendations based on age group: is this good for college students? 20-somethings? Infants? Those distinctions don't really apply to Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel, so I'll go with something else entirely: a one-question quiz:
Can you make the distinction between "clever idea!" and "haha, that's funny, but I probably shouldn't do it in real life?"
If no, good luck in your life's endeavors. Try to steer clear of anything electrical.
If yes, consider this book "Highly Recommended" due to extreme hilarity.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
by The Writers of Wise Bread
by Trent Hamm
by Stephen John
by Jeff Yeager
