The ultimate entertainment budget hack: Your local library

Entertainment in 2026 is a bit of a double-edged sword. Excellent films and television shows are widely available in ways that would have sounded like science fiction just 20 years ago—but at a steep price. A single movie ticket costs an average of $16, while the average American household spends over $42 per month on streaming services, which adds up to $504 per year.

And if you’re anything like me, you may not even be getting your money’s worth on those streaming services. Often when I sit down to watch something...