Kindle Money-Saving Hacks You Need to Know
Last year, I read 27 books on my Kindle, and I’ve barely spent anything.
When I calculated what I’d spent, it worked out at just over $2 on average per book.
Today, I’m going to explain exactly how I save money on my reading. From daily deals to free classics, these four methods have saved me hundreds of pounds.
At the end, I’ll be honest about when Kindle isn’t cheaper, because there are some genuine downsides you should know about.
📕eBooks vs Physical Books
It’s worth starting with the point that many eBooks are cheaper than their physical copy alternatives.
When you go online, you will typically find that Kindle books are 30 to 50% cheaper than physical copies. This can make a real difference over time.
There are also the hidden costs attached to physical books, such as storage space and shipping costs. Plus, one of my favourite parts of my Kindle is having so many choices whenever I’m travelling and not having to worry about carrying lots of books.
It's worth noting that physical books can be cheaper than eBooks in specific situations. Charity shops, second-hand bookstores, and library sales are all great places to look. If you're willing to hunt, you can find bargains.
But I would say for new books, or if you want something specific right now, eBooks usually win on price.
🤝Kindle Daily Deals
This is my favourite money-saving hack for Kindle.
Amazon offers a range of books from £0.99 in the UK and from $1.99 in the US. The books change daily, so you never know what’s going to be on offer.
To find them, go to Amazon, navigate to the Kindle Store, and look for 'Kindle Deals.' It's usually near the top of the page.
I ask myself two questions: Is this a genre I'm interested in? And would I actually read this? If the answer is yes to both, I buy it. If not, I skip it.
Just because a book is available on a very good deal, doesn’t mean you should buy it. If you’ll never read it, it’s still a waste of money.
📖Prime Reading
Now, Prime Reading comes with an Amazon Prime membership, but as I mainly see this subscription as the delivery service and the video content, the reading has always felt like a “free” bonus to me.
To access it, go to Amazon, the book section, memberships, and you should have Prime Reading.
Prime Reading offers a selection of books to Prime members, and you can borrow up to 10 titles at a time. There are no due dates; you keep them until you return them.
The best part of Prime Reading for me has been Amazon Classics. These are classic books, such as Austen, Orwell, and Dickens, formatted for Kindle. I’ve been able to read classics at no extra cost.
The downside to Prime Reading is that it doesn’t have the largest selection. You don’t tend to get newly-released best sellers available. But for casual reading, discovering something new, or reading one of the classics, it’s brilliant.
📚Online Libraries
I recently started using openlibrary.org. This is a massive digital library with millions of books, and it's available for free.
You create a free account, borrow a book, download it, and then send the file to your device using the Send to Kindle feature. One note here is that many of these are images of the pages, so you can’t highlight them. I’ve also found the documents too big for my Kindle devices to handle, so I read them on my iPad, using the Kindle app.
It’s the sacrifice you have to decide whether to make to access books for free in this way. But for the occasional free book? I can deal with that.
There are also options like Libby, which is another library route you can explore. Libby isn’t available in my area of the UK, but I’m looking forward to trying it when the service expands.
⚖️The Counter-Arguments
Alright, so I've shown you four ways to save money on Kindle. But I need to be honest: Kindle isn't always cheaper, and there are some genuine downsides you should know about.
Firstly, the upfront cost of a Kindle can be off-putting for some. A Kindle Paperwhite is around £160-£170 or $160-$180.
That's a barrier. But here's the math: If you read 20 books a year, and you save an average of $5 per book by buying eBooks instead of physical copies, that's £100 saved per year.
So you'd break even on a new Paperwhite in about 18 months. After that, it's pure savings. But yes, the upfront cost is real, and not everyone can afford that initial investment.
Second, new releases aren’t always that much cheaper on Kindle. When books first come out, the prices for both formats tend to be in a similar price range.
Third, you don’t own the books you buy for your Kindle on Amazon. You’re actually licensing access to the book, so if Amazon removed a book from its store, you would lose it too.
Now, losing a book rarely happens, but it’s worth knowing.
So is Kindle always cheaper? No. There are upfront costs, limitations, and trade-offs. But if you read regularly, take advantage of Daily Deals, use Prime Reading, and access free libraries, you'll save money over time.
For me, it's been worth it. But it depends on how you read and what you value.
💭Closing Thoughts
These four strategies have saved me a lot of money over the last few years. And the best part? I'm reading more than I ever have.
What are your strategies for saving money on reading? Let me know by contacting me at Hello@charliesamways.com.
I’d love to hear your experiences reading and using e-readers, so please reach out to share your thoughts.
You can check out the video all about this topic on my YouTube channel below:
If you’re passionate about self-improvement, reading or want to discuss the subject of e-ink technology, I’d love to hear from you. So please drop me a message.
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