Textbooks

One thing I remember from my last time in college is that textbooks, learning kits and lab fees can get pretty crazy. This may be an obvious thing for many of you, but did you know that you aren't required to buy everything from your college's bookstore? And unless one of your proffessors publish their own course textbooks there's a good chance you can find textbooks, even course materials kits, from other outlets, many online.

My girlfriend just got her courselist last week with about $400-500 worth of textbooks and recommended reading. Since she has till the end of August before her classes start she decided to shop around. In 20 minutes she found almost all of the books on her required texts list and paid less than $75. Never underestimate the power of search engines to find people in the furthest corners of the continent with a spare Sub-Saharan Botany text that won't sell in their mother's yard sale.

Now for me, I won't get my courselist until the day before classes start, so I'm out of luck when it comes to ordering books online in time for class. Actually, most school bookstores have a buy-back program, they even have a return policy (just in case you got a book you didn't need or decided to drop a course) that you can get a full or majority cost refund within a certain time-frame. Make sure when you get your books from your school's website or campus store that you ask about their return policy, and as soon as you get that booklist hit the web and look for sellers who can ship quickly.

Discount textbooks is big industry and online stores are all about competition. Amazon.com has a large selection and most of the time they have individual sellers who may have used books in good condition (I've seen books go as low as $.99 with $5 shipping). Also look for other required materials and learning kits online. I once took a course for A+ Computer Repair certification (what a waste of money that class was) that I had to buy a kit for, which included a textbook, technical reference books, an instruction CD and a small computer repair kit. I bought the entire kit from my schools Media center, but I'm sure the package set would have been at least half the cost anywhere else.

And don't worry about breaking any rules by sneaking into class with a book you got off eBay. I've actually never heard of any schools requiring you to only purchase course materials from their own sources. Though, I must say, sometimes it is beneficial to look in your schools catalog for student discounts on software and bibliography materials.

Here's the Intro

Hi, I'm Phil, I'm 23 and I'll be starting college two weeks from now. (Though I've already completed two years of community college and recieved my AA I will still be concidered a Freshman at the school I'll be attending.)

This Friday will be my last day working for money and I currently have no plans to get a job during school. Though I'm not too worried about how to survive on limited savings and Sallie Mae loans. I have some good ideas, though - things I've put into practice this past couple years of being a single working adult - on how to stretch a twenty-dollar bill and just saving money in general.

I've never had my own blog before outside of facebook and I thought it would be fun to make one to share some of my humorous-yet-informative tips on penny pinching while still enjoying the best things in life. Maybe we can get some good discussion and I can learn a thing or two from down-and-out college students living off milk money or young families trying to make car payments while working for tips at Applebees.

I tend to write very protracted emails and posts so I will attempt to stick to short themes in my posts to leave room for good discussion. You don't have to be a member to post so leave funny stories, quirky habits (bad or good), and good money saving ideas. That's all for now.