Book Review: Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel

Not too long ago, I won the book Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel by Phil Villarreal from a contest over at the site Fiscal Fizzle. It is easily one of the funniest money books I have read ever. Villarreal takes you on a journey through money saving tips — many of which are of dubious ethical (if not legal) origin. But the result is hilarious.

Villareal suggests that you can stock up free T-shirts, bags and water bottles by filling out credit card applications. Don’t worry; he realizes that having a bunch of credit cards can be detrimental to your financial situation. It’s why he recommends using an alias, or filling in the wrong address, or making up a Social Security Number so that you walk away with the freebies, but don’t actually end up with a new credit card.

He also has very practical advice, such as avoiding wasting money on a watch when your cell phone keeps time just fine, save money on sin taxes and health costs when you quit smoking, and looking for “kids eat free” nights when you eat out with the family. He also has a really cool section on signing up for those free money offers banks have when you open a new account, as well as a section about the stupidity of diamond jewelry. (As someone whose wedding band is set with two emeralds on either side of a small created diamond, since I think diamonds are mostly boring and the way they are obtained and marketed is horrendous, I thoroughly enjoyed that.)

In the end, the book is a fun trip through money saving tips and ideas. Some of which you might even being willing to try out.