Personal finance group blog WiseBread recently started forums (you should check them out). As an incentive, they had a contest for Amazon gift certificates for people signing up. It was my lucky day (see below for another reason) and I won a $20 Amazon e-certificate

If it had been for Borders…basically Amazon offline…I probably would have added it to the coffee date gift card group. But as it was, I was able to whip out my book wishlist and purchase a couple.

First, I bought See Jane Write: A Girl’s Guide to Writing Chick Lit. I guess it’s time to admit that one of my hopes is to be a writer someday. Chick lit? Perhaps. It’s a genre I enjoy. And I have some fun ideas, but I’m not telling!
Then I bought Work as a Spiritual Practice: A Practical Buddhist Approach to Inner Growth and Satisfaction on the Job. Since work is pretty much something we have to do, whether it’s at a job or being a stay-at-home parent, this is a useful book for all situations. Also, many Buddhists are quite ecumenical in their writing, since their goal is to help others experience peace, whether in the person’s own religion, lack thereof, or as a follower of the Buddhist path. I’d say this book is potentially useful for just about anyone.

I still have $3 and change left on the certificate (I buy used!) so now I just have to save it until I get another certificate or until I find something pretty inexpensive (I’d have to pay something anyway, since s&h is something like $3.99) or that I’m going to get anyway.

You may have noticed that I didn’t choose to buy a PF book. That’s because I haven’t come across one yet that I feel I need to have and hold. Borrow from the library and take notes–yes. Buy and have forever…not yet. The books I bought will be more handy on a day-to-day basis. The first has some reference material besides the genre information. The second is one of those books that it’s always good to have around (like Feeling Good by David Burns).

And anyway, I won another book from Cash Money Life! It’s a personal finance book called You’re Broke Because You Want to Be: How to Stop Getting By and Start Getting Ahead by Larry Winget. Patrick wrote an interesting review of it and then gave it away. I’ll probably either sell it or give it away myself once I’ve read it. Depends on how I like it.

I’ll let you know.

This is why it’s worth keeping a wishlist–because you might get a gift certificate and have a chance to buy something that wouldn’t have been in your budget. Yay!

(the Amazon links in this are affiliate links…if you decide to buy the book I’ll get a cut. I’d recommend the books, but not if they’re outside your budget. That’s what the library’s for.)

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