Confession: I'm Not Debt-Free

It’s true.  I’m in debt…at the library.

I’ve been $2.80 in debt with them for about 6 months.  I somehow find it impossible to return a book within the 3 week timeframe allotted to me.

I’ve tried to pay off my debt, too!

The first time, I scrounged around in my huge black satchel (it’s ridiculous, I’ve literally lost Lloyd in there before) and came up with a $0.56 down payment.  They rejected it!  They said to wait “until I had the entire amount of the debt all at once”.  Talk about debt forgiveness.

The next time I was there, I got frustrated with those cute little librarians staring over the rims of their glasses at me and asking if I “knew that I had a balance?”

Of course I know!  Here’s my credit card!

They wouldn’t take that either!  Something about how they can’t charge anything less than ten dollars or some crazy talk like that (pleeeease, I’ve charged 95 cents at Quik Trip before).

So, yep, it’s true.  I’m not technically debt-free.  I would really like to be though!  If only they would put me on a Generation-Y payment plan – they know we hardly ever have cash on us!

13 Comments

  • Shit yeah, I never carry cash around. I bought a two pack of socks today for 2.77 and felt ridiculous pulling out my card, but so be it! You’re lucky – here if you haven’t paid your fines for a certain amount of time, and go to get more books out, they won’t let you borrow any new ones till you cough up!

  • Carrie,

    I have been owning Kansas City Public Library $4 and Johnson County Public Library $5, for years. I will eventually pay them off. If can remember whenever I am in the vicinity of library. In the meantime I get audio books off of netlibrary.com.

    Kcnative

  • It’s bad, but I have a library debt too. My fault for forgetting to renew my books. Lots of time I don’t have cash either, and they don’t take credit card (I think it’s because of the merchant fees that CC companies charge).

  • I just charged $0.56 at Costco to print some pictures the other day!

    Cash = King?! Not a chance! Credit card rewards = king!

    • @Candie @eemusings – I know! I absolutely NEVER have cash…it’s such a bad habit.

      @KCNative Glad to hear I’m not the only one in KC with this problem!! he he I always have a small fear that they’re going to send the creditors after me. 😀

      @WellHeeled Yeah, I figured it was something with the fees for credit cards or somethin’ like that.

      @Tom Agreed! I love my credit card rewards!

  • I never have cash with me either! It’s actually kind of embarrassing on the random occasions that I want to get a drink from the vending machine and I’m digging in my purse for an eternity trying to find some lonely quarters.

    On a side note, I owe 10 cents to the library on a young adult novel titled “Doing It.” My husband is a librarian. He frequently looks up my account just to laugh at this, but refuses to pay the 10 cents for me. 😉

    • @Jen LOL!!!!!!!! That is great! Not only is it the smallest debt ever, but it’s for a novel with the greatest title ever. LOL!!

  • Hahaha!! I hate they way they judge you when they say you’ve got a balance, as if you’ve just attempted a hit and run and they’ve called you out on your guilt. 😛

  • hey i’m just impressed that you use your public library. i’d gotten a card several years ago but that was only to use the computers while my internet was down. shame, shame, shame. i’m definitely more of a book purchaser than a book borrower.

  • Lol! This is too funny. I had a $12 balance at the library once before that haunted me. I seriously spent more time worrying about making a special trip to the library to pay off my balance than I worried about my credit card payments.

    I think I inherited my mother’s late gene. She cannot be on time for anything – events, movie rental returns, library returns. I’ve done a lot better this time around, but that’s because I cannot bear to think of avoiding the library. It’s my hub for all books, movies and CDs!

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