Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Mid-Month Money Manifesto - Month 5

Here we are, 1/3 of the way through the year.  I can't believe how fast this year is going!  One of my goals this year that related to my finances was to not buy any books.

I am happy to report that I have achieved that goal so far and have not bought a single book!! 

This may not seem like a big deal, but if you know me well, you know how much I love to read (and buy) books!  How have I achieved this goal so far?  By using the library like it's my job.  I am fortunate to live really close to one, so it's easy to stop by after work to drop books off or pick books up.  And I borrow as many e-reader books as possible because I actually prefer reading on my nook these days (I never thought I'd say that!). 

Growing up, I never had access to a library, as we lived in this tiny town, so it's been nice to utilize this service as an adult.  It's not a perfect system, of course, as I feel our wait lists for books can be ridiculous (like some books have 600+ people waiting for a copy), but I always have something to read.  I also love checking out audio books for those boring drives home and to the lake. 

I still haven't tapped into my personal library as much as I thought I would (I've got shelves upon shelves of unread books), but I'll get to that eventually.  And I've still got gift cards that I received for my birthday from friends and family that I plan to use when/if one of my book clubs selects a book I haven't read.  But I really think I can go an entire year without spending any money on books - which is pretty miraculous for me to say (I don't even want to add up what I spent on books in the past). 

Do you use your local library?  Do you buy a lot of books like I used to?  I do plan to resume buying books after this year is over as I'd love to have a room with a wall of books some day!

18 comments:

abbi said...

I'm ashamed to admit I've never been to our local library and we've lived here 7 years! I'm definitely a book-buyer when there is one I want to read!

Becky said...

This is awesome! I'm actually not a big book buyer - I use the library a lot too - but imposing a "no book buying rule" for yourself and being able to stick to it is pretty hardcore!

Marlys said...

Wow, I truly did not think you would be able to achieve that goal! WRONG!! When you set your mind to something, you make it happen!

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

Right after I started teaching I realized just *how much* money I was spending on books and broke out the old library card. It was from fourth grade and it said my name with three exclamation marks after it, ha! Needless to say they laughed at me at the library and gave me a more updated card. I go to the library at least once a week. It's part of a whole network so I can pick up and drop off books where I work or where I live, which is nice and request books from other libraries. I really don't know what I would do without the library, between kids books and books for me :)

I love the wall of books idea!

missris said...

I use the library all the time!! If I didn't, I'd be in the poor house from buying so many books.

Carolina John said...

Kelley loves getting stuff from the library. I prefer the kindle free books but will get something from the library instead of paying for it.

Unknown said...

I love the library.

We also both use our library accounts to check out books on our ereaders.

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

You already know how I feel about the library, and buying books. I love what Kelly said about the library card! I did the same thing. I took my childhood library card in, which was made from green paper and had my name typed on it. They laughed at me and gave me an electronic one. I love my home library; there is usually only a hold of one or two people! In Oakland, the holds can be longer, but nothing like your 600 person waits! Crazy!

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

I do use my library and I love it. i've tried not to buy any books unless needed for book club or at garage sales. I still havent read all the books I got at Christmas.

Leigh said...

I had a library card but it has expired. Really need to fix that! I just find that my library is out of the way and books take so long to get (there are lots of people in my city!), that sometimes it's not worth it.

Nilsa @ SoMi Speaks said...

Congrats on buying zero books! We were at Gavin's cousins' house over the weekend and they were trying to collect the TWENTY-SEVEN childrens' books they had taken out from the library! Plus, Chicago libraries have free day passes to the museums (that you take out like a book). As Gavin gets a bit older, I know we're going to utilize the library a whole lot more than we do right now!

J said...

I hardly every buy books - I bought the hunger games to take with me on vacation but that is it. I just use the library all the time. SO much cheaper!

Alli said...

Good for you. I am obsessed with the library. In NYC it's so easy too because you can pick up your books at the location of your choice and drop them back off at any location. I pretty much always pick them up at the branch near my work on my lunch hour and when I'm finished I just drop them at whatever branch I'm closest to.

Amber said...

That's so great! I do use my library a lot. I don't buy as many books anymore as I used to. I haven't bought one since the beginning of the year so that's pretty good. I am probably going to buy insurgent on my e-reader soon though!

Cherry Blossoms said...

That is awesome! I haven't bought a book for myself in a long time. I have used the library on a regular basis for a good two years now. We buy a lot of books for Elle on Amazon. A lot cheaper than B and N.

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

I haven't been signed out books from the library since I was a kid or maybe a teenager. I really should though, because I spend waaaaay too much on books.

Anonymous said...

GOOD FOR YOU. Not buying books seems like a great idea in theory for me... But I work in a bookstore. And summer is the quietest season. This leaves all too much free time to SHOP. I've been doing really well these last couple weeks but I buy so many books on a regular basis it's crazy! I'm trying really hard not to right now. I wish I lived close to a library, too! I have a membership to one but it's not exactly a walk down the street. I really should make the effort though.

marybeth said...

I have been a "library rat" for years, in spite of living in small towns, I have been so very fortunate to have had excellent local libraries, and librarians who were on top of their professions. Let's hope our governments, local and state, keep funding these gems. As a former reading teacher, I always encouraged my 'kids' to use their local libraries, and were so thankful for parents who encouraged and helped their children in doing that.