'Penny Pinchers' is a summertime sweet treat
Toolbox
By SUSAN ALLEN
Times Argus Editor - Published: July 12, 2009
"The Penny Pinchers Club," by Sarah Strohmeyer (Dutton Adult, 2009, 288 pages, $25.95 hardcover)
Grab some pink flip-flops, a beach chair and a frothy fruity drink and head for the sand and surf - or just the living room couch on a rainy weekend.
Then sit back and lose yourself in the spicy antics of shopaholic Kat Griffiths, the likable and somewhat lost heroine of Vermonter Sarah Strohmeyer's new novel, "The Penny Pinchers Club."
The book, Strohmeyer told a roomful of fans gathered recently for a reading at Bear Pond Books in Montpelier, is about a middle-aged woman who discovers her husband is going to leave her and begins saving money for that eventuality, with the help of some wacky "penny pinchers."
"It's always good for a girl to have a little pocket of cash when she gets walked out on," joked Strohmeyer, whose real-life humor mirrors the comedy in her books.
"Penny Pinchers" is a funny, romantic soap opera that has as much to do with the value of true friends and true love as it does with learning to save a buck.
This is the Middlesex author's fifth piece of what she calls "women's fiction," in addition to her popular "Bubbles" books, an Agatha Award-winning mystery series featuring accidental sleuth Bubbles Yablonsky.
"Bubbles will be back," Strohmeyer promised, although it's hard to imagine when she'll find the time to write.
Her book "The Cinderella Pact" has been picked up by the Lifetime television network and will star Poppy Montgomery, of the CBS show "Without a Trace." In addition, Lionsgate Entertainment has taken a film option on "The Sleeping Beauty Proposal."
"Penny Pinchers" feels right for the screen, too, although there are no plans for that at this point.
The novel's opening is a sweet tease, playing on the MasterCard ads:
"Engagement ring: $7,340
Wedding and reception: $23,000
Raising one kid for eighteen years: $250,000
House in Jersey suburb: $462,000
Two mint tingle condom wrappers found in your husband's pockets: $1.40
Being financially ready when your husband announces he's leaving to be with his assistant: Priceless."
And thus begins Kat's quest to transform from a debt-ridden shopping queen to a miser saving $15,000 in preparation for the expected end of her marriage.
Kat joins the Penny Pinchers Club - the book is carried in large part on Strohmeyer's ability to create humorous characters whose friendship and support are heartwarming — to help her save.
And they don't just save. The Pinchers Dumpster-dive for perfectly usable freebies; they are pros at using coupons to get money back on purchases; and they travel en masse to mega-stores like Costco to divvy up enormous amounts of cheap food. In today's dire economy, grab a couple of these tips yourself.
Here's an example: "Normally tampons run about five bucks a box. With the frequent shopper card, that would bring them to $4.50. Add the buy one, get one deal and now we're at $2.25. Throw in the $1-off coupon and we're at $1.25. Combine that with buy ten and get a $5 rebate and, ladies and gentlemen, you have your $5 box of tampons for seventy-five cents."
Throughout the book, Kat stumbles on e-mails and other evidence that her husband is having an affair and intends to leave her at the end of the summer, when their daughter heads to college. Some steamy sex scenes - lots of steamy sex scenes, actually - and genuine affection from her husband raise questions about his intentions, however.
Adding to the fun twists, Kat's old boyfriend moves back to town - a hottie who is also rich, supportive and still in love with her. "It wasn't just the security or protection Liam offered, it was his uncanny ability to instinctively know what I needed before I knew myself." Sigh …
It's a lighthearted 288-page romp before we find out whether Kat saved the money, ended up with the right man and was - ultimately - happy.
Strohmeyer said she started writing the book before the current downturn in the economy, although it can't hurt sales that so many woman are scrambling to save a dime in these tough times. She includes two pages of real-life tips for saving money at the novel's end.
Like most of her books, Strohmeyer said, "The Penny Pinchers Club" is "based on the frailties in my own life. … I exploit them to my advantage." Like Kat, she found herself in her 40s with a daughter's college tuition looming.
"If I'm going through this at the age of 40-something, other people are probably going through this at 40-something," Strohmeyer said.
And no doubt others are looking for help, support and friendship - like the Penny Pinchers Club.
"A group of friends with whom you can openly and honestly confide about money, who will listen and not judge you, who will hold your hand when you have to open those bills, who will give you their coupons, drive you across town to the discount grocery stores, who will teach you how to forage through Dumpsters for food, and who will make you laugh all through the whole journey," Kat thinks.
"Now that was priceless."
Susan Allen is editor of The Times Argus.