Stuart Schuffman (born December 16, 1980), also known as Broke-Ass Stuart, is an American travel writer, television host, poet, performer, and journalist based in San Francisco, California. He pioneered budget-living zines and books, created IFC's travel series Young, Broke & Beautiful (2011), and runs BrokeAssStuart.com as âÂÂEditor-in-Cheap.â He writes the dive-bar column for SFGate. In 2015, he received 18,211 votes (9.56%) in his San Francisco mayoral campaign.
In October 2025, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors officially declared October 17 to be "Broke-Ass Stuart Day" in San Francisco.
Schuffman was born in Los Angeles and grew up in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California. He earned his B.A. in American Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
SchuffmanâÂÂs media journey began with zines: Broke-Ass Stuart's Guide to Living Cheaply in San Francisco, Volumes 1 (2004) and 2 (2005). Volume 2 won the San Francisco Bay Guardians Best Local Zine award in its 2005 Best of the Bay issue. These evolved into books published by Seven Footer Press: Broke-Ass Stuart's Guide to Living Cheaply in San Francisco (2007) and Broke-Ass Stuart's Guide to Living Cheaply in New York (2008).
He also contributed to Lonely Planet travel guides and has written for SF Bay Guardian and SF Weekly. He curates BrokeAssStuart.com as âÂÂEditor-in-Cheapâ and writes the Dive-Bar column for SFGate.
From 2015 to 2021, he penned the âÂÂBroke-Ass Cityâ column for the San Francisco Examiner. His bylines have appeared in Condé Nast Traveler, 7x7, SF Weekly, and The Bold Italic, amongst others.
Schuffman co-created and hosted IFC's travel TV show Young, Broke & Beautiful (2011). While the Los Angeles Times described him as âÂÂa tireless self-promoter,â and the Boston Globe said the show was âÂÂstraining too hard to be different,â KQED offered a more positive take: âÂÂYoung, Broke & Beautiful brings SchuffmanâÂÂs unique brand of adventurous budget travel to a more mainstream setting but mostly preserves his indie flair.âÂÂ
In 2014, he began The Kind of Late Show with Broke-Ass Stuart, a live late-night variety show uploaded to YouTube. It featured guests such as Boots Riley and Kari Byron.
In 2019, he co-created and starred in the satirical web series Shaky Ground, which premiered at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco. It was given positive reviews by SF Weekly and the San Francisco Examiner.
In 2015, Schuffman ran for mayor of San Francisco, finishing fourth with 9.56% of the vote. He described his bid as a protest against corporate influence and neglect of affordable living. The ethics commission later issued a fine for a technical campaign filing error, which he explained as an inadvertent mistake saying, âÂÂI just didnâÂÂt know I couldnâÂÂt do that.âÂÂ