Comments on: 10 Tips for Frugal Students

By: ChiliBean2

ChiliBean2 — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:22:29 +0000

We use Chegg to rent textbooks all the time and I have a promotional code for a discount on your order. Just put the code in when ordering and hit the “apply” button. If you’d like to sell Chegg your used texts, the code will give you an extra $5.

The code does not have an expiration date so it can be used at anytime. Feel free to pass it to your friends. Here it is:

CC123047

By: Kit

Kit — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:43:51 +0000

The other thing is that for classic literature, your English lit prof might not care if you get the paperback edition at the college bookstore or other editions. First ask your relatives and friends or the local library if they have the book and borrow it. If not, try a used bookstore or library book sale and see if you can get a used edition real cheap. If that fails, try the front of the mall bookstore — most retail booksellers have a bargain section. Chances are, many of the classic titles will be there for maybe $3.99. Most profs don’t care what edition you read. However, if there is a Q&A section or reader’s guide in the college bookstore edition that the prof is gonna use in class, ask if you can just photocopy someone else’s before you pay full price for it. Nine times out of 10, though, the prof doesn’t assign those special sections and any version of the title will do.

By: Kit

Kit — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:36:07 +0000

I used to work in a mall bookstore. Employees got employee discounts plus double discounts at Christmastime. Our particular chain also had this club you could join for a nominal fee, and it’d give you 10 to 20% discounts. Our manager was real liberal with the discounts and permitted us to take both the employee discount and the club deal. A coworker cleaned up on this. He was a college student, and before each semester he’d register for his classes early, then ask his profs what books they would assign. He’d use his club card, employee discount and Christmas discount and order the books by their ISBN #s for a real cheap price. On that club thing after you spend X number of dollars, you’d get another book free or half price or something….and you can imagine how quickly that kicked in with his texts! He’d get brand-new books that were dirt cheap for himself, his roomate and his girlfriend. He’d try to buy as many as he could in December, as much as a year ahead. After the classes ended, his girlfriend would go sell their books at the campus bookstore and they’d make some cash back. So college students, if you can possibly get hired at a bookstore, do it! Or maybe talk one of your relatives in to getting a job there.

By: Neil Bartlett

Neil Bartlett — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:21:14 +0000

Hi scui3asteveo!
This is indeed a good article. This will guide especially college students who are struggling financially. College books are really expensive but if students have the initiative and good thinking on how to get cheap books and get source with out spending much $. Searching online or using the internet is one of the best way.

Neil Bartlett

By: Jen

Jen — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:58:31 +0000

I lived about an hour away from the college I went to, so I visited it a few days before people started coming back to campus and I had my pick of the best used textbooks. I would go through the used textbooks and find the ones that had the least marks and buy those. Some of them had barely been touched and others were totally abused, so it paid to show up early and get the good ones.

By: * College Savings and Investing With 529 Plan and ESA

* College Savings and Investing With 529 Plan and ESA — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 02:07:11 +0000

[...] save about 50% of the total cost, or $82,000.Here are more resources on spending less for college:10 Tips for Frugal Students at Being FrugalTop 10 Ways to Save Money in University/College at Million Dollar JourneySeven Ways [...]

By: kevin

kevin — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:14:53 +0000

I really like searching for my books using http://www.bigwords.com I have found that their site is the best price comparison site out there for college textbooks. I really like how they only search legit companies that have proven track records. Cause some times if you order your books online you can be waiting for your books for eternity!

By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 22:11:11 +0000

I have to agree with Cindy on making sure you get the right edition of your school textbooks. I remember helping a fellow student out a few years ago by scanning 5 or 6 chapters of a book because she got the wrong edition.

There’s a website I don’t see mentioned here, http://www.addall.com which searches up to 36 book websites for all books, not just school books. They give you all of your costs in an easy to understand display including how long you’ll wait for the books. You can imagine my classmate’s reactions when I walked into class with the same book as their new ones, same condition but costing a little over $100 less!

By: Dave

Dave — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 05:50:05 +0000

A previous commenter said: “If you are buying books online, be sure to make check the edition and don’t cut corners by getting an older edition. There can be drastic differences.”

I disagree. I graduated college 2 years ago and bought my textbooks almost exclusively online for my last few semesters. For a brand new book that sells for $100, a used copy of the same edition might be $70. A used copy of the previous edition might be as low as $3 shipped. On the first day of class I would compare my previous edition to the current edition (looking through my fellow student’s book or my professor’s). 90% of the time, the previous version of the book was perfectly acceptable, and in the rare case that it was not, I could simply go online and buy the current edition that evening (I only had to do this once). The significant savings are worth the small risk and effort.

By: Nate @ Debt-free Scholar

Nate @ Debt-free Scholar — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 05:17:48 +0000

@ CB550SC You are right. Health food stores do have some inexpensive items; plus, eating healthfully saves money on medical bills. Therefore, buying from stores such as Whole Foods can be a good idea; especially when you buy in bulk. Thanks, Nate Nate @ Debt-free Scholar’s last blog post..12 Ways to Waste Money in College