6 tips for saving on textbooks

The days of having to buy your textbooks on campus and campus only are long gone. May those days rest in peace and be a faint memory. However, during this day and age textbooks can cost you an arm, leg, and your grandma. Thankfully, you can save your grandma, arm, and your leg because there a ways to get those pricey books for much cheaper.

Source: Opensourceway / CC BY-SA

Here are my 6 tips to help you save on those textbooks:

Shop Online

If you haven’t figured out by now, you can buy your textbooks online. Yup, it is usually cheaper too. Barnes & Nobles, Amazon, Half.com, CengageBrain.com, AbeBooks.com, and many other sites actually sell a wide variety of textbooks. However, when trying to find the best price, you should put the ISBN in BigWords.com. BigWords.com searches multiple sites that also scour the internet for coupons and other great money saving deals.

E-books

Did you know getting e-books are a lot cheaper than paperback books? Yup, all you need is a tablet and you can have all your books on a light weight tool rather than carrying all of your books to class. Might as well kill two birds with a single money saving stone.

Rent your books

If you are anything like my sister, you should rent your textbooks because why is there a need to keep them? You can rent your books either from your campus bookstore or Chegg.com, eCampus.com, Bookbyte.com, and many other sites.

Buy an earlier edition

Yes, yes, yes! I highly recommend this. If you have earlier edition use it because they are basically the same. Your professor may and will frown upon it, but who needs the few sentences and updated photos anyway; when you can save a ton of money?

Get an international edition

Purchasing an international edition is pretty much similar to using an earlier edition. Hey, when money is an issue, you got to do, what you have to do.

Share with a friend

You were brought up on sharing is caring, right? Why not share your textbooks with your friend because it can cut the cost of buying textbooks in half easily. All you have to do is make a plan for who has the book when and for how long.

Here are the top 6 tips to save money when you are out there buying textbooks. Always shop around, don’t feel as if you need to head in that campus bookstore and buy your books at sticker price. 

Freebies: Saturday, August 22

Welcome to freebie Saturday. Wait a stinking minute, is freebie Saturday a thing? Uh, well, I don't know, but today I will call it "Freebie Saturday."

So, on this lovely freebie Saturday, I have compiled a list of four free samples to apply for. They consist of a wide range of items from feminine products, pets, hygiene, and household products.

1.  Arm & Hammer Truly Radiant Toothpaste

Coming in at number one is the Arm & Hammer Truly Radiant Toothpaste. Looking to whiten that pretty smile of yours, you will definitely want to get your free sample. On Amazon, it has been getting 5 star reviews. So, it must be a pretty decent product, so why not get your free sample today.

2. U by Kotex

Coming in at number two on the list is U by Kotex. Looking for some awesomely rated feminine products, this product is for you! I know how much feminine products cost, so stocking up on free samples is the way to go.

3. Friskies 7

Coming in at number three is the new Friskies 7. Do you have a cat that gets bored with the same old food every day? This sample is for you! Give your cat what he or she has been craving for.

4.  WD-40 Specialist
Last but not least, coming in at number four is a full size bottle of WD-40 Specialist. This one is a little bit different, if you are handy around the house, you have WD-40 laying around the home. Well, this freebie, you will have to buy first then you can send off the rebate form to get your money back.

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen! This concludes our freebie Saturday!

What Came in Your Mailbox: Edition 2

Okay, ladies and gentlemen! If you haven't checked out my freebie section, where I love to post the freebies I find, you must do it now. I can wait. Did you check it out?! I sure hope you did because as I expand, you will see lots of awesome freebies over there, so you may want to keep that bookmarked and check every few days or so.

Anyway, since I work from home, I tend to not check my mail as often. Yeah, I know, I could be missing out on vital coupons, deals, and clearance items. However, when I checked the mail yesterday, I had an awesome little surprise in the mail.

Well, do you remember when I posted FREE: Playtex Sport? Before I posted that, I already claimed that offer about two weeks ago. Normally, it takes anywhere from 6-8 weeks to even receive your free goodies. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I opened up my mailbox and saw a package in it.

My sample

From Amazon and the Playtex site, they have awesome reviews! If you are active and are looking for a great product to keep up with you, you will definitely want to get the sample here.

Clearance: Essential Garden Brighton Dining Table

Looking for that perfect table for entertaining by the pool? Well, I know we all are, but the prices can be quite shocking. However, if you are on a budget, like myself, you will definitely want to take a peek at Kmart's Essential Garden Brighton Dining Table. This table is regularly $149.99, but it is now on clearance for $37.49! Yes, you heard that right, $37.49 for a nice outside table. Now, you cannot get better than that!

When you think about it, $40 for an outside table is pretty awesome. Especially when you are in the middle of remodeling and money is an issue. The table has 4.5 stars, sits 4-people and even comes with an end table, two extra chairs and ottomans. 

To save even more money, see if you can't pick it up in the store and save on shipping! Snag up this table before they are sold out!

What Came in Your Mailbox: Edition 1

Alright, so being a broke college student has a lot of perks. If you haven't figured that out yet, you will want to grab your favorite beverage and read, "Broke College Student Benefits." Now, as I said before, it is a valid excuse when it comes to you being a broke college student.

As a broke college student, your number one hobby is always looking for free items. These items don't have to be fancy, but they do have to be free. So, today's piece will be a little bit different. I have been posting freebies, and applying for them also.

T-Shirt I got in the mail

So, the point of this blog post is, when I get freebies in the mail, I will share them with you. Today, I received a freebie shirt from Jet.com. Jet.com is similar to Amazon, it is actually supposed to beat Amazon prices. I've done a little bit of research to see what Jet is, well, what I found is it finds the lowest price, and you get members savings off of that price. There is also a annual fee of $49.99; however, you can try them for free for 3 months.

Personally, I haven't played around with Jet to see if the it is worth it or not, but I will check it out as the time moves on though. Looks like a great concept, especially if you are looking for bulk items for a cheaper price.