Cheap book, movie, and game sources

This blog is all about having a lot of fun without spending a lot of money. And there are hundreds of ways to do that—everything from day hikes and picnics to potlucks and board game nights to cheap ways to watch movies at home.

I’ve written about Redbox’s free video days and classic movie nights at the library.  Hulu.com is a fun way to watch TV shows and even some movies free on your computer.

And my all time favorite resource is the public library where you can borrow not only books but CDs and DVDs for free.

Here’s another resource to help stretch your entertainment budget: a media swapping service called Swaptree.com. It allows users to trade the media (books, DVDs, music, video games, etc) they have for the media they want. You list the items that you have to trade and the ones that you’d like to receive. Swaptree has a formula that works out two- and even three-way trades. They’ll tell you what swaps are available.

If you have unwanted movies, books, or games it might be a way to swap for something you haven’t seen, played or read. (Though it may be simpler to try to arrange a book/dvd/game swap locally.)

 The service is free—users only pay for the shipping of their item. Swaptree also simplifies the mailing process by allowing users to print a postage label on their regular printer. So no need to weigh items or find the right stamps.