texas_instruments_ti-84_plus.jpgIt’s that time again. Pack up your necessities and move back into dreaded campus housing. I know you are looking forward to cafeteria food and all nighters to get your research paper done on time. Well probably not. Turn that frown up-side-down because I have some tips on how to save money on back to school stuff.

 

Buy books online. Search for textbooks on half.com, amazon.com, or another discount book website. Find out the ISBN numbers of the textbooks you’ll need. This number is above the bar code on the back of the book. You can use this to search for the exact book you’ll need.

            Often times you can get away with buying older versions of a textbook at a fraction of the price of brand new ones. Most textbook companies come out with new editions every year but there are only slight differences from the previous edition.

 

Use the library. If you are taking a literature class that requires a bunch of well-known pieces you might be able to get away with borrowing them from the library, either on campus or the public library. The EVPL lets you keep books for 21 days and renew each book 2 times for a total of 63 days before you have to return it. You can even save yourself a trip to the library by renewing books online.

            I wouldn’t advertise this information to your classmates though since books are only allowed to be renewed if no one has put a hold on the book. A hold is placed on a book when it is checked out and someone else wants to borrow it.

 

Wait for the sales. Stock up school supplies when they are on sale. Walmart usually sells notebooks for $.5 -$.10 a piece during back to school time. Staples has been running penny promotions in recent years. You can get certain items like pencils, pens, etc. for pennies, literally. You can sign up on their website to receive their weekly flyer via email so you don’t miss the sale.

 

Buy used. If one of your classes requires a specific item that you’ll need for this class and this class only, go shopping before you buy it from the bookstore. My dreaded calculus class required the purchase of TI-83 graphing calculator that runs about $100. Luckily I already had one from high school. If you need something like this and don’t already have one, ask friends if they have one you can borrow for a semester or look online for a used one. Check on craigslist.com, facebook.com marketplace or locally, courierpress.com classifieds for used items at reduced prices.

 

Do you research. If you’re in the market for new electronics, back to school time might be a good time to buy. Dell among other places usually runs specials during this time.  Just because it is listed as a special doesn’t necessarily mean it the best buy. Always comparison shop and do you research before you buy something. 

 

If you need a new flash drive, computer, etc. and have no idea what you need, ask a tech savvy friend what they suggest you buy before you step foot into a retailer who might try to sell you something you don’t need. Newegg.com is a good place to check out consumer reviews before you purchase electronics. It’s also a good place to get cheap memory like flash drives, external hard drives, etc.

 

Don’t waste money on overpriced software. Isn’t Bill Gates rich enough? If you need a certain program for a class, find out which computer labs on campus have the software loaded on the computers and use those. For programs like Word, you can use GoogleDocs. It’s a service provided by Google that allows you to use a word-like program on the internet for free from anywhere that has an internet connection. You can store it to a flash drive or save it in cyberspace and access it from anywhere.  I highly suggest checking it out.

 

Brown bag it. This might sound really dorky but always carry a bottle of water and a snack in your backpack or purse. You can refill the bottle with water throughout the day, don’t forget to wash it or replace it from time to time. This will save you money from relying on overpriced vending machines on campus.

 

When you go to the grocery store stock up on portable foods like bananas, apples, granola bars, etc. Don’t waste money on those silly individually packaged chips or snack mixes. Buy the big bag and a box of baggies. Divide the food yourself you lazy bum. Doing this can save tons of cash by helping you avoid the vending machines, it might help you keep off that “college weight” too since you create your own options instead of depending on what is available.

______________________________________________________________________________


PHOTO CREDIT | TEXAS INSTRUMENTS