“How do you afford to read so many books?”

It’s a question I stumbled on while scrolling through comments in the “Bookstagram”/”Booktok” community.

I’ll admit the question caught me by surprise. Are people buying every single book they read? Are they relying on paid services like Audible to get access to books?

For me, the answer is simple: the library!

If you are not taking advantage of your local library, you are missing out on major savings. And I confess, I actually haven’t been to the library to check out a book in person in years. I obsessively use the Libby app to check out audiobooks and e-books through the library from home.

But, the question also made me wonder, how much does my reading habit cost? I opened up an Excel spreadsheet and got to work. To keep things simple, I used the paperback prices of the books on Amazon. If there wasn’t a paperback available, I used the hardcover price. For the book I listened to on Spotify, I used my monthly subscription price.

My 2025 Book Budget

So far, I’ve read 67 books in 2025:

• 58 library books (e-books and audiobooks)
• 8 books that I own/purchased this year
• 1 audiobook listened to on Spotify

What did it all cost?

• Money spent on the 9 books, plus one month of Spotify: $107.54
• How much I’ve saved by checking out books from the library: $821.09
• Grand total: $928.63

I honestly had no idea how much the library was saving me every year! And, when I think about the fact that I’ve been using the Libby app (previously Overdrive) since 2020, the savings over the last 5 years is probably close to $4,600.

All of this to say, please go get your library card and support your local library!