[Marguerite]

I got the kindle for Christmas,  yes as a gift right before K2.  No I can' afford to buy K2.  that has not stopped me from downloading tons of books.  I have "bought" lots of free books and what I thought were just a few other books.  I just went and added up my purchases and they come to $100 in just two months.  Granted, I have 30 books or so but I can't (read that,"I don't want to") stop.  I haven't even gotten to all of them yet.  What is your average monthly book budget?  I want to explain to my husband that this is normal and NOT too much.

 

[Vegas_Asian]

My first two-three weeks with my kindle I spent 100$. I'd ask my parents if I could one-click a book and they would say yes....but they never realized what it added up to until they got their credit card bill. I got grounded from one-click. (which is so not fun) The following month I spent 100 (using a giftcards from coinstar). Last month I was REALLY careful and spent 35 dollars....I was hard to decide what to purchase.

 

[meglet]

Well, the day my Kindle shipped, I bought a $100 gift card as my "monthly" budget for February for Kindle books. (Note that there were only 4 days left in the month at that point. ) I've since spent that, and I'm sure I'll spend about the same this month as I build my Kindle library. I tend to re-read a lot, so once I have more titles on the Kindle, my monthly purchase total SHOULD go down.

I have an Amazon Visa that I use for my Amazon purchases, which gets me triple points and a $25 gift certificate for every 2500 points. That really helps with the pain when I add up what I spend on books (or anything else from Amazon.)

 

[L.Canton]

Believe me, I know the feeling. They've made it so convenient to spend money. 

 

[kevin63]

I right with all of you.  I love to pull out that plastic.  It's been getting a work out with the Kindle and accessories.  The good part ....I've been racking up miles for my frequent flyer program.

 

[Chad Winters]

I can't believe how much I spend on books!!
they're all SO good!! I can't stop.

 

[VMars]

So far I've only bought 20 dollars worth of books. I have like twenty samples and I read the samples, but I just have not been impressed with the samples. Now I'm reading Outlander, and that book is so long, it will keep me from clicking on anything for a bit. 

 

[Steph H]

Tell your husband that $100 in the first two months is wayyyyyy less than a lot of people have done.   Most people "freak out" in the beginning with how easy it is and the excitement of the new toy and all that (been there done that, still doing it 9 months later LOL) and have spent much more, and then start to slow down and be more careful of the budget.

As someone else mentioned, one way to stay on budget once you decide what the amount will be, is to buy an Amazon gift certificate for yourself at the beginning of the month. Once the GC is gone, no more buying books until you get the new GC the next month, even if you spend it all by the 25th or 15th or 5th.  Assuming you can stick to that kind of restriction and not keep buying anyway.  

You can also supplement that during the month, or however often you can, with turning coins to "cash" at a Coinstar machine near you that gives Amazon GCs, if you have one. Lots of folks do that, too.  Make sure you keep an eye out in the Book Corner forum to the Free Books thread and the Bargains thread, as a way to make the book budget go farther. Amazing how many freebies (not the old classics, but "current" books) there are in a month, as well as good bargains!

 

[soapy70]

I have had my K1 since February of last year and spend about $100 a month. I usually buy myself a $50.00 gift certificate every two weeks and try to limit myself to that. So far, so good.

 

[kari]

I'm new to the Kindle but so far I've only bought 2 books.  I think I will just buy a couple and read them as I go.  I don't think I'll buy a bunch of books before I have time to read them.  Plus, I've noticed on some of these that the price goes down as they get a little older, so there's incentive to chill out and not go crazy.

 

[Steph H]

You are much wise. But make sure you jump on freebies and bargains that you really think you might be interested in, 'cause freebies sometimes last only a short time (maybe even hours), and same with bargains -- something that is 99 cents at 10am may be $9.99 at 4pm!

 

[Thumper]

I bought 4 books right off the bat thinking Hey! This will do me for 3-4 weeks!

Hm, yeah, I read them all over the weekend. So I bought 3 more...we'll see. The novelty needs to wear off fast, lest I go very very broke...

 

[sebat]

I don't think it really matters what other people are spending.  We don't know your financial situation.  The real question is... can your family afford for you to spend that much every month on books?  I would recommend buying Amazon gift cards.  That will allow you to keep better track of your purchases without any nasty credit card surprises at the end of the month. 

I have a 2 kindle family. We only use gift cards for our purchases and it has worked really well.  No gift card, no purchase...that's our rule.  We've owned our Ks for 5 months, purchased over 150 books and have spent $310.  Most of that was spent in the first 2 months.  I think We've gotten smarter about purchases as time as passed.  In the beginning I was buying mostly $9.99 books.  Now we take advantage of all the free books and bargain books that we can.  In February, we spent $20 and purchased 26 books. 

 

[thejackylking #884]

At least we'll have a very literate group of broke/homeless/jobless people.

 

[Leslie]

At least we'll have a very literate group of broke/homeless/jobless people.

Hahahah, yes!

Like others have said, I have been using gift cards. I get mine from my Amazon visa card and I keep a running balance. Way back in the beginning, I spent it all and actually paid money for books, but I haven't done that in quite awhile. I also take advantage of the free books. I have been forcing myself to finish books, which might sound odd, but I discovered I really do have a bad habit of getting halfway through something and then getting distracted by something else. With paper books it was easy enough to let them pile up on my bedside table. With the Kindle, I have the book staring me in the face so I make myself get all the way through. (I do have two I "bought," Waiter Rant and David Sedaris' new book, that have gone unfinished for quite a few months now. I have accepted the fact that I might not finish those but I am not letting it happen with others.) Finishing books does make a difference and has been slowing me down from buying more all the time.

L

 

[stevene9]

I spent $100 the first 48 hours I had the K.

 

[MarthaT]

It's a bad addiction 

 

[intinst]

It's a bad addiction

That harms no one else.

 

[libro]

I bought my K2 on a credit card for the added purchase protection, but now I'm using debit or gift cards for my book purchases.  I know myself......if I didn't pay with "cash," I would spend more than I should.  It would be very easy to spend $100 in a couple minutes!  

 

[robin.goodfellow]

You mean that all those one-clicks add up to something?

Oh my.  That's not good.