Saving Money on Books
I love to read and one of the luxuries that lifts my spirits is browsing in a bookstore and finally purchasing my favorite item that I had browsed through. Since reading is such a great way to learn new things, I consider book buying a good investment. However, there are increasing ways to save money on books and to take advantage of many free or low cost options:
–Libraries — Everyone knows of the greatness of public libraries which now have an array of books, CD’s DVD’s and other materials. Additionally, most libraries allow patrons to request books, both those that are already checked out as well as creating a list of new books to order.
–Paperback Swap– trade your existing books that you’ve finished reading and receive books that you want.
–Host your own book swap party — Invite a group of people to bring books they want to trade and have a fun evening where everyone brings a set of books and leaves with new titles. It’s a great way to start up conversations on your favorite reads.
–Look for used books — there are now several sources to look for used books including Amazon marketplace and E-bay, these are especially good for textbooks.
–Explore the burgeoning world of e-books. There are now many e-books and e-book libraries where electronic or PDF versions of books can be read.
–Trade in books that you don’t wish to keep — I tend to keep my books, but recently have been selling those that I really don’t wish to keep. There are various sites including Cash4books.
shared at Frugal Friday
I was a former book buyer who then had to go through the painful purge to get rid of books I purchased (but never read) to make room in my very small home. I don’t miss them at all! I do still buy books (but usually after I’ve read them at the library and know I want my own copy), but I no longer fear moving. It was a great release. I gladly pay my library fines to support it. Granted, I live in a market with a fantastic public library system….
I also make it known to people when they borrow books that there is a no pressure return policy.
LDH, another library lover. The public library here has a good on-line renewal and notification system. They send you an email and remind you to renew 3 days before the item is due, and you can renew quickly on their website. This has saved me a lot of overdue fines!
Thanks for visiting.
Hi there, just wanted to let you in on another great site, it’s called swaptree. You just have to pay shipping like with paperback swap but I think it’s cool because you list your books and request others, then when someone who has one of your requests wants one of your books you trade! I’ve tried both and can say I def like swaptree better! It’s also cool because you can get movies and video games too.
Jenn, thanks for the info on swaptree. I’ll check it out.