Comics' money-saving tips are no joke

Times are tough, and who better to make light of our economic morass than those shtick-dishing, eternally starving artists -- stand-up comics? Comedians who perform at the Creek and the Cave in Long Island City, N.Y., told WalletPop how they get by on the cheap. The answers ranged from ha-ha funny to genius to, well, a little disturbing.

Mark Normand deserves a toast. When it comes to saving money at the local pub, he works the system like Richard Pryor used to work the crowd on a Saturday night. "Most bars serve at least one canned beer. Just find out what it is and bring it in yourself," Normand said. On open-mike nights, when a venue makes him buy a drink, Normand added that he sometimes grabs an empty bottle and explains to the waitress that he's a fast drinker. He also runs a little bank angle. TD Bank has a coin-conversion machine that anyone can use for free, he explained, and gives out a prize to those who guess the correct amount of their change within $1.99. "So if you count your money beforehand, you basically make money," Normand said.