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Books – The Budget Killer You May Not Have Anticipated

Sometimes they’re big, sometimes they’re small. Sometimes they’re hardback, sometimes they’re squishy. Sometimes they’re spiral bound and sometimes they’re loose-leaf. I’m sure you know where I’m going with this. 

Sigh. Textbooks. 

Right before every semester starts, we get a nifty little list of required reading for each class. Sure, sometimes we’re lucky enough to take a literature class that requires something we already have on the bookshelf. Or, if we don’t have it, Kindle or iBooks have a great number of classic titles for free. FREE! 

Sometimes, though, we aren’t so lucky. I’ve been there. I’ve been there more times than I care to admit, frankly. You know the dark place I’m talking about. The one where we’re already salty because we have to take some nonsense 102 level class that is wildly uninteresting, and our saltiness is compounded because the book for the class is monetarily equivalent to the birth of our firstborn? 

Yeah. I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve visited that dark, salty place many times over the duration of my academic career. However, with each passing semester, I learned a few tricks.  (Yes!  There is a glimmer of hope!) 

One of the key elements I’ve learned regarding textbooks is to rent. Rent, rent, rent! Chegg, Amazon, Kindle, Nook, and Half.com all offer textbook rentals, which are significantly cheaper than purchasing (obviously). You order, they mail, you use. Then you print off the return label, slap it on a bubble envelope and ship that bad boy back! 

To make the deal even sweeter, many titles are available through e-book rental, which makes the shipping hassle non-existent. Be sure to check out the prices on each site, because prices vary by semester and outlet. 

Many professors will be up front about the amount of time you will dedicate to the book required for their class. Some professors hate the book choices, and pick one solely because the school requires them to do so. When that is the case, they typically do not have a problem letting you know exactly how much they think the book sucks. In these classes, you can almost get away with not purchasing the book at all, or perhaps sharing with one or two other students.  (If you take that route, it would be beneficial to ask your professor if they are cool with that … just to be on the safe side.)

Schools will occasionally require a text that is specific to their institution. Sometimes it’s simply because the school has requested that the publisher remove a chapter or two. Emailing the teacher prior to the class’s start date can confirm whether that is the case, and can save you some money if you don’t have to buy through the school’s bookstore. 

Which brings me to my final point:  if you absolutely, without a doubt must purchase your book from your school’s bookstore, go early.  I mean, as soon as you know the titles required for your classes, go buy the books. Don’t order them online. It’s cute that they provide you with the little, clicky bubble to indicate your preference for a used book over a new one.  But that cute little, clicky bubble will provide you with a false sense of security, my friend. Want to know why?  Because most bookstores do not pull your order and put it together until you arrive to pick it up, and by then all the used books will be gone. 

I hope that these tips have been helpful. I wish someone had given them to me when I started college.  Now go forth and spend all of your hard-earned money on books that you will skim once and sell back at a much, much lower price. 

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