How to save money on books

Do you like books? I used to collect books.

I'd buy hardbacks and paperbacks in bookshops, I'd subscribe to mail-order book collections, I was a member of book clubs - I had bookshelves that were bulging, I had boxes of books in the loft, I had more boxes of books in the garage. It seemed as if I was a customer of anyone who sold books.

I had so many books that I never even got around to reading some of them. Others I would read once and put away, and others merited reading more than once.

To save money on buying books, the first thing to do is to not buy them. We get very caught up in the "must have it now" mentality, which is what makes us buy "now". This applies to books, music, DVDs, fashion, you name it. So the first step is self-control.

When a book first comes out, it is normally issued in hardback with a price of around £18 or so. Then a few months later, the same book will come out in paperback form at a price of around £6. So if you buy it then, you automatically save £12.

But if you wait a few months, you will see the same book for sale in local charity or second-hand book shops for around £2. By not buying it when the paperback came out, you can save yourself another £4. What would have cost you £18 only a short time previously will now cost you just £2 - a saving of £16, or 89% off.

But my favourite way of saving money on books is to simply go to the library and borrow them.Libraries are everywhere. If you're not a member of your local library, you should be. It's free to join up, and then you can borrow books to your heart's content. The only time it will ever cost you is if you return a book after it is due, and even then the fee is minimal.

So get along to your library, join it, and make use of what is available to you.