Textbooks are ridiculously expensive.
Some professors teach straight out of the books, making them unfortunately necessary. Other professors reference the book. Then, there are those professors who never even mention the book. You could bring The Hunger Games to class and it would be about as applicable as the text book.
But you can't know this ahead of time. What you CAN do is go to class the first few days to get a feel for the course. Professors are usually pretty lenient on supplies that first week. Then, if you know you will need the book, search for the best buy on Chegg or Amazon. If you think you will rarely use it, go in on a book with a friend. Split the cost and share the book if there is ever an assignment. The best part about this plan is that you may not need a book at all! Why spend close to a hundred George Washingtons on a book that will probably end up being a door stop or paper weight instead of reading material?
Once you are a proud, over-achieving book owner, you can pawn off your school supplies to the unsuspecting freshman. Renting books is also a nice option, but you just never know what you are going to get. There is no law that says a rented book will not smell like gym socks. Because frankly, it just might.
And to all of those under-achieving college students who don't ever open their glossy-covered text books: Save your momma the money and just don't buy the book! If you know you will never get past "This book is dedicated to", then don't spend yo mama's moolah!
The moral of this story (pun...we are talking about books...) is that you can always find ways to get the most bang for your buck. That saying always makes me think of hunting deer...
Happy reading!
