Let's talk about book buying bans.
I'm constantly seeing fellow bloggers going on one, trying to stay on one, or just coming off of one. I've never held myself to one because, well, usually I don't even have the money to buy books much less buy enough that I need to ban myself from buying them lest I completely obliterate my bank account.
Until now.
You see now I'm actually in possession of some money...on the other hand though I'm also in possession of a $625 rent payment every month. And unfortunately that amount, despite being muy grande, doesn't always phase me quite the way it should. Which means I buy books. [Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and goHasting's free shipping does not help one little bit.] Especially inexpensive, usually under five dollar, bargain books. Or cheap kindle books which I can occasionally convince myself don't even count. Doesn't seem like that big of deal, does it? Unfortunately those little books add up. Quick.
So I'm down to basically having a little over enough money to make my rent payments for the next four months or so. Which is not good at all. Which means I have to stop the addiction. NOW.
I have bought my last books. I'm done. For the rest of this year. No more buying books unless for my birthday [October 22nd] or Christmas I get giftcards. I will not spend any more of my money on books. I can't. I just can't. I'm done. I'm not even going to look at those sites any more. They are just too tempting and I just don't seem to have any willpower.
So my questions for all of you lovely readers are as follows: Have you ever done a book buying ban? Why or why not? What tricks helped you to keep on track?
I don't consciously do a book buying ban. I guess winning giveaways do it for me and I just stop buying for a while. I haven't bought any book besides for #RAK for someone else...
ReplyDelete*thinking to herself*
oh.. wait a second.. I can't help myself when I am at the library bookstore: i have to get it because they are so limited... so yeah, I don't know...
When I start to feel like I am spending too much on books, I stop visiting Amazon and stay as far away from brick and mortar stores as I possibly can (this is much easier now that the Borders by my work has closed). I also visit the library more, so I get the rush of bringing a new book home, without having to shell out any cash.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Especially after big hauls, I try and convinve myself to stop buying books for awhile. Since most of my shopping is done online (where they tend to be cheaper) I just force myself not to look at those sites. It's hard, and I have a very weak will power, but when I know my bank account is hurting it normally prevents me from doing any shopping.
ReplyDeleteI would suggest you get a library card! They're free and so you won't have to worry about buying a book you didn't enjoy.
Hope your ban works and definitely drop hints to friends and family around your birthday and xmas that you'd like gift cards =)
Kristan @ Lost Amongst the Shelves
I know what you mean, Bargain books always get me!
ReplyDeleteI just stop and tell myself that I have so many books on my shelves that I have not even read yet. I used NetGalley and author requests to get my fix of newly released books. I need to read up the books that I have before buying a bunch of new ones. Plus if you wait long enough some of the hardcovers will be released as cheaper paperbacks lol
Arianne, library bookstores are crazy dangerous because they always beat out even the best bargains you can find online or in other bookstores. I haven't been to a library sale in awhile for that very reason.
ReplyDeleteManga Maniac, I'm working on doing that. The only reason I've been on Amazon is to add to my wish list [my birthday is in a few weeks] or to check on previous orders. So far so good! :D
ReplyDeleteKristan, I'm trying to avoid the sites and for the most part I'm doing good aside from occasional visits where I only add to my wishlist. Nothing in my cart!
ReplyDeleteI have a library card for my local hometown library but I'm not here often enough to use it really. I need to look into getting one at the library near my university.
And trust me, I'm dropping plenty of those hints. ;D
Michelle, they are the most dangerous things in existence. I can almost always be convinced to get a bargain book whereas most times I'll put a full-priced one back.
ReplyDeleteNormally I would look at my TBR shelf to keep myself from buying books [it's completely out of control!] but since I'm away from home with only a small box of them at my disposal at the dorms [aside from visits home every other weekend] that doesn't always work. Lately I've taken to scrolling through my goodreads list, seeing those huge numbers of books that need to be read tend to put things into perspective. Most of the time.
And I snag a lot of the freebies for my Kindle so I get the fun of getting new reads without spending money. :D