A college education is a great way to help with your career success. But the costs associated with attending and graduating from college have been rising faster than the cost of living. Tuition, room and board are just the beginning of the dollars that will be spent to successfully complete your degree. Lab fees, textbooks, transportation and health care are also expense to be considered.
This article will focus on textbooks, and they can cost a bundle these days. Most colleges estimate that it will cost between $500 to $700 per semester for textbooks. That is $4,000 to $5,600 over the course of a four-year degree. And if any of these textbooks is written by one of your professors, it could easily cost over $200 for that one book alone.
So how do you save when textbook costs keep rising every year and they change the editions regularly? The answers lie in how you buy your textbooks and how well you resell your textbooks.
Most students go to the college bookstore, get their list of required books and decide if they want to buy a new or a used book, if a used edition is available. Some students take it one step further and visit some off campus bookstores that may have a lower priced new book and a larger selection of used books in varying conditions.
But if you truly want to save the most on your books you need to do some research at each of these sources and then get on-line for additional options. Timing can be a very important factor in the prices you pay as well as adding additional textbook savings when you are on the selling side of the coin.
A newer option that must be considered is renting your textbooks. So far I haven't seen a compelling argument that makes me believe that you will make out better by renting than if you buy smart and then resell, but renting is still relatively new and competition has not been a major factor. I'm sure that will change soon as more companies get involved in the program.
Many students that are taking the same course, but at different times have begun using a book sharing arrangement. This can save plenty if you have one book and your partner has another, but it usually takes some extra effort to make sure that scheduling conflicts do not occur.
With the addition of electronic book readers like the I-Pad, Kindle and others, textbook manufacturers are now beginning to offer electronic versions of textbooks at a reduced cost. The problem so far has been that most students like having the book right there in front of them as they study, and reselling a used electronic edition may be tougher than anticipated..
To find a more comprehensive listing of strategies for buying and selling your textbooks, in some cases for a profit, be sure to read chapter 7 in the book - How To Get Your College Education For Less, available on Amazon.com. To discover additional ways to help reduce the high cost of a college education, get your FREE College Cost Savings Kit by clicking here or by visiting our website at CollegeEducationForLess.com.
About the Author:
Keith Maderer is the father of five college age students and has been a financial, investment and tax adviser in the Western New York area since 1981. He is the author of "How to Get Your College Education For Less". Available on Amazon.com - ISBN No: 978-1-4538-2053-7
To get your FREE College Cost Savings Kit, visit http://www.CollegeEducationForLess.com
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