Friday, March 6, 2009

FRUGAL FRIDAY

Today I am going to talk about buying books--or, rather, not buying books. My husband and I love to have a date night and go to our local Barnes & Noble store for the evening. Up until the fall of last year we went 2-3 times a month and always came home with $25-30 worth of books or more.

One day I was cleaning off my shelves and began picking out books to give to a neighbor. These were books I had already read and did not want to keep. I made a stack of books in a paper bag and then wondered how much money those books had cost me. I added up the price on the books and was astonished to see that I was giving away over $200 worth of books! I was astonished and amazed!! That was the moment that I decided to use our very nice library.


Now I go, check out books I want to read on many subjects, renew them online if I have not finished them by the due date, keep them as long as I want--even if I am traveling, and return them when I am finished. I have found only one book on oil painting that I would like to keep and may order a copy for my shelves. Otherwise, the library is a great place for me to save many, many dollars. It is also a great way to de-clutter my house. No more unwanted books to dispose of when I finish reading them.


For more money-saving ideas go to Barbara's post on ways to be prepared during this difficult financial time.

3 comments:

  1. Pat, thanks for linking to my site. God bless.

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  2. We LOVE the library! (If we could just turn in our books on time, we'd save a lot more money!)

    Have you heard of Paperback Swap? You list books you are willing to mail to others and you get credits to request books. You are out only the cost of mailing. We got a hardback unabridged edition of The Complete Chronicles of Narnia and many other books this way.

    We love it!

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  3. Ms. Smockity, I have read about the Paperback Swap on your blog. It sounds interesting, but, for me, the trip to the Library is right on my way to the store or to church and serves my needs at this time in my life. Simplify, simplify, simplify!

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