Frugal Homeschooling: Book Buying
One thing you tend to notice in most homeschoolers' homes is a lot of books. Often, a LOT of books. Books, unfortunately, tend to cost a lot of money, especially these days. How can you have a vast personal library without going into the poor-house to do so? Here are a few ideas for saving money on books.
• Shop at used bookstores. In our area, there are two kinds of used bookstores; regular stores that pick up their inventory on their own, and "trading" stores which buy books from the general public, offering store credit in exchange for the books you bring to them. The trading store in our area offers 1/3 of the cover price of the books you bring in as store credit, then charges ½ the cover price on the books that you buy. This is a great way to get rid of books that you no longer want around the house while cutting down on the price of the books you are going to buy. Even if you don't have any store credit from trades, of course, the prices are reasonable enough.
• Check out yard sales and flea markets. A lot of people toss books into yard sales for 10 cents or 25 cents just to get rid of them. Be sure to check them out for wear and tear before you make a final decision on them.
• Try your local dollar store or "end lots" store. I've found many a quality book at the dollar stores in our area; the only downside is that you never know just what you're going to find. There can be some really good bargains though — I've found Great Illustrated Classics there (abridged classic books), full version classic books, and even a copy of Peter Jennings' In Search of America.
• Check your local library for a library bookstore and/or periodic large book sales. Our library maintains a small bookstore on-site, run by volunteers, that takes in donations, sells books, and uses the money to help with budgetary needs. Twice a year, the library sponsors a very large sale that is held in the hallway and second floor of the main branch building. The bookstore and the book sale are havens for almost anything that could be considered media — mostly books, but also music, movies, and the occasional piece of software. The books run the gamut from baby books up to text books and encyclopedias. I have bought SO many books at the semi-annual you'd think I was hooked on books or something. Oh wait, I am.
• Make use of membership or educators' discounts at chain bookstores. Most of the chain bookstores offer a yearly membership card for a price (usually around $5-10) that gives you a 10% discount on most items in the store. However, most of them also usually offer discounts for educators and/or community service workers that do not require paying for the card, and are usually for 20% off. Just ask at the customer service what you need to do to get one of their cards. You will most likely have to have some sort of proof of homeschooling just as a teacher would need to present their school card.
• Set up a book swap with fellow homeschoolers and book lovers. You would need to establish clear guidelines as to book values; perhaps a similar method to the trading bookstores would work, or base the value on number of pages, age level, etc.
There really is no need to spend a fortune on books for your own home. With a little perseverance and careful searching, you too can find lots of good deals. And with all your savings, maybe you can afford all the bookcases that you're going to need!
