I remember being a teenager and getting a birthday card in the mail from my great grandmother (she lived to be 99- a couple months shy of 100) and inside the card was a $5 bill and the card read "Happy Birthday- buy yourself a book".

I remember thinking, nice of her to send a card and money but I can't buy a book for $5. I think the going rate at that time was 5.99 US and 7.99 Canadian for new paperbacks.