This post is specifically targeted toward college students (particularly college Freshmen). You’re entering a new era and you’re thrilled! You should be, this is an exciting time in your life as you move from child to adult and (hopefully) begin pursuing your own interests.
However, there are some downsides to college and the biggest one is cost. You have to pay for classes, for living, for food, for transportation, for “student fees” (whatever those are), and last-but-certainly-not-least, for textbooks. Remember in High School when your textbooks were provided or, if they weren’t, they were not ridiculously overpriced?
Well, welcome to college, where the textbooks are overpriced and most students won’t use them anyway.
Let me let you in on a little secret that I did not discover until my senior year of college, a secret that could have saved me literally hundreds of dollars:
Thriftbooks.
So, check this out. Many Freshmen students are required to buy some version of the St. Martin’s Guide to Writing for their composition courses. On Amazon, that book usually costs around $90. On-campus bookstores will probably sell it for around $100.
Now, lets check out Thriftbooks.

$4! $4! This book is literally almost $100 cheaper on Thriftbooks than on Amazon or any college bookstore.
If that isn’t a deal, I don’t know what is. Granted this site may not have all the books that you need, but I bet you that is does have some! So save yourself some money and check for your books on Thriftbooks before handing away your life savings at the college book store.
Two last thoughts of wisdom before I go:
Actually do the assigned reading. You are paying for these books, use them!
Thriftbooks also has fiction and novels for way cheap!
Happy Shopping!
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Wish I had known about this. Now, it’s too late. Hahaha. T_T I still have all my textbooks. I’m not throwing them away. I spent too much on them. I’ll most likely give them away to my little cousins when they go off to college. Classics are always in demand. T_T Can I also suggest renting your books? Much cheaper.
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Renting is another good option!
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Another textbook tip: depending on which state you’re from, your parents may be able to pay up to a certain amount toward your higher education and then write it off as a tax credit. So in the end it’s like you never had to pay (I know it works in Idaho and several states have something similar). I’ve done this through college so far and it’s a lifesaver 🙂
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What a great suggestion! I’m not sure about state restrictions, but it is definitely something worth looking into!
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I will definitely have to check this site out!! My other favorite is chegg !
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