Thursday, February 12, 2015

#ShelfLove ~ My *ahem* Book Buying Budget


This month, part of our challenge is to discuss our book buying budget. Yes, this is a No Book Buying Challenge but for those of us who wouldn't survive not being able to buy a book for an entire year, we were allowed to budget some money in whatever way we wanted. In my case, I not only budgeted some money, but I also created ways in which I could earn a book. :)

Y'all, I have never put myself on a book budget. NEVER. If I wanted a book, I got it. That explains why my shelves are so out of control, huh? But I really wanted to participate in this challenge - not only to read books I already own but also to practice some self-restraint where book buying is concerned. So here's my system:


  • I budgeted $10 a month for books. It's not much for a person who's used to one-clicking or picking up a book whenever I want one. If I don't use all of my $10, it rolls into the next month. (gift cards and audible credits don't count towards my allotted spending) I can also earn books by fulfilling certain criteria. I originally had said for every 3 books I remove from my shelves, I earn a book; for every week I exercise 5 days, I earn a book; for every 5000 words I write on my WIP, I earn a book. But I'm modifying the first part...instead of earning a book for every 3 I read, I'm changing it to for every 5 books I read (remove from my shelves), I earn $0.50. I think this is more of a challenge. We'll see how it goes. :)
  • I created a spreadsheet - which I'm quite proud of. ;) In it, I put all the books that I would have one-clicked under normal circumstances. I also include the author and where I heard about the book. (yes, which blog tempted me to one-click - I'm keeping track of you all!) Oh, and the price.
  • At the end of the month, I review the list to see which books I still want to one-click, if any. I've found that after my initial emotional response is cooled, which was elicited by YOUR reviews, there are some books that will stay on the list to be purchased at a later date.


For January, I did well. I only purchased 1 book using my budgeted money. Also, I earned 6 books. But I haven't purchased them yet. In fact, I'm thinking about re-doing my earning criteria...I'm thinking I should require that I read at least 5 books, if not more.


Do y'all have a book buying budget? If so, how do you go about deciding which books you're going to use your money on? If you don't have a budget, do you one-click at your heart's desire or exercise self-restraint?

10 comments:

  1. This is serious huh, a spreadsheet?! I don't have a budget only because I utilize NG/EW & the library so much. With the amount of books I read, I'd go broke buying books. The downside of that is the pressure of reading those darn ARCs I grabbed. Oh well, we have our own hells. Happy V-Day Brandee!

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  2. OOh my you changed your earnings options to be HARDER! Go you! You sure did earn a lot of books, so I guess that's why you decided to make it harder. I haven't earned very much..

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  3. Oh I love the spreadsheet idea! See how much impulse buying is just the moment, versus you really really want it. I have a feeling I'll be on that list influencers, but I promise you want the books I push ;)

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  4. No budget and the tbr pile to prove it..lol. I budgeted when my kids were small. Now I grab what I want, but I still tend to be responsible...ok, mostly responsible.

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  5. I don't have a book budget, and I tend to one click way too much. I do however have big family Christmas's, and get a lot of gift cards- coupling that with my birthday gift cards, I tend to have them left over from one year to the next. So as long as I stay away from the more expensive books, and keep it mostly under $4.99 each, I do good. Of course Net Galley helps a lot towards all of this! I am very impressed at how well you are doing. I don't think I could do it!

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  6. Oh, I like the spreadsheet idea. I love spreadsheets. :) I have been worried about forgetting new releases and other books that catch my eye.

    Terri M., the Director
    Second Run Reviews

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  7. Spreadsheet huh? That made me smile, Brandee! With all the exercising and shelf clearing you've earned some book buying for sure. I don't have a book budget meaning I almost never buy books. I feel like a bad author girl in that account, but I'm a very good library girl! Good job on all this delayed gratification you got going.

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  8. What I did last December was asked all my friends and family members (who were going to give me a gift) to just give me bookstore GCs. I mean seriously, that would be the best gift. I'm so happy a lot of them complied!

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  9. Glad you are doing so well with the challenge. Changing it to five books sounds like a good challenge for you too!
    Keep it up!!


    Naomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace

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  10. I like that spreadsheet idea, too! And the idea of delaying purchasing a book to be sure you want it. But my problem is the daily deals and other short-term bargains. If you don't get them when they're cheap, the price goes up - sometimes a lot. That makes it a lot harder to delay buying it!

    I've tried the incentives thing, and it sometimes works for me: when I finish this work project, I can buy that book I've had my eye one. I wish the exercise incentive worked better for me - I really, really need to exercise more!

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Now you know what I think...what are your thoughts??