As I am writing this post, I just added a book to my shopping cart on Amazon. And I am currently reading 2 and still have others to get to. Overspending on books can quickly become a reality if you love to read. It is one thing to love books and it is another to break the bank buying books! A few dollars here and there quickly add up. And by the time you realize it, you would have spent tons of money in bookstores, on Amazon… However, there are ways you can avoid overspending on books. Here are 6 of them:
This one is tough for avid readers and impulsive book buyers! They don’t want to miss out on any good book that is released! However, they end up buying books only to let them sit for a few weeks/months before they open them.
I have been guilty of this too! But after taking an inventory of the books I currently own and haven’t opened yet, I asked myself if there were any of the books I could read before purchasing another one – I would still add books to my shopping cart and save them for later!
By going through that exercise, I ended up with 2-3 books I thought I could read before spending money on another book. And of course, there are additional books sitting here waiting to be read! This brings me to the second way we can avoid overspending on books.
We’ve all probably read books we thought were boring or wished we had not bought. Instead of keeping them on the bookshelf, why not sell them? Even for less than what we paid for. This additional money can go towards the purchase of other books. Therefore, we should occasionally clean up our bookshelves and see if there are any books we feel comfortable selling. I know for a fact that some books are to keep! These are the books I would like to have on my bookshelf even if I’m not planning to read them again!
Paper books tend to be more expensive than digital (e.g., kindle version) or audio (e.g., audible) books. Personally, there are certain books I would love to have in paper copies so I can take notes, highlight and go back to them as needed. This is especially true for self-help books! However, for fiction books or books that I previously read but just want a refresher on, audio can do the trick. So as much as we can, we should try to switch between paper, digital and audio books to save a few dollars.
This is another way to save money on books. Yet again, there are always some books that are very dear to us that we want to make sure we get brand new copies of. However, if you are planning to purchase a book with no intent to keep it after you have read it, buy a used one. You can pass it on to someone else later or resell it. And talking about passing it on to someone else, here is our fifth way to avoid overspending on books.
As you purchase a book, see if there is anyone you know who might be interested in reading it. Once you’re done reading, they can borrow it from you and maybe lend you a book they have and that you would like to read. This is a very easy way to avoid overspending on books. Even in a book club setting, members of the club who live in the same area can manage to pass the book to each other.
This is a perfect option if you don’t care much about holding on to books after you’ve read them. It is also a great way to get through books faster. In fact, because public libraries only allow you to have books checked out for a set number of days, this can motivate you to read faster. Just keep in mind that you may not necessarily find new releases there; however, you should be able to have a lot to select from.
How do you avoid overspending on books?
Until next time,
Huguette