Book Talk: How much money do you spend on books?
Okay, let’s be honest. How much money do you spend on books? In a week, in a month or in a year. How much is it, for real? Not a guess or a round-about number but a REAL solid number.
This year, I want to calculate how much money I spend on books. It’s a scary thought. Because honestly, I don’t really know but I have a feeling my number is HIGH. I buy books everywhere I go. I buy books at Target, Walmart, Kmart and my local indie book store, Paragraph Books. I buy them online at Book Depo, Amazon, B&N and Book Outlet. I even buy books at the grocery store. Yup, you heard me. I buy them at HEB. I buy books everywhere and anytime I’m at the store. And I never really stop to think how much money I REALLY spend on my hobby.
I will be calculating my spending on books every month till the end of the year where you will see my grand total! *GASP*
I decided to calculate any money spent on books into 3 areas:
1. Personal books I buy for myself (Duh)
2. Giveaways ( I give away lots of books so this year I want to know how many books I give away and how much it cost me)
3. Shipping (Does anyone know how much money we spend at the post office? I know I go there a lot and shipping has gone up.)
4. Blogging Cost (Graphics/Web design/Hosting/Subscriptions, etc)
Why am I doing this you ask?
Well for several reasons. First, I want to know for myself. I admit I’m in a (tiny) bit denial about the cost of my hobby. I mean really, it can’t be that much. (Looks around, bites nails.) Right???
Second, I want to bust that rumor that says bloggers don’t spend much money on books. I have heard that ALL the time. That bloggers get so many books in the mail, we don’t have to buy any. And all I’m thinking, I buy plenty. I spend lots of money on books, giveaways, etc.
In the end, this experiment is for all the bloggers out there who support readers/authors everywhere. Although my spending habits aren’t the same as yours, we are alike in what we do.
*Please note that I will have a widget on my side bar with my monthly total so far*
Wish me luck!
Happy Reading and Happy New Year!!
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I love that you admit to buying books in the grocery store! I do it too and I always thought I was weird, haha. Good luck with your experiment, I’m looking forward to seeing the results.
Isn’t admitting the first step to seeing that *maybe* I have a problem when it comes to books? LOL! Thanks. I hope that I can stick with it.
I have absolutely no idea how much money I spend on books. I might start tracking my spending this year too, just to see. And I’ll be curious to see what your spending is like as well 🙂
If you do, please let me know! I love to see what your spending is.
I really have no idea, especially since most of my purchases are impulse buys, made after reading an awesome review and saying, “I MUST READ NOW!” I probably should keep track…maybe I will. Or maybe I’ll just watch and cheer you on.
I do that too. That’s why I like to track my spending. If you do deiced to track your spending, let me know.
Can’t wait to see how it comes out! I crunched my numbers for 2012 and started keeping track on Excel in 2013 but then lost track. But I’m sure I spend somewhere between $50-100 a month, if I count books for me, books for giveaways, and shipping….
Happy New Year!
Thanks so much for stopping by! Jen @ YA Romantics
Yes, exactly! I know I spend that amount, maybe even more.
You are one brave soul, lol. My local library lends out e-books which helps me cut costs, but if I really want a book, I’ll pay for it no matter if its on sale or not. Otoh…I have a lot of freebies which is a great way to discover new writers. Best of luck in your experiment. I’ll be curious to read the results!
Thanks Michelle. I too have an account with my library that lends out e-books as well but I find myself forgetting about the books I check out. I rather just buy the books. If I have it on my hand, I’m more likely to read it.
I actually kept track of my book spending in 2013 and will continue to do so this year. I actually only counted books I read, rather than everything I bought. I didn’t include the cost of blogging or anything, since that’s not what I was interested in. You can see my yearly total here: http://pinkindle.net/2014/01/2013-recap.html
Spoiler: I don’t spend much at all!
Thanks for the link! I will go by and check it out.
I definitely buy more books as a blogger then I did before. There are those series that I start and then don’t get the next book(s) and need to buy, there are those that I just see loads of good reviews for and HAVE to have and the list goes on. I don’t always get to READ all of them, but I’m still buying them. I can’t go into a store without looking at the books. Like you, I also buy them at the grocery store. Safeway doesn’t have a good selection, but even though I’m in there twice a week or more (it’s across the street from my house) I still ALWAYS have to look. It’s kind of ridiculous. But the new hardcovers are almost always 25% off, so it’s cheaper then the bookstore (but not cheaper then ordering).
I know I spend a bit on shipping too, but I’ve done better with that this year, I believe. I’ve donated more and spent more on shipping for that, but much less for giveaway’s.
Your post made me scared because I don’t even track how much I spend on books or blogging costs! Eepps..I think it’s not too late to start though. I’m going to try tracking my spending..
Goodness, even I’ll be keeping a check on my purchases. People have always told me the same….And I do completely agree with your point. Bloggers have to buy a lot many books; so anybody having the misconceptions as such must get them cleared. Thanks for the post though!