When Phil Villarreal, writer for the Arizona Daily Star, The Consumerist and OK! Magazine, offered to send me a copy of his new book I thought “sure, I like money saving tips” and was already very interested. Then Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel: 100 Dirty Little Money-Grubbing Secrets arrived and I realized these aren’t the usual suggestions in frugality.
First off, I think this book is hilarious, but it might not be for anyone that’s easily offended. Some of the tips I could see doing, or have done, like clipping coupons, avoiding ATM fees or even going to Costco for a lunch of free samples.
There are other ideas in the book that you probably shouldn’t do, but made me laugh, including stealing office supplies from work, sneaking into sporting events and replacing your own scratched DVDs with a brand new one from Netflix.
Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel is an easy read, with most of the tips coming in at about two pages. Phil’s writing is cynical and sarcastic, which I guess I should have expected coming from a movie critic. I’d recommend this book to anyone who can enjoy the humor without taking it too seriously. I really hope there’s no one out there that actually tries to accomplish all 100 dirty little money-grubbing secrets!
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Tom Drake is the owner and head writer of Canadian Finance Blog.
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