Book Frugality
April 7, 2007
In what may seem to most PF bloggers a ridiculously simple and obvious frugal move, I’ve gone and renewed my library card. For various reasons (accessibility, doubts that they had anything I’d not read yet, etc.) I haven’t been to our public library in years. The one time I did go there to study last summer, I found the upstairs to be resoundingly noisy and annoying with children running around, talking at the top of their lungs and eating. Shocked to my very soul, I haven’t been back since.
This afternoon’s visit was much more sedate and satisfying. They couldn’t find my library membership from a decade ago, but didn’t require my birth certificate, utility bills and passport to verify my identity. Though I did have the utility bills in my purse, they were none of them in my name, and would have been useless. Happily, the library has relaxed their standards just enough to allow even a reprobate like me to borrow a few books. I was only allowed three since it was my “first visit” but I’ll just come back tomorrow and heave home another armful of books. How reminiscent of my childhood this is!
AND, I’ve got reading materials galore without violating my no-spend parole. Happy day!
Yeah, I have done the same thing, and I’ve tried to stop buying books on Amazon.com
Ah, yes, avoiding Amazon.com/Borders is quite critical. I have to go back to my college days strategy of only buying with credit card rewards GCs, now.
Library cards are good in most cases.
The only time I don’t wouldn’t use a library card is for computer books, programming books which I need to own and use regularly.
Otherwise, the library contains many timeless books, magazines etc which you only need to read once!