We as college students are very good at procrastination. If you are like me, and are stressing out because the year has started and you still don't have your books, don't panic. Research shows that textbooks for college students is an average of an extra $900/year. You're already paying thousands of dollars to go to school there, spending hundreds of dollars more just adds on so much more stress. Trust me, I've been there. I've done some research and found the best places to get your text books at a discounted cost, saving you much stress and more importantly, more money. More after the jump.

Well, first and foremost, the easiest and cheapest way to get your college books is to borrow. Ask around to your friends or other college students and see if anyone previously used the book. If you're lucky someone might just have the book. Most of the time the person wont even charge you, they will just give it to you. But if they do charge, its usually no more than $40-$50 at the absolute maximum, depending on the book.

Second, try Craigslist. I've used this method before and found most of the books I needed for my basic classes on here. These are college students who have been in your shoes, and  just want to get rid of their book and make a little cash in the process. These books will definitely cost you, but are usually no more than $65-$70 maximum depending on the book.

If you can't find what you need locally then try the next best thing, Chegg. This is a very reliable website created by college students who hated spending so much money on books, that they decided to create a website to help out other college students. Unlike the other methods I have mentioned, Chegg is a book RENTAL site.  It has become my main source of textbooks, and I highly recommend it. This is how it works- you search the site until you find the book(s) you need, find the cheapest one and make sure its in good condition then add it to your cart.  Once you have all of the books you need, you check out and pay the total cost. These books are yours for the semester. When you are finished with them all you do is put them back in the box they came in and ship them back. You don't pay shipping nor do you pay anymore at the end of the semester. I rented 4 books last semester and payed a one time, total cost of $135. Chegg is definitely one of my favorite places to get my books.

Next, there's good ol' Ebay. Ebay doesn't usually have quite the number of books to choose from or the cheapest prices compared to the others. But if you're about down to your last resort, then look here. Ebay is not the most reliable source, but it can definitely save you some money and hassle of dealing with the book stores.

Lastly, if you have tried all of the above and are just completely out of luck, go to the local off campus bookstore, as well as the one on campus, and see what kind of prices they have and what their policy is for renting books.Sometimes you can snag a good deal, or maybe even save a little bit of money. But saving a little is better than spending hundreds of extra dollars on a stupid book you need for a few months and are never going to need again.

Despite which method you choose, you are bound to save money and stress that you wouldn't if you were just buying textbooks at a regular price. We're already spending a ton of money for tuition, school supplies, class specific supplies, fees, etc.  So why not save as much as we can so we aren't just spending tons of money left and right? Hope these tips are helpful! Have a great semester!

 

 

More From 101.5 KNUE