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Reading on a Budget

Since I’m not working right now, I have to reimagine my spending habits, especially when buying books. Hopefully, my situation will change soon, but I have to get a little creative for now. So, I asked myself how I’d satisfy my cravings for new books without going broke.

First, I must control the ways I hear about shiny new books. I’m a huge fan of book podcasts, and there are so many of them. Every time I listen to one, my TBR list grows exponentially. This doesn’t mean I rush out to my local indie and whip out my credit card immediately. However, the titles are on my radar, and it is tough to shut off the constant pinging to my amygdala—the part of the brain that generates desire.

So, I went through the book-themed podcasts I listen to on Spotify and unfollowed most of them. Not all of them. I kept the ones that not only have recommendations but also take deep dives into reading topics (like this one about budgeting). I’m staying away from the ones that were primarily lists of book recommendations and nothing else. This required me to make some tough choices. Against my better judgment, I will continue to follow Zibby Owens’ podcast, Moms Don’t Have Time to Read.” Her wonderful podcast includes author talks as well as quality book recs. She is a talented interviewer, and I am always in the mood for advice from seasoned writers.

Other bookish podcasts were easier to unfollow. One is hosted by two women in their 20s who talked too much about #adulting and their upcoming milestone birthdays of 25 and 30. 🙄 Oy! I hope this doesn’t sound like reverse ageism, but I couldn’t take their banter for one more minute. I have children their age, and I respect their opinions. However, as a 50+-year-old empty nester, I will also honor the stage of life I’m in, and book tastes evolve with age. And if these women have good recommendations, I’ll hear about the book from someone else. As the kids say, there is no FOMO here. (IYKYK)

Another way to curb my book spending habits is all about timing. Last year, I participated in No Book Buy July, which encouraged me to revisit the books I own or take advantage of my local library. I am confident that I saved around $350 by borrowing books instead of buying them. I had the pleasure of reading them without having to make room on my shelf. I also prioritize reading library books before others because I know people are waiting to read them when I’m done. The ones I own aren’t going anywhere, but library books have a deadline attached. If I don’t want to go back to the end of the line in the holding queue, I need to finish them.

The library also tells my amygdala to calm the f**k down. The shiny new book I heard about is probably at the library, and I’ll get to it when I get to it. There is no rush. We have plenty of other titles to keep us company—which brings me back to timing.

Instead of declaring book buy bans on myself, I want to pick months when I will buy books. I will choose these months based on special occasions. Whenever I plan to do an indie bookstore crawl, that will be a book-buying month. I’ll also give myself a grace period if I discover a new indie bookstore and want to support it within reason. It’s also my birthday next month, and I usually treat myself to a Boston Kreme donut and a trip to the bookstore.

Shit. I’m starting to see how this plan is already falling apart. Well, I tried. 😀

Okay, lightning round time. Here are a few more (realistic) ways I’ll curb my spending.

  • Consider my Kindle as a platform to read digital books, not download more books.
  • Borrow books from my friends! Lots of them are readers who have books I want to read.
  • Cancel my Audible account, which kills me, but I can always come back to it later. I have enough audiobooks to listen to, and I don’t need to add any more.
  • Treat myself to the books I’ve already purchased (see my pretty bookshelf photo above). Clearly, I was excited about them at one point. Time to remind myself why I bought them in the first place. I know I’ll uncover a lot of backlist gems there.
  • Order bookish gifts online and ship them to those I love. This is an idea from a few fellow bloggers, and it’s a good one. Why else do I have that Amazon Prime account?

In what ways do you curb your spending for something you love? It doesn’t have to be books. It can be anything—crafts, jigsaw puzzles, scented candles, trips to Sephora, etc. Let’s help each other out. Share your ideas in the comments.

XO,
Elisa

No Notes

My Notes app went missing this week. I downloaded the app again, and no luck. There is no trace of my grocery lists, the start of several blog posts, meeting notes, job hunting to-dos, website links, random reminders, and thoughts I just needed to put somewhere until I could find pen and paper.

I don’t know what happened to it. Did I overload it with too many ideas? Is this a sign that I’m giving myself too much to do? Did I accidentally break the app? Could it not take any more of my hopes and dreams and foods from Trader Joe’s to try?

Maybe it was all the screenshots I took of my solved Wordle puzzles. I’m too good at it, and pissed off the app.

Yep, that’s probably it.

Whatever the reason, I’m hoping I don’t have to start all over again. I just saw someone post the same issue on Facebook, and 44 people commented. Looks like I’m not the only one dealing with this issue.

Therefore, I’m making this a short post tonight so i can dive into the rabbit hole of the internet and hopefully come out successful.

XO,

Elisa

Small Changes Make A Difference

I’m a fan of The Lazy Genius podcast, whose tagline is “helping you with the things that matter and lazy about the things that don’t. Today’s episode is titled “10 Small Changes I’m Glad I Made.” After she listed hers, I created a list of my own. I’m not sure I’ll hit ten things, but let’s see how it goes.

  1. Trash bags – I put an empty trash bag or two underneath the current one I’m using. When I’m ready to throw the current bag in the outside bin, another bag is underneath to open and put in place. It’s super convenient.
  2. Folding laundry – I used to fold laundry in front of the TV in the den. Here is the problem with this: I don’t watch a lot of TV. So, the piles sit there until I get around to it. Now, I’m taking the laundry out of the dryer and dumping the clothes on the dining room table. I don’t like a big mess for everyone to see, nor do I want people to see my underwear. So, this small change motivates me to fold all the clothes and put them away as fast as possible.
  3. Practical Medicine – I’m supposed to take one medication in the morning. I used to forget because the container lived in my cabinet with the rest of our prescriptions. By the time I remembered to take it, the morning would be over, and sometimes I skipped a dose. Now, I put that medicine downstairs where I make breakfast, so I see it and remember to take it.
  4. What’s for dinner? – Before I go to the supermarket, I decide what I’m making for dinner that week and make sure I have everything I need. This decreases the number of times I have to go back to the store during the week. I also set aside Wednesdays or Thursdays for leftovers so they get eaten and don’t go bad.
  5. Restocking – On weekends, I restock the bathrooms with tissue boxes and toilet paper rolls. While there, I throw hand towels in the laundry basket and bring the trash downstairs to put away. I’ll take another minute to see if anything needs to be put away. The whole process takes no more than five minutes per bathroom and means less aggravation when someone runs out of toilet paper.
  6.  First-Aid – I cleared off a shelf in our hallway linen closet and corralled all our Band-Aids, cortisone creams, Neosporin, aloe lotion, thermometers, and ace bandages. And although they aren’t necessarily considered first aid, I collected all of our COVID test kits and added them to the shelf. This way, we don’t have to search the entire house for one when we aren’t feeling well.
  7. Monday Trash Day – According to our township, the garbage trucks come down our street on Tuesday morning to remove our trash. But in my house, Monday is trash day. I go through every room with a few large bags and throw away what is obviously trash. Along the way, I’ll find empty plastic bottles and other recyclables to add to the bin. Once finished, I put everything outside and roll the trash cans to the curb. No more running out of the house in my pajamas to throw out one more thing.
  8. Items for the Car – If I’m going out, I look around the house to see if I need to drop off or pick anything up. This past week, I had two library books, some dry cleaning, and something to return to the store.
  9. Set an alarm on my iPhone – Time flies during the day, and before I know it, I need to be somewhere. Setting an alarm on my phone 30 minutes before a meeting is super helpful because my phone is always with me. Thirty minutes leaves me enough time to get myself together and get out of the house (or set up Zoom on my laptop) on time.
  10. 99-cent cards – I have a drawer in my bedroom full of 99-cent cards for birthdays, thank yous, and other occasions. There is always a special day for someone around the corner. And these cards are pretty nice. Some are thoughtful. Others are funny. I usually find exactly what I need when I open that drawer. 

Okay, it’s your turn. What small changes have you made that have made a difference?! Or, what change do you want to make in the near future? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

XO,

Elisa

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