It's a fact of college life that you will use a lot of textbooks and that they are very, and I mean very expensive! In fact, it is so bad that legislation is being proposed in congress to make over $1000 in textbook purchases during the course of a school year tax deductible. Buying a new textbook can be looked at as buying a new car; its value depreciates rapidly after purchase.
The name of the game here is saving money and fortunately, there are many ways in which you can do this! By far the best way to save money is to purchase used textbooks. Gone are the days where you solely had to rely on your campus bookstore or scour the community bulletin boards to see who is selling textbooks either in the beginning or toward the end of a semester (although these are still valid options).
Start by finding out as early as possible what books you will need and begin to expand your search through social networking on sites such as Face book, MySpace, Twitter and Squidoo. Another great site to network is on Campus2Campus.com.
You can buy and sell books through the following sites which I have found helpful:
Bookbyte.com
Bigwords.com
Valorebooks.com
Half.com and EBay
Biblio.com
Campusbooks.com
Textbooks.com
Bookthief.com
Collegesmarts.com
Many of these online bookstore retailers will comparison-shop to find you the best price on books.
College textbooks can be significantly cheaper if purchased overseas. Go to Bookkcentral.com and Amazon.com.uk to compare prices and find out more.
Another strategy is to rent textbooks through Chegg.com. You can save up to 80% off the cost of buying your books by renting; just search for the book you are looking for by its ISBN #. Chegg.com also offers a purchase option.
You may also qualify for free textbooks. Go to usedbooksblog.com for more information and to see various options.
At iChapters.com you'll find e-book versions of most textbooks and you can even buy individual chapters for as low as $1.99!
With a little research and legwork on your part, you can do a lot to save money and reduce the price shock of buying books every semester.
Eric Citsay, CCC, is a Certified Personal and Business Coach. He is the founder of Onward & Upward Coaching and Consulting, LLC , a personal coaching company serving exclusively the needs of college students and young adults. He can be reached at (856) 776-6295 or Eric@oucoaching.com. Visit him on the web: http://www.oucoaching.com |
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