Today on the Menu: Cheap? This Podcast’s For You

By Matt Van Hoven 

Today on the Menu we had Phil Villarreal, who has the funniest ideas about how to be cheap that we’ve heard in a long time. Example: say you want to save on your electricity bill &#151 turn down the heat and head to mom and dad’s place (or a friend/significant other’s).

All these tips and more are available in Villarreal’s book, ‘Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel‘.

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Not one to promote being a non-participatory member of society, Villarreal notes that some of his tricks probably won’t win you any friends. Like his recommendation for getting out of buying an expensive engagement ring. “Go to Wal-mart and buy a cubic zirconium ring for a few hundred bucks,” says Villarreal. “Then tell your fiancée that it belonged to your grandma.” OK, so that one’s a bit nefarious, but as long as she doesn’t get the thing appraised, you’re good.

Check out some of Villarreal’s other tips in today’s podcast. He is also a contributing editor at Consumerist and a reporter at the Arizona Daily Star.

More: Episodes of the Menu

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