Did someone say cheap textbooks? Where? How? *faints because this cannot be real* Well I can make it a reality only if you follow along!
Tell me, would you rather spend money on
a cool pair of shoes, beautiful shirt and an amazing jacket that will make you
stand out in the crowd or would you rather spend your money on something boring
like textbooks? That is the big question for every college student. Textbooks
prices can easily range from $100 to over $300 per book, and having multiple
classes, you definitely want to save money. What if I told you that you can
find a $300 textbook for free or for half the price? Have fun with the rest of
the money!
We’ve all been through this, whether
you’re a college student or the parent of a college going child. Text books will
drain your wallet faster than a speeding bullet that will kill you unless you play
the game wisely. Here are a few tips to save you money on textbooks so you can
spend it on clothes, movies and a fun time with friends.
1. The Bain of Textbook Pricing
What is possibly the most expensive way
to buy a book you ask? My answer - the bookstore. Yes I agree that the
bookstore is convenient, it’s on campus, you can get books the same day, there
is no shipment fee, but the premium the bookstore charges is pretty insane. E.g.
this semester I went to the bookstore looking for a book and found a new book
to be $120; however the exact same book, brand new was available online for
$80. That extra $40 can buy you a bunch of cool things and if you combine this amount
for various classes, such as five classes, you can save up to $200 in total.
Say hello to that new skateboard!
2. The vast and mysterious search
So now that you know what not to do, you
want to know what you should do. Well let me guide you through this quest to
save money. The best thing to do is to go on Google. Google is the greatest
resource to find anything in the world. We look at it every day, so this time,
why not save some money through it. Once you know what book you need for a
class, the first step for any student should be to go to Google. It is heaven
made on Earth – or Internet – for us students. Type in the name of the book or
textbook price comparison and lo and behold opens the world of wonders, with
websites like Amazon, Chegg, Slugbooks, Textsurf and so on. Not only do these
websites compare prices for your book throughout the internet, they also give
you options of renting books. One major thing you can do to save money is rent
out a book. I personally saved so much money from renting out books. Rental
books are always half price from online sources like Amazon and the best part
is, once the semester is over the books go away and you do not have textbooks
taking up space in your dorm room and hence you can decorate it with actually
cool things.
3. Dollars in the library
One thing that is more boring than a
textbook is a library. No one goes there. But what if I told you that your library
can save you a few hundred dollars every semester? Interested? You should be.
Every semester I borrow a few textbooks from the library for free, for example
my first semester in college, instead of buying a book for my math class for
$150, I looked up the book at the library and lo and behold it was available
for free. I did so much more with the $150 - bought a very cool jacket - than
buying a boring book that I knew I would never use again. One of the coolest
things with technology today is that you can even get an EBook from the
library. This means you do not have to worry about limited supply, all you need
is a library card and you would save yourself enough money for a few new things
in your room and closet.
4. Love your seniors!
You love making friends? Make friends
with a few seniors. As soon as their classes are done they like to sell their
books for a cheap price and if you’re a friend, you get them even cheaper. I’ve
even got them for free. Boom! A couple hundred dollars right there. I received
a $75 book for free from a senior friend of mine because he was leaving school
and just wanted someone to take his book. Even if you don’t like making
friends, there are quite a few Facebook groups for every university where
students who have already taken a class love to sell their textbooks. I know
USC has a few pages such as “Free & for Sale,” “USC Book Sale” and “USC
Book Market.” At the beginning of every semester, you can find people selling
textbooks for various classes. I have saved money from these pages for the past
three years of college and done so much more with my money. So join those pages
today!
5. Thank heavens for various versions!
Now this might not always work but it is
certainly worth a try. Ask your professors on the first day of class if they
don’t mind you using an earlier version or an international version. Often
times these versions are pretty much the same except far cheaper than the most
recent edition. The older versions can be bought from students or online
resources such as Amazon and EBay. I have bought earlier versions of books
before and used the money I saved to buy myself some shoes online at the same
time, so do it for the shoes!
6. Friends (Not to be confused with the TV show)
If you have friends in the same class,
you can always share a book. Now it might not work for everyone and I have
personally rarely done it myself, but if you and your friend are close, are
roommates or like to study together, this is the perfect option for you. You
can set up a schedule on who can use the book when, and split the cost in half
saving you and your friend quite a few bucks. A few extra bucks for the Friday
night might I say.
Textbooks prices are increasing every
day and draining our wallets every semester. However following these simple
tricks can help you reduce your cost by a large amount, saving you money to
redesign your dorm room and wardrobe easily. One final note as you finish your
class, consider selling your books. Not only will it bring you some money that
you can use to buy books in the next semester, but it will also be a source for
other students like you to buy a book cheaper than the market making it a
profitable venture for all!
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