Simply Thrifty

Frugality and Education: Cutting on Book Expenses

by Noel on February 17th, 2007

This is the first part of the Frugality on Education post.

College life is always a new beginning in many ways for every freshmen student. The upside is that you get to live on your own and stay up as late as you want. The

downside is that you also usually have to depend on a limited source of income because that is the price your parents attached to your newfound independence.

How to Save Money on Books and Other School Tools

Borrow if you can. Ask all your family, relatives, friends, and colleagues if they have the books you’re required to use in your subjects. Befriend as many upperclassmen as you can because they’re the likeliest people to have the books that you need. Hehe. And don’t forget the most important source of reading materials: the library.

If you can’t borrow then purchase them secondhand. Use the Internet to browse for secondhand books sold online. Visit secondhand bookstores as well. Buy as many of the books in your list in one store as this may earn you discounted prices. At the very least, it will endear you to the shopkeeper and allow you certain privileges in the future.

If there are no secondhand copies available then look for the international edition of the book you need. This is usually sold at a lower price but virtually has the exact same content of the original edition. It might have a preface written in Chinese or another foreign language, but that doesn’t matter, right?

Always be on the lookout for sales, discounts, and other promotional offers that target college students like you. Just by flashing your college ID card, you’ll be able to purchase or rent equipment and other gadgets for lower rates.

Don’t limit your shopping to your area. Read the newspapers to find out about sales events in other areas. If the additional gas or transportation expenses are easily offset by the amount of money you’ll save on purchasing a laptop at amazingly low rates then go ahead and enjoy an out-of-town weekend at the same time.

Ever heard of shareware and freeware programs? If you’re only going to use a particular program once or twice, download the program instead of purchasing it.

The next part of this post is on saving money on accommodations.

[Image from Messiah]
 

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