There’s no denying it, the economy is in the toilet. We’re making less money, necessary items are more expensive and the stock market and banks are rocky, rocky, rocky. Lots of bad news surround us. I can barely stand to watch the news, it’s so depressing.
In my household we’ve cut back on a lot of extra expenses in order to gain some money in the bank account. But there’s one thing I just can’t cut back on. Books.
I need them almost as much as I need my diet Coke (and trust me that is saying a LOT). I lurve reading, I lose myself in reading on a daily basis. Heck, without those books then I’m left facing reality all of the time and right now, who wants to do that?
I’d rather browse the aisles at a book store or browse the pages of a website and buy books. Hey, I’ll give up a cup of Starbucks for a good read (that is also saying a LOT). I think reading feeds me, mellows out my brain, fuels my fantasy life, leaves me with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. Yes, all of the above.
I don’t plan on giving that up. Life is too short to get all caught up in the muck and negativity. I’m not saying I want to run away from reality but I don’t have a problem putting it on hold for a while. And reading a good book allows me to do that.
So what say you? What have you given up in order to keep reading? Or have you cut back on the book budget in order to make it right now? Discuss.
~ Karen
http://karenwritesromance.com
To save money, I spent money…. That just doesn’t sound right, but it’s what I did.
I recently decided that my addiction had gotten out of hand. I was going to the book store a couple of times a week and dropping a bundle each time (it’s a cathartic experience, bad day= buy books). So, I tried to cut back. That did not work, not at all. I tried the library, but I like to read the books shortly after they come out. Some of the library’s waiting lists are huge.
I thought about it for a while and decided that an eReader might be a solution to my problem. I did some research and the Kindle seemed to have 60-80% of the books that I like to read available on it and the price point per book was cheaper than what I was baying at the store (even with my discount card).
After using the Kindle for a few months I have realized that I had effectively changed the way I was spending money on books. Now I have a better plan for book buying.
I’ll do my surfing to see what is coming out that I am interested in and add it to my private wish list. After the book is released, I’ll check to see if it’s available in Kindle format or eBook (since you can send a PDF to your Kindle). If it’s not, I’ll start to read some reviews and either request it from the library or just leave it on the wish list.
I’ll be honest, I still go to the book store to browse. But now I take my Kindle and after I am done browsing I sit down with a nice cup of tea and sort through my pile to see if anything I have selected is available on the Kindle. If it is, I’ll add it to my save for later list, if not I’ll read the first few pages to see if the book captures my interest and I am willing to purchase it.
These changes have not only saved money on the straight purchase of books, but it’s also helping me just purchase the book that I want to read right now. Instead of purchasing a bunch of books at the store that I’ll read eventually, I am purchasing books as I read. This is much better on the budget and keeps my TBR pile under control.
And every so often I’ll check out Meijer, their prices beat the book store and Kindle.
That is how I spent money to save money…
Hi Karen, for me it was giving up meals out and some other stuff too. I’m in Michigan, the state with the worst unemployment, and in the top 10 of the worst of just about everything else bad. LOL
Luckily. I discovered ebooks this year and marvel of marvels, I also discovered their authors having contests for BOOKS. WOW!!!
At first I jumped on them all. But I have become much more selective now and only enter if I know and like the author, OR if it’s a new author that I’ve seen great excerpts from.
sandie * books are the breath of life *
Writing has curbed my book buying habit. LOL But I still manage to sneak one or two books a week in. We rarely eat out, except to grab a tea and a bagel, so that saves me some money.
Gotta have books.
Karen I knew we were kindred spirits, and now I am even more convinced. Diet Coke is my one and only vice!
I lurve it, and books too.
Looks like we’re all doing the same things though I still haven’t invested in an ebook reader and I really really want to…
I haven’t given up anything, really. I don’t buy that many books because I have so many in my TBR pile. If something new comes out, I buy it or one of my friends buys it and we share. It’s always been that way. Although, I have been trying to cut back on unnecessary spending in general. I buy too much crap. lol