This post is about how to save money on textbooks.
As you probably know, textbooks are ridiculously expensive. I thought I’d share some of the things I do every semester to save as much money as I can on books.
DON’T go to your University bookstore looking for your books. They are WAY overpriced, it’s super crowded, and just not the place to go unless you feel like searching through shelves and shelves and shelves for a book that they are probably out of stock on.
DO ask your roommates and friends if they have the book you need. My roommate needed my algebra textbook for a class so I let her borrow it for the semester. Most likely if a friend has it they’ll let you borrow it or at least sell it to you for super cheap.
DON’T get your textbooks immediately. Just wait until the 2nd week to see if your professor actually wants you to get it and if you’ll actually need it. My freshman year I wanted to be prepared so I my books ahead of time, BUT I left the seals on and returned the ones I ended up not needing. Just know how many days you have to return it if this is what you prefer to do.
DO check out Amazon to price check their used books and rental prices. I get most of my books on Amazon for about half the price they are selling for at the bookstore on campus. My favorite deal I found was renting a textbook from Amazon for $75. Guess how much it was at the store on campus…. $295. Almost $300 for one book, for one class. Check Amazon.
Bonus Tip: When you check Amazon compare the prices of the rental and used book. Remember you can sell the book at the end of the semester if you buy it. Take this for example… Lets just say you need a history textbook. It’s $80 to rent it and $100 to buy it. If you have the extra $20 to buy it, buy it. Because then you can possibly sell it for $90. This way you only technically lose $10 instead of paying $80 and never getting that money back at all. Then you can use that $90 towards another book for the next semester lol. (I hope that made sense, I’m not good at explaining math).
