Books aren’t always cheap. You seem to stretch the boundaries of your budget whenever you decide to bring a haul back from your favorite bookstore. Is there a way that you can keep up with your favorite hobby without going broke?
These are some tips that will help you save money on books from now on.
Go Through Your TBR
Have you heard of the Japanese term Tsundoku? Tsundoku means a habit of buying books that you don’t end up reading. Your to-be-read pile is enormous, and yet, you still decide to buy more books instead of opening a single cover.
If you’re participating in Tsundoku, you need to stop for the sake of your budget (and your shelving space). Make it a goal to tackle your TBR pile before you bring any new titles into your home. Going through the gems that you already own should keep you occupied for a long time and save you a lot of money.
Use that Library Card
A library card is the ultimate money-saving tool. With this card, you can borrow books from the nearest libraries without having to spend a single cent. And if the libraries don’t have any of the titles that you’re dying to read, you can put in a request. They might just order a copy of the book for you.
What if you prefer to read e-books? Or even audiobooks? Your library card can still help you with that. The app Libby by Overdrive can let you borrow multiple titles from the app’s digital library as long as you have an active library card.
Go to a Little Free Library
Little Free Library is a non-profit organization that encourages community members to set up public book exchange boxes. Pedestrians are encouraged to pick out a book from the box and leave a book behind. You can download the Little Free Library mobile app to find boxes that are closest to your location.
Host a Book Swap
Do you know a lot of other bookworms? Then, why not host a book swap with them? In a book swap, you can bring over a pile of books that you’ve already finished and don’t want on your shelves anymore. The other swap guests will do the same. You’ll get to sort through the pile of books and pick out the titles that you’re interested in without having to spend anything.
Become a Reviewer
You can get access to free books when you become a reviewer. Once you accept a review request, you will receive an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) — this is a version of the book before it’s been officially published. All you have to do is read it and write a review. Websites like NetGalley, Reedsy Discovery and Goodreads are all popular places to look for review opportunities.
Getting Back on Budget
All of these tips will help you keep up with your hobby without having to spend any money. You can use all of the savings from these new habits to change your finances. You can bulk up your budget, or you can start to build an emergency fund.
You can even use the savings to pay down a credit card or personal loan repayment plan. After all, cutting back on non-essential expenses is just one of the ways you can pay off debt faster. If you’re still worried, you can read more tips to pay off your debt — whether it’s for credit cards or personal loans — and take them to heart. They could really come in handy.
Your reading hobby doesn’t have to cost you a fortune. You can be a bookworm for free.
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