Money Saving Monday #29 - Libraries!

How often do you go to the library?  We go at least once a week, sometimes twice!  Our library has limited hours, which means we have to plan well in order to make it there when it's open, but I love the library and always have!

I read many, many books throughout the year.  For a while, I was tracking the books on this blog, and I would often read 15 - 25 books a month. I think that's probably still true, maybe a bit higher when I consider books that I use for prepping a class.  Definitely higher when I count in children's books!

The library allows me to read a wide variety of books without investing a penny. I rarely buy fiction but borrow it from the library instead. I borrow cookbooks from the library before deciding to purchase them.  I borrow tons of non-fiction and research books from the library.

Colin loves to read series, and I encourage him to borrow them from the library whenever possible. Nate loves non-fiction books, and will often come home with books about robots, volcanoes, and how-to-draw. Bo likes to read mysteries and downloads books from the library to read on his Sony e-Reader.

Now, this doesn't mean I don't also buy books.  I receive Amazon gift certificates for some of the reviews I do on this blog, and they all go to buying books.  We currently have 30 shelves full of books in our home.  If I had to purchase ALL the books we read, however, we wouldn't be as well-read (or we'd be bankrupt!) 

In addition to books, we also borrow audiobooks and dvds from the library.  Our library has a page on their site giving an idea of how much money is saved by using the library.  When I filled it in (conservatively) we saved over $10,000 last year by using the library.  I knew it saved money using the library, but I didn't guess more than $10,000!

Libraries often have classes and events that are free, have a wide variety of magazines and newspapers available, and have computers available for use. They are a wonderful resource in communities, and a fantastic money saving place to visit!