Gas prices, food prices, electricity -- if you ever leave your house you know that prices continue to rise. Unfortunately, not everyone's income increases commensurately. That means you might have to consider cutting back on nonessential expenses.

The Glendale Public Library shared with me five very specific ways that you can save money by utilizing their extensive list of services and databases.

1.

Save money on buying books for leisure reading. Hardcover books, even at discounted prices, are expensive, and paperback books aren't cheap either. You can check out the latest bestsellers from the library. The normal check out period is three weeks. Bring them back after you have read them and take home another stack.

For the younger patrons, the online collection of animated, talking picture books, reading comprehension quizzes and educational games are specifically geared to children. The database includes teacher resources and is also available in Spanish.

2. Do you buy books for other than entertainment purposes? You'll find resources for woodworking, car repair, home remodeling, gardening, crafts, history, health concerns and hundreds of other topics. Don't forget that you can just renew a book if you need it a little longer. The library has thousands of DVDs and music CDs for adults, teens and children. Whether you are looking for recent releases or classic titles, the library is the perfect place to borrow media.

The price is right - nothing! DVDs can be checked out for a week, while music circulates for three weeks.

3. Why pay money for magazines or newspapers? The library is filled with a variety of topics from newsmagazines to special interests. Are you interested in travel, for instance? You can enjoy sitting in comfortable chairs perusing Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, National Geographic Traveler, and Conde Nast's Traveler. These magazines can even be checked out. Online users can find about a dozen titles that can be accessed from inside the library, at home or at work. Local and national newspapers can also be read inside the library or from their databases.

Doing research? The online databases incorporate thousands of journals, magazines and newspapers. Investors can check out Hoovers Online and the Business and Company Resource Center. Want to learn a new language? English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Russian and Spanish modules are available. Are you searching your family history? Heritage Quest Online is available remotely, while Ancestry Library Edition is searchable in the library. Students and genealogists will enjoy searching the U.S. History and Biography Resource Centers.

4. Are your entertainment dollars limited? Glendale Public Library offers about 250 programs every month for people of all ages, including story times for the youngest family members, video gaming programs for teens and musical entertainment for adults. There are book discussion groups, small business seminars, craft workshops, cultural events, and a myriad of special interest programs for children and teens. The library offers free programs that complement the materials in their collections.

5. With a Glendale Public Library card, you can save even more money if you have a computer, tablet, e-reader or smartphone with Internet access by staying home instead of driving around. Books, music and movies can be accessed online 24 hours a day through various databases. The Digital Media Library has a large selection of e-books, digital audiobooks, music and videos that can be checked and downloaded. When the lending period is up, the digital items are automatically returned. Aside from the entertainment value, databases include thousands of electronic books which cover topics that include careers, education, health, history, law, self-help and personal finance. Computer and information technology titles are available in the database. You'll find study guides and test-preparation books to help people prepare for high-stakes tests - to advance in school or pass licensing, certification, or competitive entry-level exams.

6. Going on vacation, and you don't want to carry heavy books with you for the trip? You can borrow an e-reader from the public library. The loan period is maximum 28 days. Of course, you'd be responsible for loss or damage.

7. The Culture Pass is a program that is offered through many local libraries. It allows you to "check out" passes to popular local attractions. Culture Pass gives library card holders in good standing free admission or tickets for two people at participating cultural institutions or theater performances. They are available on a first-come, first serve basis, but you can usually see online what the library has in stock at any particular time.

8. You can even use the public library to save money on your electric bill. Really? How does that work? Many of our local libraries, with the support of Salt River Project, allow people with library cards to borrow a meter called Kill-a-Watt. You can plug an appliance into the meter and it will show you how much energy that appliance is using. This is a great tool to use if you believe that your appliances may not be working properly or are getting too old. In the desert, an appliance using more energy than it is supposed to results directly into higher electric bills!

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Even though Glendale Public Library provided these tips, most of the public libraries in the Greater Phoenix area have services and programs that can save you money. It's time to check out the library!

Tip: In addition to the main calendar of monthly festivals and events, I publish a weekly list of those smaller but either fun or educational activities around town -- many of them are free -- including some of those at libraries. Check out the most recent list.