Checking Out the Savings @ Your Library

Checking Out the Savings @ Your Library

Let’s say that there’s a branch of government that keeps retail hours and gives away lots of cool stuff for free.  Is that something that you’d be interested in?  Your public library has been helping frugal households achieve their financial goals for decades.  Walk in and look around.  In addition to the gangs of teenage thugs monopolizing the Internet terminals and the rummies sleeping it off in the magazine area, you’ll see lots and lots of young families.

Especially early on a Friday evening.  That’s when you’ll see the line-up at the circulation desk packed with young, struggling families picking up some entertainment for the weekend.  Libraries have always been there for this group, and they always will be.  Those people in line will have armloads of bluerays and DVDs, some picturebooks for the kids, maybe some videogames and a few a novels for the parents.  A whole week’s worth of entertainment – all for free.

Well, it’s free if you can get them back on time.  That’s always been a challenge when using the public library.  Those fines can add up in no time at all.  There really is only one way to address this, and that’s to have one night a week as library night.  That way everything gets brought back.  Keep a bookbag at the door and make sure that everything that’s due gets put in it.

If you can manage to keep this up, you’ll save money on movie rentals, console games, books and magazines.  What’s more, you’ll be able to say to your friends, “Oh, no sorry I can’t that night.  Thursday is the night my family and I go to the Library.” 

And deep down, haven’t you always wanted to be the kind of person who could say that?