Saving on College Textbooks: 5 Tried and Tested Methods

Cost of living for college students is astronomical. With all of the costs of tuition, room and board, meal plans and textbooks, it’s almost necessary to get a part time job or rack up student loan debt. Luckily, there are ways to cut these costs without sacrificing the quality of your education.

One of the largest, and probably most unnecessary setbacks in college is the textbooks. Depending on the number of classes you are taking, these books can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. The worst part is, you probably won’t even cover a third of that material. In order to help you save on the detrimental cost of these books, we’ve compiled a list of the five easiest ways to save on college textbooks.

1. Skip the Bookstore

The college bookstore can be a great place to find t-shirts and other college memorabilia; however, it should be avoided like the plague when it comes to textbooks. For some reason, colleges believe that they have cornered the market on textbooks and that gives them a reason to charge a higher price. This simply isn’t true. Never step foot in the bookstore with the intention of buying textbooks. You might as well flush your money down the toilet.

	save money on textbooks

save money on textbooks

2. Buy Used

Used textbooks are an easy way to save a large amount of money. If you purchase from a reputable seller, these textbooks will be in like new condition. Since the books are still yours, you can highlight them and make notes that will help you study. You can find used textbooks on websites like ecampus.com in nearly every subject. They also give you the option to sell the textbook once you’re finished with it. Be sure to check out their rental pricing and eTextbooks while you’re at it.

3. Rent Them

Renting your textbooks simply means that you borrow the book for an extended amount of time, and return it by the scheduled deadline. Chegg.com is one of the most reputable textbook rental sites available. They even send you a box to ship it back in. If you need additional help such as tutoring or test prep, chegg has now expanded their portfolio to offer that as well.

4. Share

If you want to save even more money on textbooks, find a classmate to share them with! You can chip in to buy or rent a textbook for half the price. This is also a great way to meet new people, make friends, and improve your overall college experience. Just make sure that whoever holds onto the textbook is coming to class and willing to share it over study breaks.

5. eTextbooks

It should come as no surprise that everything is going digital these days. Textbooks are no exception to that rule. From either of the sites mentioned above, you can see if your books come in the form of an eTextbook that can be downloaded to your computer, tablet, or phone. Not only are these cheaper, they are also extremely convenient. Before you purchase them, just make sure that your professor approves of the use of electronics in class. Some professors tend to be a little more old school. Pun intended.

While a college education will always be costly, with the help of this post, you now have several options that will help you save on college textbooks and ease the financial burden that they can impose on you. If you found this article helpful, share this post on social media sites like Facebook so that your friends can also learn how they can save on their college textbook expenses. Don’t forget to tag them in it! Friends don’t let friends buy new textbooks.

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