Book Review & Giveaway: Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel

Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel: 100 Dirty Little Money-Grabbing Secrets
by Phil Villarreal

The Scene

Two ladies sitting at bar, yapping girl stuff, drinking their Cosmopolitans.

A man comes up to the girl with the most cleavage and starts with the normal pick up line(s):

“Did I see you on the cover of Vogue?”

“Hey baby, you must be a light switch, cuz every time I see you, you turn me on!”

“I hope you know CPR, cuz you take my breath away!”

“I think I can die happy now, cause I’ve just seen a piece of heaven.”

All the while, he staring at her chest and not her face. The ladies roll their eyes, but giggle.

“Can I buy you a drink?” and so forth…

Then he asks, “Can I have you number so we can hook up sometime?” And he is getting all excited because the woman scribbles something on a napkin and hands it to him.

“Score!” he thinks to himself (or whatever Yippee phrase guys think).

Then later, he goes home to call her. Hoping for a late night hookup and dials “818-301-6845” only to find he’s been….

REJECTED!

The recording on the other line says, “the person who gave the dialer this number did not want them to have their real number…” (see video below, funny)

(If you have trouble seeing the video, you can check it our here: Rejection Hotline)

What does this have to do with finances????

Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel: 100 Dirty Little Money-Grabbing Secrets written by Phil Villarreal belongs in this kind of category.

I couldn’t handle this books contents. Tidbits like:

• Milking it for all its worth, “And with I finished my bowl of Marshmallow Mateys each morning, I’d funnel the milk back into the container. By doing this I could make a tiny portion of milk stretch far beyond its due date. ” Ewww!
• Double your pleasure, double your fries, “Just gobble down half your fries, then gather your chilly, cubic friend (ice cube) in the palm of your hand and toss him into the container. Presto! Soggy fries. Dump the soil remainder onto your tray…”. Really???
• Lose weight in your gut, gain it in your wallet, “Great secret…Take a can of tuna, add a few squirts of steak sauce and slap the results inbetween two slices of bread and you’ve got a culinary masterpiece that will satisfy your hunger and cause the flab to slip of your belly.” Anyway, it goes onto say how you’ll look gaunt and underfed when you go home to visit your parents and they’ll give you money. Grow up!
• Getting married soon? Opt for a cubic zirconia engagement ring and tell her it’s an heirloom passed down fro our grandma to prevent her from having it appraised. <–is this what you did to your wife, Phil?

I think when Phil wrote this book he was still stuck in his college years. This book is clearly not how to save like a ‘con artist’, but just how to plainly act like a hilarious dork.

Sorry, Phil. I couldn’t fathom the book. I think its written for a man.

So, that brings me to my next thing…

Giveaway!

I have two (2) Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel: 100 Dirty Little Money-Grubbing Secrets books to give away.

Between now and Wednesday, March 17th (12am PST) leave a comment with your personal Dirty Little Money-Grabbing Secret.

Like “I take extra condiments at fast food restaurants” or “I steal steak knives when I go to Sizzler’s”

One entry per person. Winner will be picked by random drawing.

About the Author
A reporter for the Arizona Daily Star and contributing editor at the Consumerist.com, PHIL VILLARREAL draws from a life of obscene frugality that dates back to his days subsisting on A1 and tuna sandwiches as a freshman a the University of Arizona, where he graduated with a business management degree in 2000. He was inspired to write the book in 2007 when his schoolteacher wife, Jessica, quit her teaching job to be a stay-at-home mom. Over the course of three months, Villarreal wrote a chapter a night to complete the manuscript, only to suffer rejections from dozens of literary agents and publishing houses. Villarreal’s luck changed when the economy went bad and his money-saving became timely. He has a (becauseitoldyouso.com), and is a contributor to OK! magazine.

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February’s Net Worth

So, has everyone made their New Year’s Plans???

I can’t believe that February is already crossed off the calendar. POW! Gone. Just like that.

This month’s financial outlook was good for our family. We are finally settling into a routine on paying bills now that we changed our household financial system and have gotten used to the new due dates from the personal loans we used for consolidating our credit card debts.

I have also automated most of my bills; the student loans and personal loans. I am still thinking of automating the rest of my bills, but want to see how these 3 bills on automatic work for me. I’d be happy not to need to worry about what bills to pay each week.

Family Debt Total

Change in Family Debt: +$1,034 – YEAH!! The figure is a reflection of the Mr. and Mrs. combination of debt.

Assets

Cash in Banks: Is an average amount. No change in that for this month.

Investments: N/A – I have no investments

Retirement: +$947 – YEAH! Consider I kept seeing stocks go down, this is a nice change for this month. My work puts 7% of my income into my 403(b). Then, I have $100 biweekly deducted pretax each paycheck.

Auto: -$590 - For some reason the Hyundai doesn’t hold it’s value. I don’t know why. My car has 85,000 miles on it and I have had no problems with it, as I keep in maintained. I like my car for fitting into tight parking spots and its gas mileage.

Liabilities

Credit Cards: $0 And it’s going to stay that way!

Car Loan: +$326 – Would be more, but the interest takes a huge bite out of it. Do you see the balance of my car loan? Do you see the Kelly Blue Book Value? Do you see my big financial blooper?

Student Loans: +290 – Small as the total may move down, I LOVE to watch it go bye-bye!

Personal Loans: +259 – All those credit card balances rolled up into 2 personal loans. This is also a combination of Mr. and Mrs. debts. But since I took out the loan in my name I put it under my Net Worth sheet.

February’s Net Worth

-$21,829 with a positive change of $1,867. Woo Hoo!

 

Weekly Round Up: Tax Season *Expanded*

Many know the fundamentals to building a solid financial foundation are “spend less than you earn” and “save! save! save!” (I am sure there are a few more you could add ).

It is with these fundamentals mixed with some killer content written by personal finance bloggers that can help to build a solid win-win financial future. Content anywhere from how to invest in the stock market to cutting our daily expenses.

Today we will look into some of the blog posts written by some keen personal finance writers discussing all sorts of great subjects; taxes, investing, negotiating, outsourcing… The list goes on.

Big Tax Refund or No Tax Refund. What’s your thought? Do you know someone actually put down a sizable down payment on their house (like 30%)? Can you duke it out reduce your bill? What about investing in CDs? What about quickly paying down the mortgage? Lots of great stuff to read. Please, do enjoy!

Great Posts to Read

Since Financial Samurai has me thinking about using Certificates of Deposits as a route for investing, Personal Finance Student has a great article listing the The Advantages and Disadvantages of CDs. Nicely done.

Rainy Day Saver’s post, Do You Have to Give Up Convenience in Order to Save Money?, looks at making cut backs with convenient services or goods for a better financial future.

Stay at Home Mom CFO looks at how Getting a BIG Tax Refund was Keeping us in Debt. Interesting article. I have to say that I am starting to think I don’t want a refund check going forward. I think that money might sit better in my 401K.

Young and Thrifty is out to serve the rights for Canadians. See her pull out the big guns against Rogers in, Step-by-step Guide on How to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Contract.

My Money Minute wants to know, Tax Refunds: Does Size Matter? In a not so ideal world, big tax refunds are not such a horrible thing after all.

151 Days Off looks at, How to Pay Your Mortgage off in Record Time. I enjoyed the closing statement, “Every time you go out and think about buying an item, multiply the item price to that number. If you are tempted to buy a $100 dress, think that you can either waste $100 or put that money into your mortgage and save $395 in interest! If this doesn’t put you off from spending, I don’t know what else could.”

Chasing Prosperity has a lyrical fun post looking at, Thriftygal’s Top Ten Money Tunes (Feb. 8th post). Gotta say, I love Donna Summer’s “I work hard for the money”.

How to Peacefully Split Bills in Your Relationship by Foreigner’s Finance spoke my tune as my husband and I decided separate the bank accounts.

Little House in the Valley, great post with, Should everyone buy a house?! I like your stance, “No one should buy a home unless they are financially prepared to do so, no matter how low interest rates are or how inexpensive homes may seem.” I agree with having a sizable down payment when buying a home (that will be sometime before I can do that, too!)

The Amateur Financier wants to know your thoughts about Taxing Financial Transactions: Good Idea or Not? As a passive investor he likes this plan. Do you agree?

Which Way are You Outsourcing? by Engineer Your Finances, is a great article! Since I want to outsource areas in my life, this will serve as an effective tool to determine if I am UPsourcing or DOWNsourcing. WHICH WAY you are outsourcing?

Couple Money has family financial meetings. I think that is a great idea! In Elle’s post called, Cash Flow: Managing and Improving Ours, she writes about Increasing your Income, Optimizing Your Expenses and Which Software Can Help. Great job!

Free From Broke helps you decide to get your credit cards under control in, Pay Off Highest Interest Or Highest Balance Credit Card – Analysis Paralysis

Frugal Zeitgeist did a great piece called, Save Money on Printing. I never new about Eco Font and that it uses about half the ink of conventional fonts. Very cool!

Deliver Away Debt learned that he should be claiming 8 in How to Adjust Tax Withholdings. What’s he going to do with that money Sam was holding interest free for him? Dump it into his snowball!

Monevator wants you to Get out of debt to unleash your inner money maker. I agree, I want my “month’s salary is going wherever I want it to go” and “not on paying for things bought and forgotten about years ago”.

Evolution of Wealth discusses the changes that have come about in the life insurance industry in, Whole Life Insurance is Stackable.

Easy Ways to Improve Your Memory is well written by MBA Briefs. I like that a better memory could greatly improve your income potential. Read on!

Eliminate the Muda offers some advice in Dealing with Debt Collection. As a former debt collector… yup, we like to bug you and try tactics, but as a consumer you still have rights not to be harrassed. Learn them here.

The “Secrets” to Landing Guest Posts is a great piece by Experiments in Passive Income. Especially for all you challengers looking to forge new connections in the blog-o-sphere!

Taxes 101: 3 Ways to Reduce Your Taxes

Long gone are the days of having a lower income, claiming head of household with two dependents, and receiving a big fat refund check in the mail. *sigh*

Since our family threw ourselves into another tax bracket two years ago, I just don’t find the joy in doing taxes anymore.

Now that I filed my 2009 tax refund form with Turbo Tax, payed too much in taxes because I don’t seem to think I know diddly squat about maximizing my income, and am receiving a minuscule tax refund check, it is my intentions to figure this stuff out.

And since I need to be informed of this matter, I have an inkling that it could do some good to share the information with you.

Let’s Begin

Adjusted Gross Income (AGI):

“is your income from all sources minus any adjustments to your income. The higher your total income, the higher your adjusted gross income. As you can guess, the more money you make, the more taxes you will pay. Conversely, the less money you make, the less taxes you will pay. The number one way to reduce taxes is to reduce your income.” – Taxes.About.com

Like a wanna be mechanic in the cartoons, can I just toss out the nuts and bolts in the statement, “the more money you make, the more taxes you will pay.”? I want to make more money, keep more money. I want to reduce my Taxable Income. (I think I am finally on to something here! )

How to Reduce Your Taxes

1. Reduce Your Taxable Income. Best way to reduce your income is maximize your contributions to your 401(k), 403(b) or similar retirement account.

   Me: Increase 403(b) contributions

2. Increase Your Tax Deductions. Itemize deductions to reduce your taxable income. Itemized deductions include tax preparation fees, car registration fees, charitable contributions, etc… You can read more about allowable Itemized Deductions at IRS.gov.

   Me: this is where I could have done better or kept better records. Least I know that gift I bought my boss last year while at conference – deductible (up to a $25).

   Also, I plan on keeping track of all the Itemized Deductions that I can potentially claim. Going to grab a shoe box and an Excel spreadsheet to track my receipts.

   Geithner Plan:

   How can the Geithner method help me to broaden my deductions? Or is that a thing of the past? Read about Geithner Financial Stability Plan at the U.S. Department of Treasury.

3. Take Advantage of Tax Credits. Tax credits reduce your tax. Sweet!

   Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Child and Dependent Care Expenses, Education Credits, Energy-Saving Tax Credits, etc…all good.

Conclusion

Well kids, that is lesson for today. I see that I have some minor changes to make like increasing my 403(b) contributions, tracking my deductions, and making sure to claim all necessary credits. I finally feel a sense of accomplishment in learning this basic lesson.

Did you learn anything today? Do you have something to add?

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