A carefully executed couch surfing experience can provide a person with weeks, months and possibly years of food, lodging, entertainment and, done right, romance.
There are three basic approaches to the task of getting onto the couch or into a spare room.
1. Just Got Thrown out: This could be from a parent’s house, a girlfriend/boyfriend, stale roommate situation, or through an angry landlord. The crux of this approach (truthful or not) is that you are in a bind and need a temporary favor.
2. Just Passing Through: Won’t be here …

Here we go again. Another year is almost over. For a lot of people it symbolizes a fresh start and a clean slate. In reality, January 1 is an entirely arbitrary date, but that has never stopped your friends or anyone else from waiting until now to make positive changes in their life.
But with everyone trying to make changes for the better, a natural support network can emerge. So why not help your friends along while making some changes of your own? This is a once a year opportunity to …

You got this one; I get the next one. No, you get the . . . I’ll get . . . you get—STOP!
Next time you’re out with a friend or acquaintance leap at the first opportunity to treat them to a cup of coffee or a stale muffin from the day-old bin beside the register. In the politics of You Buy This, I Buy That, it’s important to establish that you’re neither a mooch nor a schnorr. Although of course, you’re both. But you must first establish yourself as generous, …

A free lunch, not as mythical as the unicorn, but just as beautiful
The old adage that there’s no such thing as a free lunch is so cliched that proving it wrong has also become cliched. Fear not hungry readers, this does not mean it won’t receive treatment here. Below are 10 ways to acquire a lunch that is free with minimal attachment of strings.
1. Arrange lunch dates with anorexics in denial. This is the hungry man’s plan, as it requires you to order a big meal to tacitly pressure your …

There are few greater expenses for the holidays than preparing the Thanksgiving meal.  With the turkey, stuffing, and all the trimmings, this holiday turns into a fortune.  There is no better way to save money on your Thanksgiving meal than by being hosted by someone else.  Save yourself the time of grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, and all the stress involved.  Here are some tried and true ways of finagling an invitation to someone else’s meal.
 
The False Invite – Pick one of your friends who you know has turkey with all the trimmings …

Dear Schnorrer,
Recently, I paid a condolence call on my friend Vinnie whose mother had passed away.  I was awed by the schnorring composure he showed in his state of bereavement.  When anybody asked him:  “Is there anything I can do for you?” and this is something almost everyone asked, he was quick to respond:
“Can you pick up my cleaning”
“I need some milk”
“My cable isn’t working”
“Put some gas in my car”
“Could you lend me fifty bucks?”
“Could you pick up a couple of pizzas?”…….
I had never seen a schnorring mourner before.  What …

Dear Schnorrer,
With the cost of printer ink so high, I have been claiming my printer broke and asking friends if they can print stuff for me.  Is this unethical?
Dave
——————–
Dear Dave,
Of course it’s unethical.  What’s your problem?
The Schnorrer