Young Broke And Beautiful: Broke-Ass Stuart's Guide To Living Cheaply
by Broke-Ass Stuart (Seven Footer Press)
Back before the internet came along and, if not killed, at least greatly diminished it, there used to be a thriving underground zine culture all over this country and the world. Plenty of zines were about underground music and art, but people also wrote zines about a variety of other things. One sub-category of that world was how-to zines, which could cover everything from reproductive health to dumpster diving. Broke-Ass Stuart started out as a how-to zinester himself, but his area of expertise was living cheaply. His original zine, a guide to San Francisco for the budget-minded, sold thousands of copies and drew so much attention that it was eventually turned into a book: Broke-Ass Stuart's Guide To Living Cheaply In San Francisco. After writing an equally successful sequel volume about New York City and acquiring his own TV show on IFC, Stuart decided to take all of his broke-ass expertise and turn it into a one-volume survival guide that can be used by anyone anywhere in the world. Hence, Young Broke And Beautiful.
The main reason that Broke-Ass Stuart's Guide To Living Cheaply is a successful book is that it's fun to read. Back in the late 90s, when zines were everywhere, I read a ton of them, and sometimes they were about subjects that didn't directly interest me. Without exception, what kept my interest in all of those zines was the personality of their creator. Stuart has an engaging, amusing personality that comes through loud and clear on every page of this book, and his profanity-laced wisecracks will keep you reading and laughing along even when he's talking about things that don't really matter that much to you. I'm not a person who has ever found much of a thrill in traveling, and I don't drink alcohol, so the sections about traveling and drinking on the cheap didn't mean much to me, but I still got a kick out of them, because Stuart's voice kept me so entertained. By the same token, sections of the book that I needed to read more than I wanted to read them (I'm thinking of the section about getting your finances in order here--I'm really bad with money and probably need the advice he dished out in that section more than I want to admit) were also entertaining enough that I was never tempted to roll my eyes and tune out, even though that's how I tend to react to my dad when he's giving me similar advice.
In truth, just like my dad, this book has a lot of good advice and strategy to offer, which we probably all need to be following. Let's face it, none of us are rich, right? Especially in this current recession, we could all stand to find a few more ways to save money and live within our means. The fact that Stuart's engaging narrative voice becomes the spoonful of sugar that helps this medicine go down is a good thing, because his message is one that most of us need to hear. He keeps you entertained for long enough that, hopefully, some of his tips will sink in and affect the way you live going forward. The one problem I had with the book was that, since a lot of it was clearly gathered together from pieces he'd originally written as separate articles for his website (BrokeAssStuart.com), it doesn't seem like anyone sat down and read it all as a unified work. I say that because there were a few points where the same joke, anecdote, or piece of advice would be repeated word for word a few pages after its first appearance. As I said, this only happened a few times, and it's really a minor quibble in the grand scheme of things, but it's something that will stand out to anyone else who sits down and reads this book from cover to cover the way I did.
But don't let this deter you from checking out Young Broke And Beautiful. Even if you think you're brilliant enough with money that you don't need any of Stuart's advice, you could still probably pick up a few tips for cheap ways to have a good time that you'd never considered before. And let's be honest--most of us could probably do a better job of living within our means than we're currently doing. This is advice we all need, and getting it from Stuart is probably a much more entertaining proposition than any other potential method of getting it. So empty out your change jar, flip over the couch cushions, do whatever else you need to do to scrape together the extra cash, and go buy this book. You'll be glad you did.
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Broke-Ass Stuart's Broke As Hell Book Tour brings him to Richmond's New York Deli on Tuesday October 18 from 8 PM-midnight. The event, which is presented by Hit Play Productions and Chop Suey Books, will be one half book reading and Q&A, and one half dance party.