Textbooks typically account for your highest expenses outside of tuition and your room and board. This is especially true if you buy your books at the local college book store. Sure, it is convenient to be able to walk to your student union and buy your books, but at what cost?

There’s a much better way to do it. Buy your books online! Amazon.com, Half.com, BarnesAndNoble.com and many other sites will help you find much better prices on the books you need. Sure, there is an associated risk when dealing with a third party, but I personally never had a problem buying my books online. They were always shipped to me within a reasonable amount of time.

On average, I would save $150-$250 each semester on the books that I bought online. Now THAT is worth it! Buying your books online does make some legwork for you. You’ll have to check your campus book store website and see what the course requirements are and find your books that way. That is if you need your books by the first day of class. I tended to wait until the first class period when I got the syllabus. Then I would go online and find the books that I needed. You might start a week or two behind on the reading, but that really isn’t that big of a deal. You’ll be fine – trust me!

Next time you buy your books – you know what to do!

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