Show of hands – how many of you have paid for one movie only to stay at the theater for another two or three? (Better known as the “double feature”) How about telling a restaurant it’s your birthday to get a free dessert? When mom sends you home with a Tupperware container full of leftovers, do you EVER give it back, or even plan to? Of course not – Mom knows that she’s never going to see it again once she hands it off to a twenty-something on a tight budget.
Do you honestly ever by ketchup and mustard? Are you tapping into your offices’ supply of pens and paper? Do you know how to land the best deals at your local yard sale? Phil Villarreal offers 100 “money squandering” tips that are useful, ridiculous, borderline illegal, and downright hilarious in his book, “Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel”.
Phil was kind enough to reach out and ask me to read and write a review of his book – and while normally I’m not a fan of turning my blog into a sales pitch for someone else, I liked Phil’s up-front style and this book had me nodding my head and laughing my ass off from beginning to end.
Amongst the Saved by the Bell, Matrix, and Quentin Tarantino references, Phil shares almost every “get out of jail free” card you could imagine, from free hotel porn to Cubic Zarconia engagement rings (good luck with this one gents). Underneath the humor Phil actually invokes some inspirational thoughts, one section, related to phone bills and text messaging, especially hit home with me, being so active in the impersonal world of online communication:
“My conclusion to the reason for the texting phenomenon is that the act removes an extra layer of intimacy and perceived intrusion. If your text message isn’t returned immediately, it’s not as official of a rejection as a missed call, since it can conceivably be returned later. People are too afraid of being brushed off and dismissed, so they use texting as a pathetic, impervious shell for their insecurities. Be bold. When you need to talk to someone, make a phone call, and never open or respond to a text message.”
Wise words – even in this day and age, the best form of communication (if not face to face) is to just pick up the phone. Whether your looking for a little perspective and commentary on society or just a great bathroom volume – It’s all packaged into “Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel”. A great read, to be sure, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed cover to cover. Cheers to Phil for being so kind as to send me a free copy, it looks nice next to my Bible and Entertainment Weekly.
Leave a Comment, Get the Book…For Free!
Because I know you guys have some great things to share. I’ll be running a contest over the next couple days (winners chosen on Monday, October 26th). If you’d like a FREE copy of Phil’s book, “Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel”, leave a comment below sharing one of your “stingy” secrets (just keep it-mostly-legal-ish).
Two, that’s right TWO commenter’s will be chosen at random and will be handsomely rewarded with a brand new copy of Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel. Yes, I’ll even pay for shipping, you cheap bastards…