“So, how many waitresses have you pissed off?”
If you follow some of the same blogs I do, you’ve probably already been introduced to Phil Villarreal and his book Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel: 100 Dirty Little Money-Grubbing Secrets. Essentially, he’s documented 100 different ways you can save the green, even if you’re a little sketchy getting there.
Ok, a lot sketchy.
He’s got tips on saving money on condiments (snagging packets from fast food joints), how to upgrade your furniture (dumpster diving on college move-out weekend), and how to get an easy $20 when buying a car (tell the dealer it’s off if he doesn’t give you 20 bucks).
Plus, there’s a chapter dedicated to the Mr. Pink philosophy: No tipping.
When I talked to Phil, of course I had to ask, “So, how many waitresses have you pissed off?”
“Actually, we had some waitresses show up to a signing in protest based off an article they read. They hadn’t read the chapter from the book, but because they were there, it helped drive people to the signing. Kind of wish there were more of them.”
If you read the chapter “Tipping IS Just a City in China”, Phil actually gives the best tipping advice I’ve ever seen (and I’m an ex-waitress). If you’re out with a waitress or ex-waitress, tip big. “Tips for hot waitresses aren’t tips at all but investments in preferred stock that potentially pay off in dividends of poonanny.”
And that’s totally true. As someone from the biz, I can tell you that you could have worked your butt off impressing me during a date, but if you leave a crappy tip, night’s over.
Of course, as a woman, I have a special place in my heart for the chapter “The Legend of the Cubic Zirconium Heirloom.” Hopefully the title speaks for itself. Phil said, “That’s actually one of my favorite parts of the book. Plus, if you get a girl who goes along with the bit, what friend is going tell you ‘Wow, that doesn’t look like a diamond…’”
I personally love the idea. (Phil told me that little bit of info gave me extra bonus points). I damage or lose my jewelry too much to want thousands of dollars to be caught in the sink drain on a regular basis. My parents still keep some of my pieces at their home in St. Louis. And I’m almost 26.
This book is wonderful to get a quick and funny look at money and how you spend it (or lose it on silly expenses). I highly recommend this as a gift, especially if you want to give a little *hint hint* to someone. You learn some pretty valuable money lessons.
“One real lesson to learn,” Phil told me, “is negotiating your medical bills. I just found out about this tip when my daughter was born. Basically, doctors and hospitals are so afraid that you’ll declare bankruptcy or just stiff them and never pay, they’re willing to give you 25% off if you pay in full in timely manner. Now, they don’t offer you this. You have to call. But making the call to guarantee they’ll get their money can save you money. I’ve talked to about 20 other people this has worked for.”
While I’m not suggesting you do every tip in this book (you’d really be a cheap bastard and no one would like you), pick it up for a new perspective on saving. I promise you, you’ll automatically start thinking about money in a new way.
If you’d like to win a free copy to learn how to be a stingy scoundrel yourself, leave a comment below. One random entry will be chosen and we’ll send you a copy of the book. Do you have your own money-saving tips?
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Oh, and the disclaimer: I wasn’t paid to write this(in case you were wondering you sneaky FTC). You can pick up a copy of the book at Amazon.
I haven’t read the book and it does seem to have some fun (and funny) cost saving tips… but man am I heated on this quote, “Tips for hot waitresses aren’t tips at all but investments in preferred stock that potentially pay off in dividends of poonanny”.
This quote, you pulled or he said during your interview, is completely degrading to women. Basically, your author believes that tipping a hot waitress (not a normal, pretty, plain, but hot which prob means something that fits the society standards of modern beauty) will bring them closer to sex with the waitress. That seems like one step away from seeing sexual relationships as financial transactions– kinda like the date you mention (you go on the date, he pays for everything, you better give out)– and as “Yes means Yes” claims, that thinking has lead to our current rape culture. It’s not a compliment to get tipped big or to be taken out to a fancy place that is expensive because some guy wants to get into your pants… It’s insulting and humiliating.
To clarify: this is up there with the National Lampoon, Seth Rogan, The Hangover kind of humor. It’s so over the top that it’s not always meant to be serious. I thought it was hysterical, but I have the sense of humor of a 15-year-old boy… I thought this quote in particular was actually fitting because of my time as a waitress. I heard more dirty jokes in the kitchen than at a frat party. Again, this is so over the top that it’s guaranteed to offend, just like most comic humor. Thanks for stopping by though!
I love it. I’m going to read this sucker. I love that people can make humour out of this fact.
My community is really good at saving money (Russell Peters anyone?). I’m down with a bargain anytime! We still ketchup packets all. the. time!
On the tipping point (haha), I totally agree with it. If my date gives a crappy tip, i’m outtie. It’s very telling of some aspects of a person’s personality in other ways. They might be rude or nice to service people on a general basis. Who knows. It’s important I think 🙂
And my money-saving tip? Hand in your recyclables to the bottle depot. Put the money in a jar, and use it as your coffee money/ bus fare! It’s pretty remarkable how far this can go 🙂
Oh, and I’d love a copy, so please enter me
Thanks Mehnaz, bottle exchanges are a great way to get some change. I believe there are tons of other recycling programs that might do the same thing. There are days I look around the apartment going, hmm, what can I exchange or sell? It’s like half-price book shops, especially if you get store credit, it might work for you if you’re an avid reader!
I’ll be sure to enter you 🙂
Great book – It’s sitting on my book shelf as we speak – had the pleasure of talking to Phil and writing up a review of my own – gotta say – he is hitting some influential bloggers around the block – smart move on his part – it’s an easy sell with such an entertaining read.
Yeah, this book saved me from whacking people over the head during holiday travel. As Phil told me, his end goal: preventing violence 🙂
This sounds like a very entertaining book and definitely one to read with a grain of salt. The tip about medical bills is a great one, and one I can add to. Get an itemized bill before paying anything. Charges can be added that you won’t know about and most likely will end up paying. I almost got charged over $400 for a leg cast that the doctor certainly did not put on me- I had to go see a more expensive doctor for that! But because I got an itemized bill, I was able to save quite the chunk of change.
PS wonderful blog post, I really enjoy reading it and your perspective 🙂
Rachel, itemized medical bills are so important. I went through a series of visits over a few months that totaled about $10K. While insurance was a big help, I had a deductible. If I hadn’t paid attention to the bills coming in, even my insurance would have had me pay more than was my share. Thanks for stopping by!
My Asian sense is tingling.
My parents sometimes do the fast-food condiment thing but I sometimes steal Splenda packets from Corner Bakery and Starbucks when the stash I buy for work runs out.
Hahaha! Yeah, I will admit on snacking Splenda from coffee runs. I think the habit started in college when one dining hall would have Splenda and the other didn’t. So I started snagging two or three packets so that I’d have some in my bag at the other dining hall. I found 15 packets in my bag once…
Hey everyone! Mehnaz is our winner! She’ll be getting a copy of the book, I hope you enjoy it! Remember you can pick up your own copy at Amazon.
How Exciting!
Thanks Emily and Phil 🙂
I’m looking forward to the read!