Reading Well on a Budget
May 5th 2009 12:43
If you’re anything like me - and if you’re reading blogs you possibly are – then you love to read. I’ll read just about anything I can get my hands on but even though I love reading blogs etc, I love a good book and the occasional magazines.
I don’t think you can beat a book, curling up in bed with a coffee reading is pure bliss.
Books are now anything from $18 to $25 for a paperback and skyrocket once you get into hardcover territory. (These are all based on Aussie prices but I’m sure they are equally as expensive OS.)
If you live near a local library then I suggest you make use of it. Many of us, in these days of instant gratification shopping, forget these wonderful places. You can borrow books, read magazines and newspapers and with most even use the internet – some even provide free Wi-Fi hotspots so you can take your laptop. But if you don’t have one close by, or just don’t like them, here are a few suggestions to save money for the avid reader.
Do you work in place that has more than say 20 staff? Start a ‘book club – lending library’. I know it sounds very nerdy but we have one in my office and it’s fabulous. Set aside a place, usually an unused cupboard, and get the other staff in on it. Many people like to keep the books they buy – I’m one of them if it’s a loved title. But often when we are finished with them they sit on a shelf never to see the light of day again. With an workplace book club, people just put their unwanted books in the cupboard for others to take. With ours, we pay $1 per book which we donate to charity but I think another good idea is that you don’t take a book out unless you are putting a book in and when you are finished return it so that others can read it too. You would be surprised how many people you can get involved and it’s a wonderful source of material. Our cupboards currently hold around 200 titles! They are not all crappy old out of date books either.
Share books with friends. If you have the same taste then swap books when you have finished reading them. A friend and I are both into dystopian novels at the moment so we are sharing what we read, I’ll buy one title and he’ll but another and then we swap. We also get together to buy online to make use of the discounts.
Use second hand book stores. You can get almost anything at sometimes less than half of what you would pay for the new book.
Buy books from large discount department stores. Here you will have a much more limited selection but places like Big W, K-Mart and Target sell their books for 20-35% off the RRP. That’s a huge saving and this is where I buy a lot of my books. I’d really love to support actual bookstores but I want to support my wallet even more so the big chains get my dollars.
Online bookstores can save you large amounts as well. Just don’t get caught by the postage amount. If it negates your discount it’s absolutely pointless for money saving. My favourite online bookstore in Australia is fishpond.com.au. They package things up really well, post quickly, have genuine discounts on books, music and DVDs and if you spend over $50 at once (buy books with your friends if you can’t afford it), the postage is free. Of course everyone knows about Amazon. The range is huge and you can buy new or used. If you’re buying from in the US or Canada, they also have great postage deals.
If you buy glossy magazines stop and think about how much you are spending each week! They are very costly. I used to pick up a mag to read on the train but found most of them are chock full of ads and bore me to tears so I now take books or pick up the free newspaper that is given out each afternoon in Sydney called MX.
The average Cosmo, Cleo, Marie Claire type magazine for women costs around $8 per issue. PC, tech, science, motoring, movie and music magazines run at about the same (not sure about the magazines wrapped in plastic guys, do they charge by square centimeter of flesh?).
Weekly gossip mags are the worst at around $3.50 to $6 and if you buy two or three of them a week as I’ve seen many people do that adds up to serious amount of cash. If you really can’t go without knowing if Britney has shaved her head, or is off her head, or if Paris Hilton has been caught knickerless…again…then get together with one or two friends that also buy them and buy one each and swap them over to the next person. While you are buying Marie Claire a friend could be buying InStyle if they’re what floats your boat. Or once again, set a reading area where you work and ask people to drop off their magazines when they are finished rather than throw them out. A staff kitchen is a good spot.
And don’t forget online. You can read most newspapers online and there are loads of sites that cover every imaginable topic and you obviously have access to a computer or you wouldn’t be reading this. Almost any topic you can find in a magazine you can find online. If you’re on dial-up it can be very slow loading pictures and make sure you don’t go over your download limit.
I don’t think you can beat a book, curling up in bed with a coffee reading is pure bliss.
Books are now anything from $18 to $25 for a paperback and skyrocket once you get into hardcover territory. (These are all based on Aussie prices but I’m sure they are equally as expensive OS.)
If you live near a local library then I suggest you make use of it. Many of us, in these days of instant gratification shopping, forget these wonderful places. You can borrow books, read magazines and newspapers and with most even use the internet – some even provide free Wi-Fi hotspots so you can take your laptop. But if you don’t have one close by, or just don’t like them, here are a few suggestions to save money for the avid reader.
Do you work in place that has more than say 20 staff? Start a ‘book club – lending library’. I know it sounds very nerdy but we have one in my office and it’s fabulous. Set aside a place, usually an unused cupboard, and get the other staff in on it. Many people like to keep the books they buy – I’m one of them if it’s a loved title. But often when we are finished with them they sit on a shelf never to see the light of day again. With an workplace book club, people just put their unwanted books in the cupboard for others to take. With ours, we pay $1 per book which we donate to charity but I think another good idea is that you don’t take a book out unless you are putting a book in and when you are finished return it so that others can read it too. You would be surprised how many people you can get involved and it’s a wonderful source of material. Our cupboards currently hold around 200 titles! They are not all crappy old out of date books either.
Share books with friends. If you have the same taste then swap books when you have finished reading them. A friend and I are both into dystopian novels at the moment so we are sharing what we read, I’ll buy one title and he’ll but another and then we swap. We also get together to buy online to make use of the discounts.
Use second hand book stores. You can get almost anything at sometimes less than half of what you would pay for the new book.
Buy books from large discount department stores. Here you will have a much more limited selection but places like Big W, K-Mart and Target sell their books for 20-35% off the RRP. That’s a huge saving and this is where I buy a lot of my books. I’d really love to support actual bookstores but I want to support my wallet even more so the big chains get my dollars.
Online bookstores can save you large amounts as well. Just don’t get caught by the postage amount. If it negates your discount it’s absolutely pointless for money saving. My favourite online bookstore in Australia is fishpond.com.au. They package things up really well, post quickly, have genuine discounts on books, music and DVDs and if you spend over $50 at once (buy books with your friends if you can’t afford it), the postage is free. Of course everyone knows about Amazon. The range is huge and you can buy new or used. If you’re buying from in the US or Canada, they also have great postage deals.
If you buy glossy magazines stop and think about how much you are spending each week! They are very costly. I used to pick up a mag to read on the train but found most of them are chock full of ads and bore me to tears so I now take books or pick up the free newspaper that is given out each afternoon in Sydney called MX.
The average Cosmo, Cleo, Marie Claire type magazine for women costs around $8 per issue. PC, tech, science, motoring, movie and music magazines run at about the same (not sure about the magazines wrapped in plastic guys, do they charge by square centimeter of flesh?).
Weekly gossip mags are the worst at around $3.50 to $6 and if you buy two or three of them a week as I’ve seen many people do that adds up to serious amount of cash. If you really can’t go without knowing if Britney has shaved her head, or is off her head, or if Paris Hilton has been caught knickerless…again…then get together with one or two friends that also buy them and buy one each and swap them over to the next person. While you are buying Marie Claire a friend could be buying InStyle if they’re what floats your boat. Or once again, set a reading area where you work and ask people to drop off their magazines when they are finished rather than throw them out. A staff kitchen is a good spot.
And don’t forget online. You can read most newspapers online and there are loads of sites that cover every imaginable topic and you obviously have access to a computer or you wouldn’t be reading this. Almost any topic you can find in a magazine you can find online. If you’re on dial-up it can be very slow loading pictures and make sure you don’t go over your download limit.
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Comment by moonglow
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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i buy so many books from Borders now, i just love the range they have, and the reference computers to locate whats in-store, everything is so easy there!
i also like online bookstores, esp Co-op Bookshop, i joined when i was at uni (although you dont need to be a student to purchase a membership card) and i get a lifetime discount on all books, particularly good for non-fiction titles
eBay can have some good used book bargains too
you have alot of great cooperative and sharing ideas here, Cheryl . . . great work!
Comment by Natalina
My Life My Muse
Beta Girl Blog
There is a Goodwill near my home that has a new selection of books every week. I don't know who is getting rid of all of these wonderful titles, but they sell hardcovers for 1.00 and paperback for .75. Can't beat that!
Oh by the way, I am about half way through that book I was telling you about then it is yours! It is so far a thoroughly good read!
Comment by Jason King
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Comment by Cheryl J
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Zentertainment
Budget Centsability
Hello Lady Morgana. Yes it would be hard to start an office book club if your office consists of just you
Hi NatalinaYour text goes here, you and Moonglow seem to gave the same idea. I can't believe you can get books so cheap! sharing with friends is great because apart from the cost savings you get to talk about it later
Howdy Jason, can I come work with you? You are a library unto yourself and very generous
Comment by Cheryl J
Rhythmatism
Zentertainment
Budget Centsability
Comment by Janet Collins
Acceptable Etiquette
The Social Critic
Janet Collins Blog
Great ideas all around.
Comment by Cheryl J
Rhythmatism
Zentertainment
Budget Centsability
It's amazing the books you find. I didn't think many people would have my taste in books either but I've picked up a few little beauties. The magazine exchange works well too. It's amazing how much people spend on magazines, thumb through them and throw them out. We share them now. I'm not a big magazine reader anymore but I get to flick through them without parting with my cash
Comment by Dianna G
I Wish This Was 42
Fictional Worlds
I know this post is old but I just had to comment. In Canada, or at least in the majority of Ontario, paperbacks are usually between $10-$15 and hardcovers between $15-25.
Personally all my relatives are big readers too so sometimes I just scan their own personal libraries and ask if I can borrow something, but I haven't been reading as many actual books of late, most of my reading has been online. I go through phases of online reading and phases of book reading.
~Dianna