Textbooks are one of the most expensive costs for a college student, especially if you’re going into a major that is heavy on reading. If you’re a broke college student, finding cheap textbooks is a priority. It’s also not hard to do.
Do I need this book?
The first step is to figure out what books you need and how much you actually need them. I haven’t always used my textbooks, which led me to start asking the professor if the book is really needed. Most professors will be honest and tell you how much you need it. Sometimes you can get away with borrowing a classmate’s book if you only need the book a few times.
eBook or real book
Once you know you need a book, decide whether you want to buy a real book or an eBook. The upside to an eBook is obviously price and the downsides are that you have to read it on an electronic device and you can’t resell it at the end of the semester. Depending on your needs, make a decision.
Renting or owning
If you’ve settled on a real book, the next step is to decide if you want to rent or own the book. The upside to renting is it’s cheaper, but the downside is you can’t sell it at the end of the semester. If the book is going to be worthless at the end of the semester and you know this, go with renting. If you can sell it back to Amazon or another online marketplace, own it.
Finding the best price
Throughout your search for a book, you will need to find the best price and the Internet is here to help. The easiest way to find cheap college books is to search websites for the ISBN and compare prices. There are tons of websites out there for you to compare prices easily and having the ISBN is the best way to do it.
In the world of the internet and ebooks, another avenue to earn extra money is to self-publish books. If you are a decent or good writer, this can be an easy way to supplement your income.
Write Your Book
The first step to self publishing is to write your book. Figure out what kind of book you want to write. Start with an outline and then fill in the gaps. Niche books do a lot better because you will have less competitors. Once you’ve finished writing, review and revise. Then send it to some friends to get their opinions.
Publish Your Book
Once you’ve finished writing your book, it’s time to publish it. There are many book publishers online that offer self publishing for ebooks, including Amazon and Lulu. Do some research and decide which book publisher is the right one for you.
Promote Your Book
To get the most out of your self published ebook, you need to promote it. There are ways to promote your ebook for free, on message boards and blogs, and ways that cost money, like search engine ads. If you don’t want to spend money promoting your book, you will need to spend some time. Look for blogs and websites that are relevant to your ebook and post comments with links to your book.
If you want to take it a step further, create a niche blog and link to your book. If you are good with websites and search engine optimization, you can get traffic funneled to your self published ebook with some up-front effort and little maintenance down the road.
When I think of a metal detector, I often think of a retired fellow combing the beach looking for buried treasures and old coins. But actually, they are much more useful, even for a college student. If you’re looking for extra ways to earn cash that are unique and interesting, try investing in a metal detector.
There is a pretty large market for metal detectors and there are different ones that specialize in different metals. There are small metal detectors for children, detectors specifically for coins or gold, and ones that work underwater. You can also find a lot of resources to become more efficient and effective with your detecting. This is a fun hobby that can net you extra cash without too much effort, especially if you already like walking or hiking.
Many college students struggle with personal finance and have a hard time saving money. On top of that, many banks don’t offer a savings account that is conducive to a college student’s savings plan and budget. To get a decent interest rate, most banks require a large balance in the tens of thousands, which isn’t an easy feat for most students.
Decide on a Savings Plan
Most college students don’t think saving money is important. While it’s true you don’t necessarily have to start saving for retirement while in college (although it definitely helps), you do need a savings account. You need to plan for unexpected events and emergencies. It also helps to save money if something really incredible comes up – like a trip to Europe. Having the financial freedom to join your friends on a vacation is a much better choice than having to beg your parents for the funds.
If you’re saving up for something specific, like a $10,000 car, figure out how much you need to put away per month. If you’re just saving money, put away as much as you can per month. Even small savings can add up over time to large amounts of money. An extra $5 per month over a few years makes a huge difference, especially if you get a good interest rate.
Finding a Bank
The first step is finding a bank that offers what you need. You can start locally by visiting banks and credit unions in your area or you can start online by searching. Credit unions will be more friendly to smaller accounts, but you will be limited by their smaller network. While a large network is more important for checking accounts than savings accounts, this may still matter to you if you live far from home or plan on moving soon.
Choosing the Best Account
Once you find a bank that you think will work best for you, look carefully at their types of savings accounts. You want to find the best savings account for you. Look at minimum deposit amounts, monthly balances and any fees associated with the accounts. U.S. federal law only allows you to withdraw money a maximum of six times per month for an account to be considered a savings account. Most banks will turn your account into a checking account if you go over the withdraw limit, and sometimes they will charge you a fee.
This guest post was written by Brendan Baker, a writer for the Student of Fortune blog. You can also find him on the site’s twitter page: @studentfortune
Like any college student, you’d probably enjoy having a little more money in your pocket. But if you don’t have the time to dedicate to a full or part-time job, what other options do you have? Of course there are online opportunities, but more often than not the job is either a get-rich-quick-scheme or an always dubious work-from-home gig. You’re starting to wonder if there are any easy and reliable ways to make money out there.
Well look no further. Below I’ve listed 3 ways of making money that are simple and legitimate. But as an added bonus, these sites will not only bring you some serious dough, but you’ll be helping students like yourself at the same time.
Ready? Here are 3 great ways to earn money by…
1. Running errands
This is a relatively new concept that is really catching on. One of my favorite sites for this is called TaskRabbit, and the idea is simple: If you have an errand to run but you don’t have the time or energy, why not pay someone else to do it? Users can post just about any kind of task they need completed and others in the area will bid on the opportunity to complete it. The person with the lowest bid (and assuming they have passed a background check), gets the job. From picking up groceries to helping a neighbor move, there is no limit to the different kinds of tasks offered. Look for jobs you can bid on around your campus.
2. Tutoring
Are you a math whiz? Maybe you’re an expert in Greek architecture. If so, did know you could get paid for your expertise? Homework help sites are a great place to not only get help with math, science or a variety of other subjects, but you can make some pretty good money tutoring people in those subjects too. In fact, one of the highest earners from a site like StudentofFortune.com has made over $280,000 (Click here if you don’t believe me).
3. Taking notes
Ok, so maybe you’re not a math genius, but perhaps you take good notes. Lucky for you, now you can sell your quality work to needy students. All you have to do is upload your notes, specify the class, and then wait for an anxious student to purchase them. This might be a great alternative if you want to make some money but you don’t have a lot of time on your hands. I like Notehall for this.
As you can see, there are lots of legitimate ways to earn cash without breaking a sweat (unless of course your task is to move a piano across town). In all three of my examples, money can be earned without a long application process, with little to no work experience, and all on your time. Best of all, you’re helping students succeed at the same time. Sounds like a no-brainer to me.
Added by That College Kid Sydney
I personally have been using Cash Crate to make money since 2008. You fill out surveys and signup for websites. You will need another email address because you will get bombarded with marketing emails. Cash Crate is a great way to make easy money. I haven’t actually filled out a survey or done an offer since 2008. If you refer people, you get a portion of their earnings and a portion of their referrals’ earnings, too.
College students are often broke, which is why it’s ironic that textbooks are so expensive. Between your crappy job, financial aid and maybe your parents, you may not be able to afford all your books. Fortunately for you the internet has made it so much easier to find cheap textbooks.
Years before, students have to pay for everything when they purchase their books from shipping to handling and this will make it even more expensive. However today, you can find several places where you can buy textbooks online at a cheaper price. You can even rent the books at your convenience.
Years ago, choices were limited. You could buy from your campus bookstore and maybe from another bookstore in town. Used books were from other students and you were relegated to looking on bulleting boards for ads. Now, it’s just a quick search.
First you should always check your official bookstore. If your school gives you a textbook list online, that’s even better. But it’s always best to check with the bookstore and get the book title, author, edition, ISBN, description of the front cover and price. Take a photo with your phone if you want.
Then take that information and start your search. Campus Books is the best place to start looking for cheap textbooks. You can search by title, author, ISBN or keyword and narrow it to purchase or rental or compare them. They even include e-books, which are gaining in popularity because they are much cheaper than most new books.
The key to textbook shopping is to compare prices. If your bookstore only charges $10 more and you need it that day, spend the extra money. If not, wait a few days. Make sure to take shipping and taxes into consideration – online purchases often mean no tax and you can usually find coupons for free shipping.
There is a Campus Books textbook search in the sidebar of this blog.
As soon as you stumble back from winter holidays, spring break is all you look forward to. You think about saving money so you can afford to go to Florida or South Padre, but you know you’ll probably blow most of it on beer. I’ve been there and what I discovered is that you can have a great spring break with almost no money. Read the rest of this entry »
