Hi Friendos,
Usually when people talk about taxes, the focus is on paying them. Today, I’d like to talk about taking advantage of what we receive from them.
First up: local libraries, paid for by taxes. Around 2010 I learned about the zero-waste movement at the same time I was recognizing that I was simply purchasing Too Much Stuff. I had a bit of a moment when I “discovered” a sweater that I had owned for a few years but barely worn because it was pushed to the back of my overstuffed closet. I wanted to become more intentional with purchases and this included books. I was not going to stop reading for pleasure, but resolved to give more thought to each book and consider if it was a book I simply wanted to read (once) or a book I wanted to read and own. And if it was something I wanted to own, I would first consider buying a used copy before buying a new one.
I looked back at my Amazon.com purchases from 2008, the bad old days before I started using my local library and when I ordered things from that site with abandon. That year I spent $227.50 on books, which is more than $330 in today’s dollars. If I’d invested $227.50 in an S&P 500 index fund on July 1, 2008 and reinvested dividends, it would be worth $1,350 today. Last year and this year, I have not purchased any books for my personal collection, although I have borrowed nearly 3 dozen books from the library during this period.
I’ve also borrowed board games from my library (helped me to decide that I did want to purchase one game). New York City has a fabulous Culture Pass program where I’ve used my library account for free admission (me and a guest) to multiple museums this year: MOMA, Poster House, the Museum of Arts and Design, and the Brooklyn Museum. Those admissions would have cost me $164. And I’ve also used a meeting room at the library (free to reserve) to meet with clients. There is a tool library that I haven’t used and other resources as well – it is well worth seeing what your local library offers.
Second on today’s list: digital images at the Library of Congress. Want to decorate on a budget? Have a place like Short Run Posters print something cool that’s in the public domain.
You could use free images if you want to create marketing materials, make custom cards, want a fresh desktop image for your computer…
I’ve spent quite a bit of time exploring the Artist Posters collection and Works Progress Administration poster collection.
If you enjoy baseball cards, architecture, Japanese woodblock prints and drawings, maps, theater, or any number of other subjects, I think you might appreciate what our national library has on offer!
Lastly, I’d like to encourage you to subscribe to newsletters from your elected representatives, especially at the local level. My city council member and state legislature electeds have excellent email newsletters that alert me to events like rain barrel giveaways, e-waste recycling events, compost giveaways, cancer screenings, and other events fully funded by taxes. You have to pay taxes anyway, you might as well take advantage!
-Stephanie
Frequently Taxed Questions 