Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel

Quick review: Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel is a collection of amusing, unique and somewhat morally reprehensible money-saving tips which range from “I could do that” to “Wow, Phil, I really don’t know about that one” to “OMG, Phil, NO…so so wrong”.  Overall, I found the book highly entertaining and enjoyed reading a few of the quick chapters each night.

Full review: After a few pages into the book, you’ll begin to feel like Phil Villarreal is that darkly hilarious, brilliant cousin with misdemeanor tendencies.  His money-saving tips aren’t conventional, but they are devilishly smart.  Some of his tips make you shake your head in horror and others will make you take mental note and file them in your “bringing down the man” section.

Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel is chock full of tips and is broken into the following sections:

• Personal
• Eating
• Relationships
• Household
• Finance
• Leisure and Entertainment
• At the Workplace
• Corporate Cataclysm
• Gross, Mean, and Just Plain Wrong—and Yet Oh So Profitable

Some of my favorite tips came from Phil’s past work experiences as a sports and movie critic.  He gives tips on getting into movies for free, seeing multiple movies at one theatre, sneaking into sporting events and bargaining with scalpers.  You get advice from a real pro here!

There were several things Phil suggested that I already do and enjoyed getting his strategy on them; things like:

• Rocking the coupons
• Taking free stuff off curbs in May/August at college campuses (truly a free furniture goldmine)
• Never purchasing condiments or napkins (who need a bottle of honey mustard when you’ve got Chick-fil-A)
• Stealing mom’s Tupperware
• Ordering the cheapest item at coffee houses to work and get free wifi (a small brewed coffee is easy on the wallet and the waistline)

Other pieces of advice were a little over my moral line, and I can’t imagine anyone ever doing them.  In fact, some of these tips seemed a little ridiculous.  My jaw was gaping open when I read the chapter “Pound Your Dog: Help your puppy heal without having to pay for nothin’.”  To be fair, Phil does give you disclaimers throughout the book about these sorts of tips.

Final thoughts: There were times in the book were I really wondered if anyone would do some of these things…then I remembered how insane human beings can be and realized people do this stuff all the time.  Those times were outweighed by times where I actually found myself developing a new strategy on how I handle certain situations.  It took me a few chapters to get used to the “stingy scoundrel mindset”, but once I did, I really enjoyed the ride.  It may teeter on a morality line, but I smiled throughout the book nonetheless.

Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel is amusing (and at times ridiculous) but is an overall solid read with a mix of funny and surprisingly practical tips.

The first thing to go is usually one of the heel caps leaving me with a metal peg at the bottom of the heel.  That tiny piece of black plastic protecting the metal falls off or wears down, and I can be heard tapping around on any hard surface.  I get very self-conscious when only one heel is missing the cap, and I make a tap sound with every other step.  My least favorite is when I make a sliding move causing my metal heel to screech like nails on a chalkboard.

I have taken my precious shoes to the cobbler and had them repaired.  Sometimes I go to payless and buy plain black pumps during a BoGo sale.  This upkeep is maddening.

I’d like to ask my fellow heel-wearing friends: what brand do you turn to for your trusty black pumps and how long do these last?

Exhibit A: the metal peg that will make me tap as I walk

First thing, I love their coffees.  They have amazing fresh roasted coffees that come in amazing flavors and varying roasts.  My personal favorite is the Cinnamon Sticky Bun flavored coffee.  Go to their online shopping page and browse the flavors.  Most 12 oz bags are $8.00.

Second thing, I love their cause.  Jumpy Monkey employs people with disabilities.  Here’s what their About Us page says:

In June of 2003, Jumpy Monkey was acquired by Opportunities Unlimited in Sioux City, Iowa. Opportunities Unlimited (”OU”) is a rehabilitation facility that provides services to individuals that have sustained a traumatic brain injury, taking them back into the main-stream of life.

Successful rehab rates throughout the ten year history of OU, have risen to points as high as fifty percent. OU is an organization that truly lives its mission statement of “Maximizing Personal Potential Through Dignified and Purposeful Living.” One of the many key factors in the rehabilitation process is our vocational services where clients are able to again become a part of the work force and earn a paycheck.

Jumpy Monkey coffee roasting has become one of the key contracts serviced through the OU vocational area. In summation, with your purchase of Jumpy Monkey products, not only are you receiving a high quality, high value product, but you are also assisting in the employment of people with disabilities. Come pay us a visit, we would love to show you what we have to offer.

Not surprisingly, the coffee is roasted in my homeland of Northwest Iowa and employs some amazing Iowans.

The best part of waking up....

However, families naturally evolve: babies are born, loved ones pass on, folks marry in and people move away.  My family is no exception.  I live in Dallas, my brother’s family lives in Florida and the majority of my relatives are back in the Midwest.  Unfortunately, a mega-trip to Iowa is not feasible every December and my family understands.

Over the last two years, this complicated geographic situation has given me the idea to come up with some of my own holiday traditions.  I’m not sure what the final catalyst was—if it was the fact I’m becoming more and more like my mother every day OR if it was that my apartment seemed to lack the magic of my home in Iowa—but whatever it was, I’m glad it happened.  Here are some of the holiday traditions I’m beginning:

• Christmas Tree – to me, there is something seriously lacking in my home during the month of December if a Christmas tree is not present.
  • Last year, I went to Wal-Mart and procured a 6’ pre-lit artificial tree for approximately $25.  To dress it, I bought a silver tree skirt, blue balls, gold balls and silver balls (all purchased at a discount store, for example Garden Ridge).
  • I have also purchased a few ornaments of my own throughout my adventures.  Seeing these on my tree reminds where I’ve all been and how I’ve changed over the past few years.  One of my favorites is a little lobster ornament from Rhode Island.

My Christmas Tree

• Decorations – I come from a home where no room is spared from holiday décor, so naturally I had to put some things out…
  • I used the leftover gold and silver balls from the tree and put them around the apartment.  Right now, I have some ornaments in the center of the dining room table.  Last year, I scattered some around picture frames on my bookcase.
    • NOTE: Men do not seem to understand the need to have Christmas balls on the table or anywhere else besides the tree.  I am not good at articulating my reasoning for this, but I’ve stayed adamant that they are indeed necessary.
  • Last year, I also purchased a garland (cheaply at a discount store) to string over the fireplace I had at my old apartment.  This year I have put it over an archway in my current place.  I really love how festive garlands make the apartment look.

• Movies – When I was a kid, I LOVED the Christmas movies they used to show on TV.  Frosty and Rudolph were two of my favorites.  As an adult my tastes have changed a bit, and here are my favorites:
  • Love Actually
  • Elf
  • The Holiday
  • Christmas Vacation (it’s amazing how funny it as an adult, because I actually understand the jokes)

• Music – There is something about Christmas music that really puts me in the holiday spirit.  I don’t have any CDs of my own, so I put together this play list on GrooveShark:

• Ogling at Christmas Lights – there are some unbelievable homes in the DFW metroplex, and seeing them all lit up is incredibly impressive.  I get annoying excited by driving around and seeing how creative people can be.

These are just some of the things I have begun doing to create my own holiday traditions.  No matter what your background, I’d love to hear how you have begun your own holiday traditions.  Please share!

I wanted to share my list on Trina Left Iowa just in case any of my readers were thinking of buying me a gift or need gift ideas for a fellow twenty-something female.  I found that Target.com had some great tools and lists for different personality types – my favorite lists for females were Corporate Diva and Urban Gourmet.

• Plain Ts – these from Forever21 are my favorite for sleeping or just hanging at home
  • Color: any color will do
• Cardigans – solid, traditional cardigans I can wear to work. Long sleeves or ¾ lengths are ideal.
  • Style: similar to this Old Navy one:
  • Color: I’d really like a gray one, but I’m pretty open
• USB Heating Gloves – yes, they are gloves to warm your hands when plugged into your laptop…genius.  My office is incredibly cold, and I can’t cover my hands when I’m typing.
• Yoga Sport Dallas Gift Cards – any amount helps to get me to practice hot yoga regularly (I really love hot yoga; the physical and mental benefits are invaluable).
  • Their site: http://yogasportdallas.com/
  • Link to the gift card site: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/asp/home.asp
• Exercise Clothes – sweat-wicking fabric tops, bottoms, etc for exercise/yoga
  • Where: I get a lot of them at Target or discount stores (Ross, TJ Max, etc)
  • “Yoga Gear”: any will make me happy!
    • Hot yoga makes you really sweaty, so nonslip mat towels like Yogitoes (off-brands of this would be great) are helpful.
• IKEA Gift Cards – I LOOOVE Ikea
  • Purchasing: in stores or through IKEA Direct at 1-800-434-4532
• Drop earrings: simple dangley, drop earrings. Example of one at Target.
• Perfume: either Burberry Brit or Harajuku Lovers Love – both can be purchased at Target for exceedingly less than department stores….I’m not sure why this is, and I’d love for someone to explain it to me…

For William and I:

• Roasting Pan with Rack – a roasting pan with rack but doesn’t have to be fancy.  This KitchenAid one is pretty fancy but is an example of what I’m thinking of
• Tie Rack – a cheap rack for hanging ties
• Herb growing kit – one that can be used indoors.  Something like this one at Target (doesn’t have to be so big).

Please share any of your gift wishes or ideas.

Courtesy of my beloved NPR, below is a great animated video on how the flu invades your body and spreads.  NPR’s Robert Krulwich and medical animator David Bolinsky are your visual guides in this viral journey.  Once you get past the amazingness of it, you will wonder how we aren’t all dead by now. 

Cheers to my friends who have gotten hit with the flu already this year (Texas was hit hard).

Now, it’s time to be in awe of science and do some pondering on the existence of life…

valentine Pronunciation [val-uh n-tahyn] Use valentine in a Sentence–noun A written or other artistic work, message, token, etc., expressing affection for something or someone.

Dear Autumn,

Ah yes, it’s autumn yet again and that pumpkin-shaped hole in my heart has been filled.  That’s right, the leaves are changing, the air is cooler, drunk people in burnt-orange shirts are wandering around Uptown Dallas on Saturday afternoons and Starbucks has their pumpkin-flavoring out.  I LOVE this glorious time of year, and I want to sing these affections from my balcony.

For the last 3 falls, I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing autumn in 3 very different states: Iowa, Rhode Island and Dallas.  Each one has offered up something delightful in this already wonderful time of year, and I’m going to share my favorites from each with you:

• Hawkeye football tailgating: Iowa City, IA has some of the best tailgating the BIG 10 conference has to offer.  Hawkeye fans show up in droves around Kinnick Stadium at painfully early hours to begin their autumnal Saturday ritual.  There’s cold beer (usually the cheapest brand one can find), drinking games and tiny grills/BBQs in a sea of black and gold.  Although the ritual usually turns into a drunken mess, it’s a great fall tradition that I miss dearly…right, there’s a football game too…

Me at an Iowa tailgate during my final year of college

• Fall colors: Rhode Island and the whole of New England have a plethora of trees.  When fall hits and the leaves begin to change colors, you are in for one of nature’s loveliest treats.  The spectrum of colors in a vast sea of trees is a feast for the eyes and is worthy of a long drive through New England.  I thought coming from the Midwest meant I’d seen leaves change, but it does not compare to the fall colors in New England.  Book a fall trip to RI or Mass and enjoy—trust me.

Fall Colors

• Reprieve from the Texas heat: This past summer was my first Texan summer, and the legends of brutal heat were true.  From June until just recently, I found outdoors to be intolerable unless I was in an overly air conditioned apartment or lounging by a pool.  That is why I’ve loved the suddenly cooler fall air outside.  I’ve brought my sweaters to the front of the closet again and turned off the expensive AC.  The past few weekends have been fantastic weather for walking around Dallas, checking out the scene in the arts district and sitting on a patio at an Uptown Dallas pub (favorites: Ginger Man, Quarter Bar and Black Friar).  This fall weather is a much-needed reprieve from the brutal Texan summers!!

Until next year,

Trina

In the past, I have written about the need to treat yourself for sanity’s sake and created a list of “treats” I give myself.  In noticing my recent ridiculous and totally out of balance behavior, I realized that this list needs to be updated.  What’s the additional sanity-saving treat?  Blogging, of course.

Once I put my finger on what I was missing in my over-booked schedule, it was clear that blogging had to be a top priority in my life.  Working longer hours and helping my foreign love get settled have caused me to write NOTHING and I HATE it.  Previous Saturday morning writing sessions at my favorite Starbucks listening to my favorite music have become a creative outlet that I didn’t have before.  I didn’t realize how much writing was a release that made me more sane.  Not blogging has made me a bit agitated and edgy.

Here I am now back at the keyboard, and I’m already a bit calmer.  I can’t promise another blogging dry spell won’t arise, but I can say it will be much shorter…for my and everyone around me’s sake

Blogging is key for my sanity

The revised sanity list:

• Exercise – It was the first thing that I put back on the schedule.  I put it high on the list, and I have felt healthier since.  Stress was making me sick and tired all the time, and exercise helps to even that out.  Bonus: no pills needed.
• Calling my family – When I have a free moment, I like to call my parents, my grandma or my brother’s family.  Hearing my two-year-old niece’s voice or hearing about my Grandma’s busy social calendar always brightens my spirit.
• Wandering aimlessly around the grocery store – My dad and I used to go the store a lot when I was a little kid, and I love to do it now.  It may be a bit weird to others, but I can stare at food for hours.
• Taking a bath – Again I revert to childhood happiness items: the bath tub.  I have always been a water-loving creature and taking a bath is the business.  You can read, play with toys and do some serious thinking.  Fact: Alan Greenspan did some of his best work in the tub. 
• Jigsaw puzzles – A bit nerdy, yes.  I love ‘em though.  They are mentally stimulating (have to keep that photographic memory running) and tons of fun.  To me, there is nothing better than a pot of strong coffee and a jigsaw puzzle.
• Cooking – I love opening a bottle of wine and whipping up a delicious meal.  You’ve got to eat anyways, so why not make it an enjoyable experience? 
• Watching The Soup on E! – Joel McHale catches me up on all the ridiculous TV that I don’t have time to watch.  Oh, and it’s is absolutely hilarious.  It’s reality show clip time!!!
• Blogging – Blogging allows me to build my own little gem on the internet that is all MINE—it’s like my special construction project.  Writing gives me a creative outlet that I NEED, because I find immense clarity after articulating my thoughts on life via writing for the blog.

When the Twilight movie came out, I applied the same rule I used for Harry Potter: watch the movie and make the official decision on how I feel about reading the books.  After seeing the second Harry Potter movie, I decided I would read the books when the series was complete and wound up reading (and loving) all of them the month book 7 was released.  In similar fashion, this past spring I rented the Twilight movie.  I thought it was okay, but I was still baffled as to what the big deal was…  No plans were in the works for me to read the series.

Read Twilight--You Know You Want To

In an unlikely turn of events, National Public Radio (NPR) changed my view of the saga.  NPR’s guilty pleasures series where writers reveal their secret favorite books featured this story: Real Men Read (And Love) ‘Twilight’ — Really.

In the story, Brad Meltzer, a heterosexual male, opens up about his love of the Twilight saga.  He describes the appeal to him and challenges women to share the saga with their men:

“I love this story of the gawky, awkward girl who falls in love with the brooding vampire. And I love that she can’t get sexual with said vampire because when her blood gets pumping, it’ll send him into a frenzy and he’ll kill her. (How’s that for a prophylactic?) 

I love hearing the dark secret histories of how the other vampires were turned into vampires. And I love when Edward gets all huffy with Jacob the werewolf — oh my God, I’m on the verge of writing fan-fic here — but again, in case you missed it, I love this story.”

After hearing the passion in Brad’s words, I decided to watch the movie again.  The second time around I was looking for the heat between Bella and Edward rather than focusing on the vampire story line, and to my great surprise, I enjoyed it…a lot even.  Thanks to Brad Meltzer, I took a 4-book trip into Bella and Edward’s star-crossed romance courtesy of Ms. Stephenie Meyer.  I was truly surprised at how entertaining and passionate the series was; Edward and Bella have an odd Romeo and Juliet thing going for them.  Believe me, it’s a guilty pleasure that truly delivers!!!

If I have swayed your anti-Twilight thoughts at all, please go and read the series.  The first chapter of the book is available for you to read on NPR’s site here.  Thanks NPR and Brad Meltzer for turning me around! 

 Random Fact: at the end of her books, Stephenie Meyer always thanks the band Muse for their inspiration.  If you know Muse’s music, you will definitely feel them in the books….

val-en-tine Pronunciation [val-uh n-tahyn] –noun

Dear Irish Boyfriend,

I think you are as wonderful as a cool pint of Guinness on a Saturday afternoon, and I want to sing my praises for all of your help in my Trina Left Iowa adventure.  This blog would not be possible without you.  No, seriously it really wouldn’t!

My technology/internet skillz (that’s right, skills with a z) may impress some, but they are nothing compared to yours.  You helped me to commit to a blog name that fateful Sunday (I have some commitment issues…) and patiently walked me through the process of buying a domain name, hosting package, etc.  You explained Wordpress themes to me which again took immense patience.  Once everything was set up, you created logo images, worked with the layout and catered to my diva-like requests.  You took a lot of your free time to tinker with color schemes and fix things I’d broken.  Yet, the whole time we were working on the site you gave me final say and made me feel like it was my own.

Besides the techie pieces, you played a huge role in emotionally supporting me to begin this adventure.  We were team bloggers on Leading Associates which was how I got a taste for blogging and writing freely.  I’d never known that I had writing in me, and you encouraged me to develop this “talent” I had suddenly unearthed.  You telling me that I should create my own blog was the catalyst to this endeavor.  You were the one who made me realize that people may actually read and enjoy what I write. 

Lastly, you inspire me to believe in myself by constantly reminding me to have confidence in my abilities.  Putting your thoughts out there is scary, and it takes a lot of strength to endure extensive criticism on the internet.  Because of you, I’m positive I can handle this adventure whatever direction it goes…

Thank you,

Trina

PS.  It’s always nice to have the luck of the Irish with you (OK—you knew I had to say something slightly racist).

Irish Elixir