Book Buying Ban? No, a Book Buying Budget!

Here comes a confession that I don’t think will surprise you: I buy more books than I can read a year. Some months are better than others, but lets be honest, it is getting out of hand. It does not help that my husband is a book buying enabler.

Looking back on the last two years where I have kept track of the number of books I have bought, I have bought a lot of books. A LOT. I won’t name the specific number but more than 100 a year. I know. So when I say it is getting out of hand, I mean it.

Last year was a bit better as I did buy about 30 books less than in 2015. But more than a 100 is still a big number. And a lot of money. Especially the months June (boekenfestijn) and October (birthday) are terrible months when it comes to aquiring books. I don’t see that changing but a bit more restraint would be nice.

I know that a book buying ban would never work for me. It is one of the few things I allow myself to buy for myself and I would definitely be setting myself up for failure. But a book budget might…

So for this year I have decided to give myself a book buying budget. Not only will I keep track of how many books I bought but also what I am spending on them.

The amount per month: 50 Euro
The Rules:

• Gift cards do not count towards the amount
• Pre orders count towards the month they are released in
• Books my husband buys for me count (unless birthday/christmas)
• Boekenfestijn is an exception and I will give myself a seperate budget for that

At the end of the year I will see how I did. It is not so much a real year goal as just something I strive to do for longer perhaps. To get better book buying habits.

Have you ever put yourself on a book buying budget?