How To Save On Text Books – How We Saved Over $1,400

If you have looked at your estimated expenses on your tuition bill then you know, that college textbooks are crazy expensive.  But, rest assured there is a way you can save on textbooks.

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Our Tuition Bill for last year included $1,500 just for textbooks. I was more than a little shocked at the high cost of textbooks. Given the fact, my daughter attends a very expensive private university, we needed to find ways to shave off every penny we could from that tuition bill. When we looked at the campus bookstore, a tiny, thin, supplemental paperback book was priced at nearly $100. The school was not kidding when they listed $1500 for textbooks and supplies.

At the same time, we knew there had to be other places that would allow us to save on textbooks.  God is good, and we were able to find lots of options for considerably lowering that price tag.  In fact, we were able to lower the cost of textbooks by more than $1400. Yes, that’s right, we spent less than $100 for all textbooks last year.

How did we do it?

Renting and buying used textbooks. You absolutely DO NOT need to buy those insanely overpriced textbooks. Here are three resources that we used to save, not just hundreds, but more than one thousand four-hundred dollars!!!

1. AMAZON

Amazon was by far the easiest and quickest source. Almost every book you’ll need is available on Amazon. Many of the books you will be looking for are available for both purchase, as a used book, and as a rental. Moreover, when you join Amazon Student Prime, which is free for six months, you will receive your book within two days. Not only will you get your book quickly with your free 6 month trial of Amazon Student Prime, you will also get free shipping. That is a definite win, win. You can sign up for Amazon Student Prime here or go here to search for your textbooks.

Just make sure that when looking for your textbooks you search by ISBN rather than the title.  This will ensure that you get the exact edition and text that your class requires.

Returning the textbooks we rented was really easy. Amazon provides you with a printable shipping label, that includes the return shipping costs. All you have to do is box up the book, print out the label and head over to your local post office or staples store. Super easy.

2. CHEGG

Chegg is another great place to save on textbooks. Both physical copies and ebooks are available on many titles. They also give you the option to rent or buy so you can decide which option works best for you. Generally, I think renting is the best option.  The likelihood that you will ever use an old textbook again is incredibly slim. But if you are one of those that need to mark up you book with lots of notes and highlights, then you may want to consider buying used.

While most of the textbooks we rented were from Amazon, there are times that Chegg will have a lower price.  Make sure you check around for the best price. You can search Chegg below:

3. CAMPUS BOOK RENTALS.COM

Campus Book Rentals.com is another great site that offers huge savings on your textbooks. Their website is easy to use. You simply search by author, ISBN, title, or keyword. Once you find the book you are looking for, you will be given rental times to choose from.

Right now Campus Book Rentals has a special coupon code for my readers! Click here and you can get an additional savings of 7% off your rental, plus free shipping! All you need to do is enter coupon code CHEAPTXT7 at checkout. This offer will be valid until November 30, 2016.

Save on textbooks with CampusBookRentals!

BEST WAYS TO SAVE ON TEXTBOOKS

As you know, fall semester is just around the corner! It is a very exciting and busy time, with lots going on. But, make sure you do not needlessly throw money away, rather get the best deal on the textbooks you need by:

• Comparing prices
• If you rent your textbooks, take the shortest rental period that will cover your course, some schools are on the semester system and some on the quarter system, so make sure to choice the correct rental time period for you class
• If you buy your books, make sure to sell back books to sites like Amazon

If you have any questions on saving on your college costs, feel free to ask, I would love to help you any way I can. You can ask your question in the comments below or email me directly, through the contact page.

If this is your freshman year, make sure to check out this very popular post on Advice for Incoming Freshman. 

Now go and make today your Favorite day!