I'm officially a card carrying member of my "local" library. I use quotes for the word local for a reason. Obtaining my library card was nothing short of an adventure. I have fought becoming a Texas resident for a couple of years now. I finally bit the bullet last week and was excited about finally being able to obtain a library card. There is a library less than 5 minutes from where we live, so I was excited about being able to read for free!
E and I drove to the library and he was finally glad to me excited for any reason, no matter how small it was, about becoming an official Texan. (As a Cajun who grew up in South Louisiana, it was a hard thing for me to accept.) We walked inside, and the librarian asked me how she could help me. I smiled and almost shouted, "I'm ready to get my library card!" I pulled out my TX license and current electric bill for proof of my address and she says, "Oh, you live in PA?" I told her that my address is technically in PA, but I'm in the NED school district, so I'm in the awkward area referred to as Mid-County. (This is a magically place where 4 cities, PA, PN, NED, & GR all intersect and depending on which side of the streets you are on, depends on which city you are technically in.) She told me that I would have to pay $30 for a non-resident library card.
WHAT?! Where I lived in Louisiana, you're library card was good for the entire Parish, so this was mind-blowing information to me. She told me that since I can get a free card for the PA library, I would have to pay for one to the NED library. Keep in mind, the NED library is 5 minutes from my house, the PA library is around 15, and nowhere near any place I would ever be running errands to, so that would make going there a special trip. She gives me directions and tells me that it's closer to the "good side" of PA than the "bad side" of PA. (By that she meant it's just across the highway...because that makes me feel safer!) I refuse to pay $30 for a library card, even if the location I can access for free isn't in the best area of town. So, E and I make the trek to the PA library and I obtain my card!
One week later (today), I hit up the library for the first time. I was a little glad to not be the only nerd who was waiting outside for the library to open. I had a list of 12 books, and was hoping that I could find at least two of them. (I didn't plan on getting all of them today, but it's nice to know if they would be available.) I found two of the books on the list, and other books by some of the authors, so I have some hope. I spent an hour wandering around and finding massive amounts of treasures! I finally settled on three books, because I figured in three weeks that would be about what I could tackle.
I've officially declared Saturdays as Library Days. I figure if nothing else, I can return the one book I plan on finishing that week and pick up a few others to add to the collection. Here's what I picked up today:
Me Before You - Jojo Moyes
The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers - Meg Meeker, M.D.
It Takes Balls - Josh Wolf
Happy Saturday, y'all!
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Summer Project Update
In my massive summer project of learning how to live more simply (translation: not spend so much money), I have made a very difficult decision. I'm giving up my cable package. I had my cable, phone and internet bundled. As of today, I am officially without cable at my house. (I unplugged my cable box last week, but it became official today.)
The decision to drop cable was a pretty easy one. I really don't watch that much TV. From August-May, when sports are in season, I work lots of overtime. When I get home from games, I feel like taking a shower and laying in bed, not sitting down to watch TV. My daughter doesn't watch much TV. She wants to watch DVDs (over...and over...and over...). I was paying $130.00 for my bundle, and come July it was going to increase to $175.00 a month. There's no way I can justify paying that much money for TV that I only watch a couple of times a week, a phone that I never use, and internet that I only access a few hours a day. It was time to do some research.
I saw an article from a reader of Money Saving Mom about how they saved money by cutting cable. I bought a Roku box ($50) with some money I made from working overtime. I re-activated my Netflix and Hulu Plus subscriptions (under $20 a month). My boyfriend has Amazon Prime, so he set me up with that and some extra channels that he has (such as HBO Go). I'm debating on purchasing an MLB.TV subscription ($20/month), but it's not really necessary since I have the audio and we're halfway through the season. (An investment to think about for next year) The internet is going to be $60 a month (for the first 12 months, ugh...). Total, it's going to end up costing me $100 a month (during baseball season). It's cheaper than what I had, which is good since my rent and kiddo's tuition are both increasing next year. I'm going to use this year to research if there are cheaper internet options in my area, but right now I'm happy with what I have.
The only issue I have are a few shows that I was used to watching that I haven't been able to find a way to watch them online. However, my best friend told me that for the two that I really follow, I'm welcome to come watch them at her place since they are during times she doesn't watch anything. This will give us some bonding time as well, so it's a win-win.
I really don't think I'm going to miss cable. My family has rediscovered some shows that they love when they are here. (Especially my dad!) I don't have a DVR, so if I didn't watch shows live before, I wouldn't see them. Now, I don't have to worry about that since I re-activated Hulu Plus! I think this switch is going to be a solid financial decision that will also put a little extra money in our pockets. :)
The decision to drop cable was a pretty easy one. I really don't watch that much TV. From August-May, when sports are in season, I work lots of overtime. When I get home from games, I feel like taking a shower and laying in bed, not sitting down to watch TV. My daughter doesn't watch much TV. She wants to watch DVDs (over...and over...and over...). I was paying $130.00 for my bundle, and come July it was going to increase to $175.00 a month. There's no way I can justify paying that much money for TV that I only watch a couple of times a week, a phone that I never use, and internet that I only access a few hours a day. It was time to do some research.
I saw an article from a reader of Money Saving Mom about how they saved money by cutting cable. I bought a Roku box ($50) with some money I made from working overtime. I re-activated my Netflix and Hulu Plus subscriptions (under $20 a month). My boyfriend has Amazon Prime, so he set me up with that and some extra channels that he has (such as HBO Go). I'm debating on purchasing an MLB.TV subscription ($20/month), but it's not really necessary since I have the audio and we're halfway through the season. (An investment to think about for next year) The internet is going to be $60 a month (for the first 12 months, ugh...). Total, it's going to end up costing me $100 a month (during baseball season). It's cheaper than what I had, which is good since my rent and kiddo's tuition are both increasing next year. I'm going to use this year to research if there are cheaper internet options in my area, but right now I'm happy with what I have.
The only issue I have are a few shows that I was used to watching that I haven't been able to find a way to watch them online. However, my best friend told me that for the two that I really follow, I'm welcome to come watch them at her place since they are during times she doesn't watch anything. This will give us some bonding time as well, so it's a win-win.
I really don't think I'm going to miss cable. My family has rediscovered some shows that they love when they are here. (Especially my dad!) I don't have a DVR, so if I didn't watch shows live before, I wouldn't see them. Now, I don't have to worry about that since I re-activated Hulu Plus! I think this switch is going to be a solid financial decision that will also put a little extra money in our pockets. :)
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