I am overdrawn this month, significantly (I hate having no money!). I discussed this with Mac in the parish club this afternoon after Mass, and we agreed that I should draft a budget (I have often thought that I am too impulsive and greedy, and therefore stupid, to stick to a budget, but I really need to sort out my finances). My monthly expenses are basically housekeeping, the money I owe my brother, lunch at work and college and a few other small things. I spend nothing on travel because I have a free Oyster card and I do lots of walking, so I am lucky in this respect. I have spent some time ruminating over this this afternoon, but I got distracted and instead went onto Amazon and Abebooks going through lists of books that I want (and need in a few cases). The list is vastly incomplete (I left out all the first editions), but already the total cost is at £1,236.13 (three books in this list are very expensive). The most expensive one is the Oxford English Dictionary, in 20 Volumes, for £688.97 (with money off too!) - Tolkien got this for free of course, having worked on it as a lexicographer. I doubt I'll be able to afford this for at least a year, unless by some miracle I win the lottery...
I wonder if going through this list of expensive books (a lot of them are Tolkien books) constitutes a kind of budgetting? At least I am aware that I cannot currently afford them! Back to work now I guess...
Sunday 24 January 2010
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why do you need an OED? I know how you feel about books, especially beautiful ones... but the way I kick this is to ask myself do I need it, or is it really useful... I also offset my purchases by selling old books.
ReplyDeleteI would love to own one. I am in fact building my own personal library. Also, I have an especial interest in the history of words, which most dictionaries don't provide.
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