{"id":313607,"date":"2025-08-03T04:19:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T04:19:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/313607\/"},"modified":"2025-08-03T04:19:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-03T04:19:16","slug":"rich-people-who-grew-up-poor-share-the-cheap-money-habits-they-still-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/313607\/","title":{"rendered":"Rich people who grew up poor share the ‘cheap’ money habits they still use"},"content":{"rendered":"

Right now, something absolutely incredible is happening in Long Beach<\/a>, California<\/a>. The Long Beach Public Library<\/a> Foundation, which includes 11 neighborhood branches and the flagship Billie Jean King<\/a> Main Library, just announced that it\u2019s partnering with the Brooklyn Public Library<\/a>. Their goal? By October 25th, every single teenager <\/a>in the nation will have free access to books<\/a> that might have been banned or restricted in their area<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s pretty awesome to witness a library fight so fiercely, throwing out copies of Looking for Alaska<\/a>, or Margaret Atwood<\/a>\u2019s The Handmaid\u2019s Tale<\/a>, like a bookish Adonis Creed. Because this is precisely what this moment needs: fearlessness and tenacity in the face of censorship<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The partnership that\u2019s changing everything<\/p>\n

Libraries are shared havens, safe spaces that offer much more than the Dewey Decimal system. Everyone is welcome here at the public library, whether you\u2019re sitting down and reading, using the printer, or accidentally looking at your phone the entire time, only to realize you got zero work done at all. <\/p>\n

But this is different. <\/p>\n

This is about libraries transforming into protectors of intellectual freedom and champions against censorship. <\/p>\n

\u00a0\"library,\u00a0Libraries are fighting back. Photo credit: Canva<\/a><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how it works: Starting this fall, teens between 13 and 19 years old anywhere in the United States will be able to sign up for a free digital library card<\/a> from the Long Beach Public Library<\/a>. All participants must fill out an application to gain access to the library\u2019s digital resources, then renew annually to retain it. <\/p>\n

Once approved, they will have full access to the library\u2019s entire collection of e-books and audiobooks through the Libby app<\/a>. There, they will find a treasure trove of titles that have been challenged or banned elsewhere, such as the New York Times bestseller, Water for Elephants<\/a>, by Sara Gruen, which received 66 bans last year. Or, The Perks of Being a Wallflower<\/a>, Stephen Chbosky\u2019s cult-favorite coming-of-age tale, which is currently tied for the third most-banned book in America. <\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"woman,\u00a0These books and stories, they too, are infinite. Credit: Giphy<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In fact, Susan Jones, the library\u2019s manager of automated services, told the Long Beach Post<\/a> that the library actually intends to expand its database of banned books and purchase \u201ctitles that may be facing censorship challenges nationwide\u201d to minimize wait times.<\/p>\n

With its most recent alliance, the Long Beach Public Library Foundation joins the Brooklyn Public Library’s nationwide \u201cBooks Unbanned<\/a>\u201d movement. Inspired by the American Library Association\u2019s Freedom to Read Statement<\/a> and the Library Bill of Rights<\/a>, Books Unbanned was founded to \u201csupport the rights of teens nationwide to read what they like, form their own opinions, and work together with peers across the nation to defend and expand the freedom to read.\u201d Other members of the Books Unbanned coalition include the Boston Public Library<\/a>, the Los Angeles Public Library<\/a>, the San Diego Public Library<\/a>, and the Seattle Public Library<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe started Books Unbanned in April 2022, and we really did it in response to all the stories we were hearing about books being banned across the country. \u2026 We wanted to figure out a way to get books in the hands of young people who were being denied them,\u201d said<\/a> Fritzi Bodenheimer, a spokesperson for the Brooklyn Public Library. \u201cWe just didn\u2019t feel like, as a public library, we could just sit back and watch this happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0A video explaining Books Unbanned. \u00a0 Credit: YouTube<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

The response has been overwhelming. Bodenheimer urges other libraries like Long Beach to step up and provide books that are under attack, before it’s too late. <\/p>\n

\u201cSince we launched in April 2022, we\u2019ve had almost 10,000 young people sign up for a card, and they\u2019re from all 50 states. They’ve checked out \u2026 close to or maybe over 300,000 books,\u201d Bodenheimer told the Long Beach Post<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly exciting and heartwarming, and it\u2019s also incredibly heartbreaking because it means there\u2019s a need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why this matters so, so much<\/p>\n

Reading is under attack. And the need for action has never felt more urgent. According to the American Library Association\u2019s (ALA) annual report<\/a>, there were 821 attempts to censor library books and materials in 2024, with 2,452 unique titles being challenged\u2014the third-highest number ever documented by ALA.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s particularly concerning is that 72% of these censorship demands<\/a> came from organized \u201cpressure groups” and “the administrators, board members, and elected officials they influenced,\u201d rather than individual parents (16%) or community members (4%). More than half of these challenges took place in public libraries (55%), with school libraries following close behind (38%).<\/p>\n

Let’s be clear. The books being targeted aren\u2019t random. <\/p>\n

\u00a0\"man,\u00a0Books aren’t challenged or banned by accident. They’re targeted.Photo credit: Canva<\/a><\/p>\n

These are stories written by or about Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), or LGBTQ+ individuals that explore their experiences, histories, and movements. They address race and racism, and dive head-first into the experiences of marginalized communities. In other words, these are the very books that could help young people see themselves reflected in literature or empathize with perspectives different from their own.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are witnessing an effort to eliminate entire genres and categories of books from library shelves in pursuit of a larger goal of placing politics and religion over the well-being and education of young people and everyone\u2019s right to access and find information in our libraries,\u201d reports <\/a>Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of ALA\u2019s Office for Intellectual Freedom. <\/p>\n

In 2024, these were the top 10 most frequently targeted books: <\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. All Boys Aren\u2019t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto<\/a>\u00a0by George M. Johnson. <\/li>\n
  2. Gender Queer: A Memoir<\/a>\u00a0by Maia Kobabe. <\/li>\n
  3. The Bluest Eye<\/a>\u00a0by Toni Morrison. <\/li>\n
  4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower<\/a>\u00a0by Stephen Chbosky. <\/li>\n
  5. Tricks<\/a>\u00a0by Ellen Hopkins. <\/li>\n
  6. Looking for Alaska<\/a>\u00a0by John Green. <\/li>\n
  7. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl<\/a>\u00a0by Jessie Andrews. <\/li>\n
  8. Crank<\/a>\u00a0by Ellen Hopkins. <\/li>\n
  9. Sold<\/a>\u00a0by Patricia McCormick.<\/li>\n
  10. Flamer<\/a>\u00a0by Mike Curato. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n


    Real stories, real impact<\/p>\n

    The power of this program becomes crystal clear when you hear from the teens themselves, their voices and lives recorded in a collection of thousands of stories called \u201cIn Their Own Words: Youth Voices on Books Unbanned<\/a>.” <\/p>\n

    \u201cThe library closest to me is very underfunded, and it is very conservative. It has a plethora of Christian novels, but their novels surrounding people of color and other religions are very limited. As a person of color, it sucks to not be able to see myself in novels I read,\u201d writes an anonymous 17-year-old reader in Texas. <\/p>\n

    \u201cThere are books that I cannot take home because they would put me in danger. Reading digitally allows me to keep myself safe but still give[s] me the ability to read freely,\u201d says another, this time, a 19-year-old in Virginia. <\/p>\n

    Finally, in California, a 16-year-old explains, \u201cIf it hadn\u2019t been for the books available to me about different marginalized people\u2019s perspectives in my school libraries growing up, I might have grown up to be a very different person.\u201d<\/p>\n


    The fight continues<\/p>\n

    This partnership represents something bigger than books. It\u2019s about democracy, human empathy, and the belief that all young people deserve access to stories to help them understand themselves and the world around them. <\/p>\n

    In a time when literary censorship is at an all-time high, Long Beach Public Library\u2019s allegiance with Books Unbanned offers something radical and precious: a glimmer of hope. <\/p>\n

    \u00a0\"woman,\u00a0Our public libraries are precious. Photo credit: Canva<\/a><\/p>\n

    It\u2019s a reminder that our libraries will not go down easily. That people around the country want to protect intellectual freedom just as much as you do. And they are willing to fight tooth and nail for every young person\u2019s right to read, learn, and grow.<\/p>\n

    Long Beach Public Library’s Books Unbanned program is slated to launch in October 2025, just in time for this year’s Banned Books Week<\/a>, where the theme is “Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights.\u201d Is this a blessing from George Orwell himself, telling us that we’re heading in the right direction? I hope so. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Right now, something absolutely incredible is happening in Long Beach, California. The Long Beach Public Library Foundation, which…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":313608,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3093],"tags":[51,12143,114307,474,3467,18267,21241,72325,101320,114308,1232,3780,108366,2499,3784,4880,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-313607","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-cheap","10":"tag-cheap-money","11":"tag-finance","12":"tag-financial-advice","13":"tag-financial-hardship","14":"tag-financial-success","15":"tag-frugal","16":"tag-frugal-living","17":"tag-grow-up-poor","18":"tag-money","19":"tag-money-advice","20":"tag-money-habits","21":"tag-personal-finance","22":"tag-save-money","23":"tag-saving-money","24":"tag-uk","25":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114962914631524755","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=313607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313607\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/313608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=313607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=313607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=313607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}