Money-Saving Tips for Readers

I’m guessing that anyone reading this who knows me well will probably laugh at the thought of me sharing how to spend less on books. In truth, my family probably spends more money on books than any other “just for fun” area. We also choose to forgo other things in favor of having money for reading: as a family we don’t spend a lot on new technology or family outings to places that cost money; personally, I don’t get pedicures, only get my hair cut about once a year, and rarely buy new skincare, makeup, and hair products. I’m definitely not telling you to cut any of these things out of your budget in favor of spending more on books; but I do know that expense can be a hang-up for many when it comes to reading, so let’s talk through some things you can do to save money in this area.

1. Use your library. Let’s go ahead and get the obvious one out of the way: if you’re not currently using the library, please start! Libraries are such a valuable part of our communities, and there are many who believe them in danger of disappearing because of how underused they are today. I’ll be honest and say I use the library for my kids way more than for myself, mainly because most of the books I read aren’t mainstream and are usually harder to find at the library. But it can be helpful to try out books here that you aren’t sure you will like since you don’t have to spend anything on them. If you start reading and realize it’s not your thing, then just return it, no harm done to your budget! My husband takes our kids to the library about once a week for a special outing with Daddy, and they come home loaded down with books. My oldest two get super excited when they find a new addition to a favorite series or a book on whatever topic they’re currently obsessed with (health and animals were definitely the favorites this past school year). This is a great way to encourage new readers to find books they’re interested in, too. I also try to look for books I want to read aloud (both for our homeschool and just for fun) at the library, although I tend to use it more for picture books than chapter books, which leads me to my next point…

2. Check ThriftBooks. This is my favorite place to get read-aloud chapter books. I ordered 11 of the Dear America books to read aloud next school year for under $60! It is so easy to go straight to Amazon because it’s what’s convenient, but ThriftBooks are actually super easy to use and the prices are often around half of what you spend on Amazon. Most items ship free if you spend at least $15 and you can get rewards if you use it enough! Super new releases are sometimes hard to find here, but most of the time you can find any other titles easily. They also carry a lot of out of print titles which are usually hard to find. Depending on which ThriftBooks facility they’re shipping from, they often get to my house as fast as Amazon (although I live in Montana where Amazon Prime shipping often takes close to a week 🥴).

3. Take advantage of Amazon’s sales. Amazon will run sales a couple times a year where you can buy two select books and get 1 free; these are great if you read a lot of popular fiction and nonfiction, but sometimes I’ll find ones on it that are less well-known, too.

4. Start a Scribd membership . Scribd is a bit like Audible and Kindle Unlimited combined; not all books are on there, but quite a few. I personally use it mainly for digital reading, but that’s just because I don’t enjoy audiobooks. Warning: if you use Scribd a lot, it will lock you out of books when you search for them and even make some of the ones on your saved list unavailable. But for $11.99 a month, you really are able to read A LOT here, and I definitely think it’s worth the money. You can also sign in on multiple devices, so it’s easy to share with a spouse or other family member.

5. Find a friend to share with. Personally, I think this works best if you have a family member or friend who has very similar reading tastes to you. Anyone who has read for a long time has experienced the awkwardness of a friend lending you a book and then realizing you don’t actually want to read said book; then it sits on your shelf forever because how do you return it without dealing with the awkward question of “what you thought of it”? My sister and I regularly swap books, but I know I am going to like pretty much anything she does and vice versa. And I know I won’t hurt her feelings if for some reason I don’t like it!

I’m so thankful to live in a country where I have endless access to the written word; there are still so many in the world who won’t experience this in their lifetime. But as Mark Twain is credited with saying, “The man who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.” With a few extra and simple steps you can easily stock your home with great books for yourself and your kids.