Save Money -- Use Your Library

Free research assistance: One of the biggest assets that libraries provide that most people miss are the free research assistance. Librarians are very good at tracking down whatever information you're looking for. If you need the best books on a particular investment strategy or personal finance area, but know little about it yourself, this is a good place to begin.

Quiet place to work: Your house may not always be the quietest place to get reading and research done. But if you go to the library, you can even bring the kids; they can roam the children's section and find books and other materials of interest while you work. Many libraries now have computers that you can use to work on and more and more are installing free wifi connections where you can work off your own laptop.

A huge collection of resources: Last but not least, there is a huge number of items you can borrow for free. These are not limited to books; there are also CDs, videos, DVDs, tapes, etc. Many libraries have group relationships with other libraries in their area, so even if your library appears small, they may have access to all the books at a number of larger libraries in the area, even university libraries.

The library is a great place to "test drive" financial material that can be expensive. Use the library version and if, after reading it, you know you will refer to the book, newsletter or periodical on an ongoing basis, then you know that it will be worthwhile to purchase it yourself. But if you only refer to it on occasion, or never again, you saved yourself the cost of that item.

If you haven't taken a trip to your library lately, make the time to stop by and explore. Ask what services are available. You may be pleasantly surprised to find that you have a lot more financial information at your fingertips than you ever knew.

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