You need friends in retail places.  You’ve got friends in high places that could help you get a job but won’t.  And you’ve got friends in low places that make you feel better about yourself.  But you need friends in retail places.

Need furniture?  Make a friend at IKEA.  Electronics?  Best Buy.  Paint?  Home Depot.  You get the picture.  You need friends at all the stores you shop are regularly or plan to spend a bunch of money at in the near future.  And by friends, I of course only mean that you should only pretend to be a friend hard enough to get in on their discount.  Don’t worry, they hate their jobs and would be happy to help you get a discount if it means helping out a buddy.  Some stores give employee discounts on a flat rate, while others will sell to their own at just a % over the amount the store pays to purchase the item.  I’m not ashamed to admit that I worked at Best Buy and could have gotten you accessories on the cheap because the margins on these products are very high.  TVs and video games wouldn’t have helped you much, but I digress.  Again, you don’t have to be friends with these people.  Just be friends enough to get in on discounts to save on your home remodeling, Swedish furniture, or simply an overpriced HDMI cable.

“100 dirty money-grubbing secrets.”  That’s the tagline to this book.  And it’s appropriate.  The secret above is one of my own, but would have easily fit into the funniest book about money I’ve ever read.  Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel is great late night reading or the perfect bathroom companion for anyone willing to admit they’re a cheapass.

Phil Vallarreal wrote this book for the high entertainment value it brings to people that have been tightening their belts for the past couple of years.  The vibe of the book is set from the very beginning.  It doesn’t start with a foreword; instead it’s a threeword because Phil is too cheap for a foreword.  I feel his pain.

As I read through all the secrets, which are loosely categorized into different groups, I found decent advice that on the surface sounds awful, but deep down really makes sense.  For example, you need to time when you’re going to have kids.  If you have older siblings or just anyone you’re close to, time having your children a year after they have theirs.  That way they buy all the stuff and happily give it to you to get it out of their houses one their kid is done with them.  Kind of twisted, but kind of brilliant.

No book is perfect.  Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel can kind of feel repetitive at times; when you go through 100 money saving tips they are bound to blend together a bit.  But at the same time the author does a fantastic job of making personal finance fun to read.  Were Weakonomics to publish books, or if I wrote a book myself, it would probably look and feel a lot like Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel.  And that’s the best compliment you can expect from me.

Overall, this book ranks highly on my suggested money reads because it meets my three criteria for a good non-fiction: I learned something, I was entertained, and it was done in less than 300 pages.

By The Weakonomist

The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics. Also keep in mind that nothing I say can be construed as financial advice.

categories: books, lists, personal finance