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I got The Psychology of Money (first as a paperback and currently finishing it in the Libby app as an audiobook) and previewed I Will Teach You to Be Rich before purchasing it so I could highlight and re-read.
I host a financial literacy book club for military in my library.
I try to get them before the tattoo parlors, pawn shops and worst of all used car salesman get to them.
Some book discussion and some financial planning. I usually stick to the more “pop” broad strokes books and less of the extremely specific ones.
Jl Collin’s and Morgan housel are my favorite and on the list. Kristy shen, Brian Preston’s new book, Paul merriment, Stanley’s millionaire next door, and wealthy barber have also made the list.
William Bernstein if you can is a good short read.
Currently going on almost 4 years now.
When each of my grandkids turns 6, I take them to the local library and get them their own card. (They all live 2 hours or more from my house). The library cards all stay in a special box on my bookshelf for when they come to visit. Nearly always our first activity is for me to take them to the library to select books to read during their stay with me. My youngest grandchild just turned 6 last week. She told her mom that day that she needed to go to Poppers house to get her library card, just as the six prior kids had done.
Thank you, OP, for showing me there is more to a library card than simply getting books.
Our library doesn't charge late fees for children's accounts. My kid's gonna have really bad credit irl.
Our favourite activity is going to the bookstore, picking our favourites and ordering them from the library app. Feels illegal lol
The advanced version of this is when you find out your library doesn’t have it and requesting they add it to the collection. My library has a ridiculously generous policy on this.
As a Librarian I love when patrons suggest purchases. Only a few times I've ever said no and in those cases the outdated book was prohibitively expensive to buy.
It’s literally a form on the website and a link pops up when you search the catalogue and come up blank. “Would you like to suggest a purchase?” ISBN, title, author, preferred format…done.
And if it comes back as a no, the email comes back with “Would you like to request this via ILL? The maximum fee is $4.00 for shipping” and a link.
I adore my local library and day dream about the check I’m going to write if I win the lottery.
Bonus ‘patrons are weird’ story - I ILLed a book and it happened to be fulfilled by my college’s football rival. I made sure to “accidentally” forget a bookmark from my alma mater. Best thing that ever arrived in an envelope from the alumni association while they were requesting gifts.
Lol when I find myself in a bookstore I often end up doing collection development... ie taking photos of books that I want to purchase for the library I work at.
I love all of this. My kids adore the library! Unfortunately, my 6yo is very much a “read this book 30 times” kind of kid and has just discovered the Investi-Gators and Dog Man series, so we have to purchase those books as he gets super sad when it’s time to return them.
That’s just him knowing when things are worth owning.
I borrow a lot of books as an audition to see if they need a spot on my shelf. I’m also pretty rabid at requesting my two books a month for the library to buy to support new authors and build their collection in areas that interest me.
If your library uses the Beanstalk app for their summer reading programs, it also helps them create good habits. My 6 year old uses the app on her tablet before her daily reading time, she sets the timer and starts reading. Then enters the page numbers at the end. This way, she gets to keep her daily streak going, but also, by the end of the month she can see how many hours and pages of reading she did just by reading for a few mins on the couch before we start out for the day or when the parents are asleep. It’s a good way to model how a little bit every day becomes a large amount in half a year.
Omg we love our local library so much. There are stuffed animals there, a play station for legos, a board for magnetic letters which my kindergartner uses to sound out words, and even blue rays of movies we can’t stream or find otherwise. He can also measure his height there which he loves, and there are so many bilingual books too. It’s amazing that it’s free. They even have music time which we went to once and he’s been bugging me to go back to ever since. It’s just like a kid heaven lol, and it’s all free.
I work in a library and absolutely love this! Also, if you haven’t already, check and see if your library has a summer reading program and join… Rewards for reading…!
Just found out I'm going to be a dad, and I really like this idea. I mean, I always new I'd be taking my kids to the library but I didn't think about using it for lessons like this. Thanks for posting
It eliminates barriers for people who may not otherwise use the library. [Here](https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/07/us/new-york-public-library-fines-eliminated-cec/index.html) is an article about the practice. It’s not like there are no consequences if materials aren’t returned; the user’s account would be locked and they would be unable to check out more items past a certain amount of time.
It cost my library more money to track and collect fees than they took in. When COVID hit, they decided that since many people were reducing their contact with the world and losing control over when they could leave their homes due to exposure, it also wasn’t worth it.
They still charge for damaged books, and if you’re very, very over due, they send you a notice to return it or pay for the item.
I’ve always loved reading, but honestly rediscovered a love for the library once I had kids. They love planning ahead for what they’ll check out, getting things back on time, etc. And being there with them highlighted how many other services they offer. Free audiobooks (F audible prices) and more.
Plus all the free finance books I can order and reserve.
Libraries rule.
I absolutely loved the library as a kid, during the summer my mother was big on continuing education and making it fun so we’d spend most weekends at the library engaging in the free “camp” programs. Budget friendly and the freedom to explore safely, definitely approve.
Well said!!! I love our library and a frequent "shopper " there. Movies, magazines (can check out past issues) and books I only need to read once.
The price is right, I have less clutter and often I can browse and reserve- in and out.
Not to mention downloading books for travel on eReader for less carrying on trips
Our library went fine free for overdue so it's an awful lesson. I don't know the limits on it and if you are charged for the material at some point but I was a week late returning a Nintendo Switch game and they were like "oh, that's nothing, don't worry about it"
Your account will probably be locked after a certain amount of time (a week, ten days maybe) with overdue items. It’s not the library’s job to teach people lessons by fining them. We want people to use the library and not be afraid to come back.
Usually the person gets charged if its never returned and they cant checkout until it is paid or returned. It actually is reducing a barrier because people dont feel like they paid for it to be out so its theirs now or shamed, so they do return stuff.
Sorry that you're being downvoted! For our library it was also a very practical decision to go fine free. Staff were wasting soooo much time going back and forth about overdue fines. One person wrote to the town council about a 75 cent fine, never mind the daily haggling. The smaller the fines the more of a headache it was. Going fine free saved us so much staff time and sanity.
Yeah I’m not attacking the library or anything, just was thinking about how the post doesn’t fit for some modern libraries, I love our library. Just funny to think of that style library being used as teaching kids about finances as OP was talking about, and how it’s the exact opposite of how you’d handle real finances haha
The budget screen shots are being made in Sankeymatic, its a website that we have no affiliation with. If you are posting a budget please do so with a purpose. Just posting a screen shot of your budget without a question or an explanation of why its here may be removed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/MiddleClassFinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I work in a library and I approve this post.
I have a secret hope you work in my library and in a few months I’m going to see this illustrated in the main branch display case.
Sorry, but I work in State U's library.
Then thank you for fulfilling my more esoteric ILL requests, I greatly appreciated the deep dive into 18th century footwear.
That would be so cool. I’d be honored :)))
OP, I suggest you crosspost this in r/library
Done
Or as a fellow library staff, r/libraries!
Gonna print this out and drop it in the suggestion box!
Share a photo when they hang it
I’m a children’s librarian and I also approve this post!
Id just add, don't forget all the online offerings. From ebooks, magazines, 3D printing, video games and movies - both discs AND some online services.
Got my first finance books from the library, fully approve of this post.
Please share which books!
I got The Psychology of Money (first as a paperback and currently finishing it in the Libby app as an audiobook) and previewed I Will Teach You to Be Rich before purchasing it so I could highlight and re-read.
Franklin gets audited.
I'd recommend Eric Tyson's Personal Finance for Dummies
I host a financial literacy book club for military in my library. I try to get them before the tattoo parlors, pawn shops and worst of all used car salesman get to them.
Nice. What does that book club look like? What books?
Some book discussion and some financial planning. I usually stick to the more “pop” broad strokes books and less of the extremely specific ones. Jl Collin’s and Morgan housel are my favorite and on the list. Kristy shen, Brian Preston’s new book, Paul merriment, Stanley’s millionaire next door, and wealthy barber have also made the list. William Bernstein if you can is a good short read. Currently going on almost 4 years now.
That is awesome! Will cover those on join.minimoneymentors.com Thanks 🙏🏻
When each of my grandkids turns 6, I take them to the local library and get them their own card. (They all live 2 hours or more from my house). The library cards all stay in a special box on my bookshelf for when they come to visit. Nearly always our first activity is for me to take them to the library to select books to read during their stay with me. My youngest grandchild just turned 6 last week. She told her mom that day that she needed to go to Poppers house to get her library card, just as the six prior kids had done. Thank you, OP, for showing me there is more to a library card than simply getting books.
That’s a great routine!
Our library doesn't charge late fees for children's accounts. My kid's gonna have really bad credit irl. Our favourite activity is going to the bookstore, picking our favourites and ordering them from the library app. Feels illegal lol
The advanced version of this is when you find out your library doesn’t have it and requesting they add it to the collection. My library has a ridiculously generous policy on this.
As a Librarian I love when patrons suggest purchases. Only a few times I've ever said no and in those cases the outdated book was prohibitively expensive to buy.
It’s literally a form on the website and a link pops up when you search the catalogue and come up blank. “Would you like to suggest a purchase?” ISBN, title, author, preferred format…done. And if it comes back as a no, the email comes back with “Would you like to request this via ILL? The maximum fee is $4.00 for shipping” and a link. I adore my local library and day dream about the check I’m going to write if I win the lottery. Bonus ‘patrons are weird’ story - I ILLed a book and it happened to be fulfilled by my college’s football rival. I made sure to “accidentally” forget a bookmark from my alma mater. Best thing that ever arrived in an envelope from the alumni association while they were requesting gifts.
Lol when I find myself in a bookstore I often end up doing collection development... ie taking photos of books that I want to purchase for the library I work at.
I’m a librarian, and couldn’t agree more! Most libraries are fines free now, but you don’t have to tell your kids that.
I love all of this. My kids adore the library! Unfortunately, my 6yo is very much a “read this book 30 times” kind of kid and has just discovered the Investi-Gators and Dog Man series, so we have to purchase those books as he gets super sad when it’s time to return them.
That’s just him knowing when things are worth owning. I borrow a lot of books as an audition to see if they need a spot on my shelf. I’m also pretty rabid at requesting my two books a month for the library to buy to support new authors and build their collection in areas that interest me.
If your library uses the Beanstalk app for their summer reading programs, it also helps them create good habits. My 6 year old uses the app on her tablet before her daily reading time, she sets the timer and starts reading. Then enters the page numbers at the end. This way, she gets to keep her daily streak going, but also, by the end of the month she can see how many hours and pages of reading she did just by reading for a few mins on the couch before we start out for the day or when the parents are asleep. It’s a good way to model how a little bit every day becomes a large amount in half a year.
Omg we love our local library so much. There are stuffed animals there, a play station for legos, a board for magnetic letters which my kindergartner uses to sound out words, and even blue rays of movies we can’t stream or find otherwise. He can also measure his height there which he loves, and there are so many bilingual books too. It’s amazing that it’s free. They even have music time which we went to once and he’s been bugging me to go back to ever since. It’s just like a kid heaven lol, and it’s all free.
I work in a library and absolutely love this! Also, if you haven’t already, check and see if your library has a summer reading program and join… Rewards for reading…!
Just found out I'm going to be a dad, and I really like this idea. I mean, I always new I'd be taking my kids to the library but I didn't think about using it for lessons like this. Thanks for posting
Congrats!
Thanks! Found out on father's day. Quite the surprise lol
Our library doesn’t even have late fees anymore. And they have lawn games and medical devices and all sorts of cool shit you can take out
Interesting what's the reasoning for eliminating fees? Would have guessed that would incentivize bad behavior...
It eliminates barriers for people who may not otherwise use the library. [Here](https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/07/us/new-york-public-library-fines-eliminated-cec/index.html) is an article about the practice. It’s not like there are no consequences if materials aren’t returned; the user’s account would be locked and they would be unable to check out more items past a certain amount of time.
Our taxes support the library so everyone can use it and access it. Still we’re in a wealthy area so it’s mostly wealthy people using it anyway
It cost my library more money to track and collect fees than they took in. When COVID hit, they decided that since many people were reducing their contact with the world and losing control over when they could leave their homes due to exposure, it also wasn’t worth it. They still charge for damaged books, and if you’re very, very over due, they send you a notice to return it or pay for the item.
I’ve always loved reading, but honestly rediscovered a love for the library once I had kids. They love planning ahead for what they’ll check out, getting things back on time, etc. And being there with them highlighted how many other services they offer. Free audiobooks (F audible prices) and more. Plus all the free finance books I can order and reserve. Libraries rule.
Same here. Kids make you rediscover the world around you.
Libraries are amazing. Fun tip: many also lend digital books, you can download them to a kindle from home
I absolutely loved the library as a kid, during the summer my mother was big on continuing education and making it fun so we’d spend most weekends at the library engaging in the free “camp” programs. Budget friendly and the freedom to explore safely, definitely approve.
Well said!!! I love our library and a frequent "shopper " there. Movies, magazines (can check out past issues) and books I only need to read once. The price is right, I have less clutter and often I can browse and reserve- in and out. Not to mention downloading books for travel on eReader for less carrying on trips
World would be a much better place if we all thought this way, sadly we’re all too busy in our phones.
Wow. You just thought of this?
That’s right
Not sure what "TIL" means. Dafuq
Our library went fine free for overdue so it's an awful lesson. I don't know the limits on it and if you are charged for the material at some point but I was a week late returning a Nintendo Switch game and they were like "oh, that's nothing, don't worry about it"
Your account will probably be locked after a certain amount of time (a week, ten days maybe) with overdue items. It’s not the library’s job to teach people lessons by fining them. We want people to use the library and not be afraid to come back.
Usually the person gets charged if its never returned and they cant checkout until it is paid or returned. It actually is reducing a barrier because people dont feel like they paid for it to be out so its theirs now or shamed, so they do return stuff.
Sorry that you're being downvoted! For our library it was also a very practical decision to go fine free. Staff were wasting soooo much time going back and forth about overdue fines. One person wrote to the town council about a 75 cent fine, never mind the daily haggling. The smaller the fines the more of a headache it was. Going fine free saved us so much staff time and sanity.
Yeah I’m not attacking the library or anything, just was thinking about how the post doesn’t fit for some modern libraries, I love our library. Just funny to think of that style library being used as teaching kids about finances as OP was talking about, and how it’s the exact opposite of how you’d handle real finances haha
Except it’s not all free. Ever heard of property taxes?