💰Book Savings 💰
‼️‼️I am going to be very nerdy about this. Please understand how nerdy this will be‼️‼️
I have been on a book buying ban (sans my birthday when my boyfriend surprised me with a shopping spree) since December. I wanted to focus on using resources provided in my community and prove that Libraries are important especially in rural areas where people tend to not be able to spend money on books.
I decided to keep track of how much money I'm saving by using these resources because I realized I'm reading a whole lot more with my library card and without it. Yes, I haven't gone to my local library in a minute so it's not included in my tracking this month, but that's a "I don't feel like going into town" issue not a "I don't support my local library" issue.
📚📚📚My Subscriptions:
For the sake of being transparent; I don't pay for my Kindle Unlimited subscription. My dad bought me a six month subscription because he was shocked I would even think about getting rid of it.
The cost of a Kindle Unlimited Subscription is $11.99 and it gives you a wide variety of books to read and a catalog of audiobooks you can also read. This is new for them and it makes me hopeful that they'll combine KU with their comic subscription.
My library is free and it gives me access to Libby through "Missouri Libraries 2Go" which is a conglomerate of libraries across the state. You can't beat free but I can still talk about the negative parts. I have been on the waitlist for a book for 3 months and have moved one spot. It's fine I'm fine 😩.
Bonus subscription that I didn't include in my chart, my boyfriend's mom pays for me and his sister to have an Afterglow Harlequin subscription, that I don't know the price of but I love it. When we remember to go to the post office it's my favorite present.
📊📊Stats for nerds, aka what the chart is measuring. For some reason it wouldn't let me measure frequency of Libby and Kindle Unlimited, I think this is something I will try and measure in StoryGraph after I get Pro. So the bottom is each book separately and the Y axis is how much each of them cost. Kindle Unlimited didn't break even in August but hopefully will break even in September because I discovered the Audiobook section. Also Till Summer Do Us Part by Megan Quinn would have been a physical buy in store but because I saw it was on KU I just got it there.
🎧🎧Most of my books this month were Audiobooks I got on Libby. A few of them were actually on Kindle Unlimited too but I wanted to listen to them while hanging out with my nanny kid. (Before anyone says anything he's one month old, his parents said it's fine.) Also I just enjoy a good audiobook when I'm playing my silly fruit game or Animal Shelter 2. ANYWAY, because most of the books are audiobooks they are more pricey than other versions. I think next time I'm adding a category for what form of book they are to track that against price.
🧮🧮 Math math math, my total of savings is $324.04. Only $9.98 of it was from Kindle Unlimited making my savings from KU -$2.01 but not really because my dad loves me. Libby wins out with $314.06 in savings for free. Love my library so much.
Support your local library. What are you reading? How much do you think you save on books?
🏷️: #lemon8bookclub #lemon8challenge #budgetbookworm #savingmoneytips #bookmathchallenge
If you're a book lover like me, switching to library apps like Libby and digital subscriptions such as Kindle Unlimited can be a game-changer for your budget. My savings of over $300 last month came largely from accessing audiobooks through Libby, a free service offered by "Missouri Libraries 2Go," which aggregates multiple libraries across the state. This convenience means you can borrow books from a vast collection without ever stepping into a library, which can especially benefit those in rural areas or with limited access to physical locations. Audiobooks tend to be pricier than eBooks or physical copies, but borrowing them through Libby eliminates those costs entirely. Similarly, Kindle Unlimited offers a wide range of titles and recently added audiobooks, allowing continuous reading enjoyment for a fixed monthly price—although in my case the subscription was a gift. By keeping careful track using a Google sheet, you can quantify how much you save compared to buying books outright, which makes it easier to justify continuing subscriptions or library memberships. One challenge to keep in mind is waitlists on popular titles like I experienced—a delay of several months is common—so patience is key. However, the trade-off is the accessibility and vast digital library at your fingertips. Adding categories for format type in your tracking can give insight into whether audiobooks or eBooks produce better savings or personal enjoyment. This approach not only saves money but also champions the importance of libraries, especially in underserved areas where buying books isn’t always an option. Have you considered tracking your own book savings? It’s an eye-opener that usually makes you appreciate the value of library services and digital reading platforms even more. Supporting local libraries and using apps like Libby is a win-win for book lovers on a budget.