LA Tightwad

Swap the Books You Don't Want for Books You DO Want

2010-02-17T22:35:00.001-08:00

I'm scared to count how many books I have. 3 bookcases packed full, dozens in my garage, under my bed, at my parent's house... Nonetheless, I'm always craving more but need to get rid of some old ones to make way for new ones, lest my home becomes a firetrap. Last year I became addicted to paperbackswap.com. On this site, you can trade old for new, and it's very cheap. You pay only for the postage on the books you mail. You don't even need to buy packing materials as the service encourages traders to wrap their books in regular printer paper and tape. Most of the books I trade I mail for less than $2, and it's great to get a book for free with the points you earn from mailing your books to others. You mail a book: you get a point. You get a book: you lose a point. It couldn't be simpler. And maybe I'm just lucky but I've received 15 books so far and only one was in less-than-stellar condition (which I dealt with as it's a hard-to-find and out-of-print book by noted scribe Zsa Zsa Gabor.) Go ahead and mock me; I can handle it.

Breakfast For 99 Cents!

2010-02-15T22:21:00.000-08:00

Ikea has its place in many bargain hunters arsenal of stores to depend on, if not for furniture, then for things like a slew of martini glasses for a cocktail party or a cheap-but-fabulous lamp. If you've been there, you know how daunting the crowds can be. They can really bring out my inner misanthrope. My solution is scheduling my Ikea trips for off times, like first thing in the morning, and starting my trip off with their delightfully cheap 99 cent breakfast.

For a buck you get scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage and breakfast potatoes. If you get there between 9:30 and 10am, you can even get a free cup of Swedish coffee. Okay, so it's not as glamorous as Breakfast at Tiffany's, but whaddaya want for 99 cents?

In LA, Ikea is located in Burbank, Carson and Covina.

Movies in Pasadena for $2 to $3? Yep!

2010-02-09T20:22:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I crave an elegant moviegoing experience, like at the Arclight or The Bridge: lots of legroom, reserved seats and fellow moviegoers who, by dint of being willing to pay a few extra dollars for the experience, are probably not seat-kickers or prone to gab on their cell phones during the movie. Other times I'm in the mood for super cheap and am okay with contending with sticky floors and second-run movies.
At times like that I'm likely to head over to the Regency Academy in Pasadena. At $2 for movies before 6 and $3 for movies at 6pm or after (except for their Midnight Movie), it's an amazing deal. I can't guarantee you won't deal with self-involved people chattering on cell phones - I dealt with one such idiot on my last visit - but on days when you want to pinch a few hundred pennies, it's an excellent alternative to the fancy-pants theaters.

Regency Academy Cinema 6 - Pasadena
1003 E. Colorado Blvd
At Colorado & Catalina
Pasadena, CA. 91106
626-229-9400

Wednesday Burrito Madness in Atwater Village!

2010-02-09T20:09:00.000-08:00

Hugo's Tacos in Atwater Village is beloved by many for its healthy take on healthy Mexican fast food. Along with the typical meat burritos - steak, chicken, carnitas, they also have a good number of vegan choices, including their popular soy chorizo (aka soyrizo).

Their burritos, which normally sell for $5.92, are, for who-knows-how-long, a teeny $2.50 on Wednesdays from 7 to 10 pm when you say the secret word (for February, the secret word is "Leo.") I'm so excited I can hardly bear it.

Hugo's Tacos
Open 10am to 10pm daily
3300 Glendale Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90039
Phone: (323) 664-9400

UPDATE: In March, 2010, this special's price has been raised by one penny. Darn inflation. The secret password for March is "turbo."