This one simple move could save you hundreds per year.
In 2015, a small group of friends and I decided to start a book club where we could all read Lena Dunham’s new book, ‘Not That Kind of Girl’ together. We set the dates, and one of my friends went to the store to purchase a copy for each of us. I remember feeling uneasy paying $25 for my copy. After all, this was in the middle of my student loan pay-off and $25 for a book I wasn’t sure I’d even like or want to keep felt irresponsible. But nonetheless, I paid for it and joined the 5 week book club – which unfortunately lasted all of 2 weeks. I eventually finished reading the book on my own and went to sell it the next year (excellent, like new condition) – I tried to sell it on eBay and a Facebook buy/sell/trade page for $8-$10. Nine months passed before I eventually sold it for $1 at a garage sale.
Which brings me here… to the library.
“The library? No thanks.”
This is usually the response after I tell people most of my media comes from the library. There is some type of stigma around libraries in the eyes of millennials these days. And I’m not quite sure why – maybe it’s a convenience thing. The new normal is now paying a higher premium to have something show up at our door versus going to pick it up, even if it is right around the corner. The library is one area I refuse to be ‘normal’ in. My hope is that once people know just how much they are missing out on, and overpaying for, the library will serve as their new go-to.
THE PROS:
- A library card is super easy to get… for free.
- Almost every new book is available for you to check-out either in paper, CD audio, or digital form… for free.
- If there is a book you can’t find in the directory, you can submit a request for them to purchase it… for free.
- You can check out 100 items at once. That’s DVD’s, CD’s, games, and books…. for free.
- You can places holds to be on a short wait list for popular items that may be already checked out… for free.
- You can make future reading lists and see your entire check-out history to know what you’ve already read/listened to… for free.
- There is a steaming service which comes along with the library card called Hoopa that allows you to download music, movies, and books via their website and app to your phone/computer/iPad. And i’m not just talking about old classical music or black and white movies. You can find the latest Taylor Swift album as well as some of your favorite movies… for free.
- There are no overdue fees so if you forget to renew, are a slow reader, or just procrastinate enjoying your item, no worries, keep the item as long as you need… for free.
- Less clutter in your house! You can gain the knowledge and enjoyment of these books/games/CD’s/DVD’s without having to buy multiple shelves in your house to hold all of these dust collectors. You just return the item and it’s eliminated from your junk… for free.
- Did I mention this is all for free…
THE CONS:
- If you are renting a physical copy of something, you have to go pick it up. The Nashville area has 21 libraries; so the odds are, there is one close to you in your area.
- You can’t highlight or write in the margins. I keep a ‘What I’ve Read’ journal beside me while I am reading; if the author makes a great point or I have some notes, I simply write it in my notebook to refer back to – problem solved.
This is a financial blog afterall so let’s do some math… Below are 8 books I have read in the past year or so. According to Google, the average number of books a person reads in a year is 12. Since the average person doesn’t only read self-help books like it seems I do, for this example, I am going to include 4 of the top-selling books also within the last year(ish) to round out the 12 total books. Some might argue they find it more convenient to order on Amazon then going to say, Target to purchase – especially if they have Prime. So for this example, I will price out buying a new (physical) book both at Target and on Amazon:
If you purchased on Amazon: $192.42
You have to wait at least 2 days to get your book, but it gets delivered brand spankin’ new to your front door.
If you purchased on Target: $214.14
Dare I say most don’t feel their book purchases here; after observing my own friends, a new ‘it’ book might just be something you nonchalantly throw in your growing cart because it caught your eye on a display. Target is good like that.
If you went to the library: $FREE
Sure, you have to go pick it up (just like you would at Target). But it usually takes less than 1 minute to reserve it online – and once you get to the actual library, 2 minutes to find your name in the hold section, pick up your items, and check them out. Also, 9 times out of 10, thanks to self-serve kiosks, you don’t have to have any human interaction.
BONUS HACK
There’ve been some books I needed to own and have on my shelf after reading them. I knew I wanted to highlight everywhere, write in the margins, and re-visit it several more times. For books like that, I go to eBay, a used book store in Nashville called McKays, or even Goodwill. I have found ebay to by most convenient since you can usually buy the book from a person or used bookstore in great (sometimes even new) condition with fast shipping without having to go to several stores hoping for it to be there.
Let’s say you decided to keep 3 of the 12 books above so you went to eBay to order a used book [in good condition]:
So, to make sure we are on the same page here 😉 … I would much rather read 12 books for free, pick the (in this case, 3) books that stood out to me as keepers, and go about my life knowing I spent $24.75 on books this year rather than $200. I’ll also feel better about not having to make space in my house on a shelf somewhere for the other 9 books I’ll likely end up selling for $1 at a garage sale in a few years.
This whole example was just for one year. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess some of you have been purchasing brand new books online and in stores for much longer than one year. Financially speaking, the little things add up. I hope shedding some light on this one small area of saving can help you win with you bigger financial picture.
Not sure if there are libraries around you? Click here for a locator.
Happy reading!