One of the sure fire ways to save money that is touted here and everywhere is to cancel cable service. Whether you cancel the whole thing or just pare down to the smallest package for network stations, you’re left with a fair chunk of time to do something else. Again, another suggestion to take up that time is to read a book. I completely agree. Depending on the book, it can be entertaining or educational or both.
One of the downsides to taking up reading is that even a paperback book can cost almost $10 at most of the bookstores. Amazon is slightly better, but not by much. The all time cheapest way to read a book is from your local library. The downfall there, of course, is that you have to return the book in a set amount of time. That puts the pressure on to read the book or to remember to go in and re-check-out the book. I don’t like to be rushed and I have a horrible memory for errands like that, so I prefer to buy the books that I read.
With our current situation, I am unable to buy as many books as I once did and now depend largely on gifts for my new book purchases. Yay Amazon gift cards! Another way that I’ve found to get my hands on a book cheaply is to swap it. I think there are a few places to swap books, but the one that I’ve been using is PaperBack Swap. It works on a credit system, so each book that you list and send to someone else gets you a credit to request a book from someone else. All you have to do is pay for the shipping to get it where it’s going. You get a new book for about $2.38. That’s quite the deal if you ask me.
So far, I’ve only gotten a few books, but I’m picking up steam and I may start looking at my local thrift store for books to swap for books that I want to read. If there are any of you who are using a different service, please let me know what they are. I’d like to check them all out. They’re just another way to become a Frugaler!
I started this blog to share what I know and what I was learning about personal finance. Along the way I’ve met and found many blogging friends. Please feel free to connect with me on the Beating Broke accounts: Twitter and Facebook.
You can also connect with me personally at Novelnaut, Thatedeguy, Shane Ede, and my personal Twitter.
I like reading Kindle books. I don’t actually have a Kindle, but just use the free apps they provide. Works great and there are lots of ways to find books for free or almost free. BookBub.com is one I like. Wrote about some others at http://moremoneythanmonth.com/blog/5-ways-to-find-free-books-for-the-kindle/ I have close to 200 books in my Kindle app now and probably have paid less than $300 for all of them. It’s great.