Thrifty Fun

All of the Shoestring family have a library card which over the years has been in constant use and then sometimes less so.

When Master Shoestring was small we lived in a rural area in the USA and going to the library was a big treat, an excellent outing for a bad weather day. The library there had toys, music and films as well as books all of which you could borrow for free. They also had magazines and free museum passes, these were so popular that you had to reserve them weeks in advance. There was also no limit to the number of items you could take out but you did have to pay fines for late return.

The library where we are now has books and films and magazines. You have to pay to borrow the films and can only have films and magazines for a week. Returning on time when you are working can be a bit of a problem when  the library only opens for a limited number of hours so we have started going less frequently. However, it is a great resource for the holidays as then it is no problem to nip in and borrow a book to look at even if you are going to return it the next day. Since we are all quick readers that is great. The library also has a service where you can order the latest bestseller for 60p and have it delivered to the library for you to collect. For very popular books there may be a long waiting list but this is much cheaper than buying the latest hardback and then discovering that you don't enjoy it as much as the previous book by that author.

The library also offers paid for internet access and photocopying which can be very handy when the technology at home breaks down. They also do story time sessions for under 5s and summer reading activities for under 11s. So all in all the Shoestring family are big fans of the library for some frugal and thrifty fun !

My challenge today :- Have you joined the library ?