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BA of the Week: Pravisti Shrestha

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Every week we feature a different person from the community shedding a little light on their life of brokeitude. Who knows, maybe you’ll learn something about the human spirit — probably not.

Wanna be a Broke-Ass of the Week? Holler at us here and we’ll send you the questionnaire.

Or featured broke-ass this time around is Pravisti Shrestha. She hates designer clothes, loves free for from the Hare Krishna festival and likes to read. This is what she said when I asked her for something for the intro:

I bought your book, the sf edition back in the day from Green Apple, of course i bought it from the outside sale bin.I still cannot afford to buy it straight from the shelf.

Let’s see what kind of tips she has for us below.

Name: Pravisti Shrestha

Age: 26

Occupation: Intern and Occasional Change Provider to the Homeless ( OCP) and I also draw ( please buy my art). Now that i am featured in broke-ass of the week, i will be signing autographs for money and being a celebrity will be my full time job.

What neighborhood do you live in?: Right now, Pacifica ( Gaud i am so uncool) at my aunt’s cottage for free. Can’ wait to burn holes in my pocket when i actually have to pay rent in SF.

Best money saving tip: skip lunch or dinner and spend less on food, which is a double edged sword save money as well as have a killer bod.

What do you refuse to spend money on?: Designer anything…I am a vampire shown a cross when someone tells me about anything Louis Vuitton, Kate Spade or Paris Hilton ( I don’t see a difference in them anyway).

Most expensive thing you’ve ever bought: $35 Casio watch with a calculator from Amazon for my boyfriend

How’d that feel?: Awesome! He wears it everyday and math doesn’t seem so hard anymore.

Favorite cheap eat: Than Than Cafe at Clement.

Favorite dive bar: Bars cost money, i prefer buying a bottle of cheap bourbon and drinking it over several weeks.

Best deal you’ve ever gotten: Food at the Hare Krishna festival at golden gate park last year, for FREE!

Favorite free thing to do: Read books from libraries and Hike EVERYWHERE.

If you woke up a millionaire, what’s the first thing you’d buy?: Ideally i would say something philanthropic, a food truck for the homeless and the hungry that would serve up free lunches everyday till i can’t do it anymore but at the moment i really want to own a place where i can raise a dog(s).

Despite not having money, do you still love your life?: Money is important but it is not a priority or precursor for Happiness. Love is.

Do you own my book?: Yes, a used copy i bought from Green Apple’s sale bin. I bought it because i was planning to move to SF the summer of 2010 and i needed a cheap guide.

Best hangover cure: Water and Nongshim cup noodles.

Are you a hipster?: Yes!! because i love vintage stuff and i think i love the Mission area but i specifically only hang out in Valencia st, I love dressing up like i don’t have money to buy clean clothes (half truth, technically having a small paycheck can buy me acceptable clothes). Let’s take the trust fund and the pretentiousness out of the hipster then what remains is me.

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Broke-Ass Stuart - Editor In Cheap

Broke-Ass Stuart - Editor In Cheap

Stuart Schuffman, aka Broke-Ass Stuart, is a travel writer, poet, TV host, activist, and general shit-stirrer. His website BrokeAssStuart.com is one of the most influential arts & culture sites in the San Francisco Bay Area and his freelance writing has been featured in Lonely Planet, Conde Nast Traveler, The Bold Italic, Geek.com and too many other outlets to remember. His weekly column, Broke-Ass City, appears every other Thursday in the San Francisco Examiner. Stuart’s writing has been translated into four languages. In 2011 Stuart created and hosted the travel show Young, Broke, and Beautiful on IFC and in 2015 he ran for Mayor of San Francisco and got nearly 20k votes.

He's been called "an Underground legend": SF Chronicle, "an SF cult hero":SF Bay Guardian, and "the chief of cheap": Time Out New York.