Although reading can be one of the least expensive methods of entertainment (vs. movie tickets, vacations, etc.), the price of that entertainment can vary greatly depending on where and whether you buy your books. Large book-selling chains like Borders and Barnes and Noble create a great atmosphere for bookworms like myself - who can resist those comfy chairs and mocha lattes? However, purchasing books from a first-run bookstore on a regular basis can get expensive. The occasional Harry Potter midnight release party with corresponding $25 book purchase is exciting, but what's more exciting is getting the SAME BOOK for a much smaller price - like FREE!
You see, there is this thing called a li-brar-y. I know, I know. If you're a kid that grew up in a rural town like me, you have preconceived ideas about what a library is like. Your county library was about the size of most people's bathrooms nowadays. It contained exactly 5 Dr. Seuss hardbacks, three Stephen King paperbacks, and a whole slue of encyclopedias from pre-1950. The checkout time was three days, and the library shared a building with the smelly county courthouse. Barf.
Libraries are different now! If you haven't been to a library in the past 10 years, you owe it to yourself to see just how much they've changed. Some county libraries have much better funding thanks to literacy programs. In fact, you are paying for your county library with your property tax each year. If you're not using your county library, you are just giving that money away. Some communities even have private libraries. The funding there can be all over the chart.
Libraries contain more than traditional books. Not everyone has time to sit with a book in hand, but most people can make time for audio books, music, movies, and computer games. All of these are available at your library - our library even lets you download audio books from home straight to an mp3 player!
Most libraries offer programs beyond children's storytime. Many offer movie-showings with free popcorn, host book clubs for all ages, and hold seminars on learning computer basics and even genealogy research and writers support groups.
Library locations are getting smarter. Instead of the institutional settings like the county courthouse or some weird brick building with fewer than five good parking spots, many libraries now share a building with a coffee house or cafe. Many libraries offer quiet study rooms and a sectioned-off children's area were two-year-olds can run and scream a bit without the traditional "shhh!"
You can even find better service at today's libraries. In the computer age, card catalogs are now totally online, which means you can look for books from the comfort of home. Our library let's you put them "on hold" and will email when they are ready to pickup in the drive-through window. That's right! We have a drive-through pickup window, not to mention drive-through book returns all over town.
Additionally, many of the "library pages" (as they are called in our town) are teenagers with jobs. Nothing sounds better to me than a teenager learning the value of money with their own job at the library.
And, if all that isn't enough to lure you in to your local library, consider attending the library book sale. I know some people out there are book buyers, and the thought of borrowing a book with a return deadline can be stressful. Yesterday I attended our library's semi-annual book sale. I bought 20 children's books (mostly board books) for $10. For those of you who don't know, one child's board book at even a discount store like Wal-Mart will cost at least $5, and probably more like $10. A few of them had some small Crayon markings, but they fit right in with my son's collection of once-new but now semi-damaged books.
I can think of a dozen more reasons for you to visit your library, but what I'd really like is for you to go discover them yourself. Today!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Practical Application: Where and when to buy pre-packaged foods
I'm BACK! Whew! Pregnancy can really dampen your energy level. Now that I'm coasting through the second trimester, I have a little more waking moments in my day to blog.
Pre-packaged foods are always more expensive than preparing food yourself. The reason this is true is because you pay a premium for the package itself as well as the preparation process. Technically, the only time you come out ahead on buying packaged foods is if the ingredients only come in large quantities but you only plan to eat the food item once - maybe because you're taste testing, or perhaps you're trying to build your own recipe.
I am a big believer in learning to do the food prep yourself. I think it's important to know the ingredients you are consuming (packaged food are bad about sneaking in hydroginated oils and HFCS - high fructose corn syrup) and to have the basic knowledge of how to do things yourself. As an adult, I look back on the home-ec classes I never took and think "What a shame!"
All that being said, packaged foods have a place in today's busy lifestyle. There's no reason to feel bad about the occasional packaged food lunch or dinner so long as it's not a lifestyle that is continually ruining your budget or health. I want to point out in this post that some packaged foods can be tasty, economical, and healthy if you know where to get them.
Look at the deli / bakery section of your favorite grocery store (even Wal-Mart). Yesterday while grocery shopping around 10:30am, I realized that I was very hungry and it was likely that the McDonald's in the Wal-Mart parking lot was going to call my name (as well as my two-year-old son's name!). That's when I spotted a packed lunch portion of a turkey and provolone wrap for $2.50 in the deli section. By the time we got all the groceries loaded in the car, it was 11:30am and if I hadn't already purchased that wrap for $2.50, we would have ended up spending at least $6 in the McDonald's drive through.
I know sometimes the drive through convenience itself is worth the extra $3.50 - especially when kids and car seats are involved. But, if you're a habitual fast foody on your lunch break at work, consider buying a few packaged lunches from the grocery store deli and brown bagging that a few days a week to supplement on the days when there are no leftovers (or they just look gross) or you need a little something special in your lunchbox. By the same token, on days when you have a marathon grocery experience and you're tugging a kid along, treat yourself to a turkey provolone wrap and hold the Quarter Pounder with Cheese.
Pre-packaged foods are always more expensive than preparing food yourself. The reason this is true is because you pay a premium for the package itself as well as the preparation process. Technically, the only time you come out ahead on buying packaged foods is if the ingredients only come in large quantities but you only plan to eat the food item once - maybe because you're taste testing, or perhaps you're trying to build your own recipe.
I am a big believer in learning to do the food prep yourself. I think it's important to know the ingredients you are consuming (packaged food are bad about sneaking in hydroginated oils and HFCS - high fructose corn syrup) and to have the basic knowledge of how to do things yourself. As an adult, I look back on the home-ec classes I never took and think "What a shame!"
All that being said, packaged foods have a place in today's busy lifestyle. There's no reason to feel bad about the occasional packaged food lunch or dinner so long as it's not a lifestyle that is continually ruining your budget or health. I want to point out in this post that some packaged foods can be tasty, economical, and healthy if you know where to get them.
Look at the deli / bakery section of your favorite grocery store (even Wal-Mart). Yesterday while grocery shopping around 10:30am, I realized that I was very hungry and it was likely that the McDonald's in the Wal-Mart parking lot was going to call my name (as well as my two-year-old son's name!). That's when I spotted a packed lunch portion of a turkey and provolone wrap for $2.50 in the deli section. By the time we got all the groceries loaded in the car, it was 11:30am and if I hadn't already purchased that wrap for $2.50, we would have ended up spending at least $6 in the McDonald's drive through.
I know sometimes the drive through convenience itself is worth the extra $3.50 - especially when kids and car seats are involved. But, if you're a habitual fast foody on your lunch break at work, consider buying a few packaged lunches from the grocery store deli and brown bagging that a few days a week to supplement on the days when there are no leftovers (or they just look gross) or you need a little something special in your lunchbox. By the same token, on days when you have a marathon grocery experience and you're tugging a kid along, treat yourself to a turkey provolone wrap and hold the Quarter Pounder with Cheese.
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