Today is Wednesday, which means Shannon over at Rocks in My Dryer is hosting another edition of "Works For Me Wednesday"!
I'd like to share my own tips for what works for me on stretching my book budget. As some of you may have guessed, I looooove to read! It's all too easy to blow your budget on books though, especially if you're waiting on a brand new title from your favorite author. After all, most of them come out in hardback first, and those babies are pricey! At $25 or more per title, new releases can cost you a car payment before you even fill a nice big bag with books. Here's are some tips for keeping your book budget small, as well as getting magazines, audiobooks and even DVDs and CDs on the cheap, or even free.
- Use your library system! I can never say this enough, can I? You're paying property taxes (yes, even those of you who rent - you just pay them via the landlord!) Obviously books are the main thing folks think of when it comes to checking out goodies at the library, but many systems now offer access to DVDs, CDs, museum passes, and even downloadable audiobooks and music. Get in tight with your friendly librarian as one homeschooling mom I know did, and you may even be asked for your opinion and requests when it comes time to use up that book ordering budget. How's that for handy?
- Keep a close eye on return deadlines. Some systems in my area don't charge late fees for items not returned on time; others charge as much as a dollar a day per DVD that is late. This can be a budget breaker if you happen to go out of town and forget you had books and videos due. (One $40 bill convinced me of that, trust me!) One way around this: try to set up a certain day as Library Day and go every week. That way anything that doesn't have a lengthy check out period goes back the very next week and doesn't rack up fees.
- On the same token, if your library has a website with an online card catalog and cardholder account access, you can probably renew items online if you are running behind. (Handy for an emergency trip out of town.) Even if your library doesn't offer this, you may be able to call in and renew items by speaking to a librarian. Our system allows up to 2 renewals online and I've made good use of it when I just didn't feel well enough to get to the library that day.
- Swap books with friends, whether informally or in a book club. This is especially true of those pricey hardbacks. If someone else has already made the purchase of a title you want to read, don't be afraid to ask them to share it with you when they've read it thru. But DO be sure to return the item in a timely manner unless they say to just pass it on to someone else!
- Similar programs are actually set up online for paperback exchanges and swaps. I haven't used this program myself, but several other Workerettes I'm acquainted with make good use of them and love it!
- Gift cards, gift cards, gift cards: if you're a complete bibliophile or magazine addict (I am so the latter!), make sure your family and friends know what bookstores and newsstands you frequent. I think my folks have lost count of the number of times that I've said, "Honestly, I'd rather just have a gift card to Borders so I can pick up some magazines as the new issues pop up"!
- Speaking of magazines: if you're buying at least every other issue of a magazine and thoroughly enjoying it, you would save yourself a significant amount if you just subscribed. Even for expensive periodicals this can be a savings off the newsstand price. In the past I had to subscribe to Publishers Weekly per my supervisor. Had I tried to purchase that magazine weekly - augh! Granted they paid me back in that case (so they got the tax deduction), but it was still a hefty chunk of change even for the subscription. I don't want to think about how much it would have added up to otherwise!
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