College Students: How to Save Up To 80% on your Textbooks

Rent Books from Amazon

As an English major at Spelman College, I could easily spend $500 on books for one semester. It all depended on the classes and professors that I put on my schedule. While some classes required one or two major textbooks that cost a fortune, other classes required several books at a time and no you did NOT get the “hookup” if your professor wrote the book (s/o to Dr. Harper at Spelman College and her Langston Hughes class). Did I mention that I took a full load every semester for two and a half year straight, which meant a lot of books?

Rent Textbooks Electronically from. . .

Luckily, the college students of today do not have to worry about that. Today, Amazon.com announced the launch of Kindle Textbook Rental–now students can save up to 80% off textbook list prices by renting from the Kindle Store. Tens of thousands of textbooks are available for the 2011 school year from leading textbook publishers such as John Wiley & Sons, Elsevier and Taylor & Francis. Students can find details about the program at www.amazon.com/kindletextbooks. Kindle Textbook Rental offers the ability to customize rental periods to any length between 30 and 360 days, so students only pay for the specific amount of time they need a book. Students can also easily extend any rental period in increments as small as one day or choose to purchase the book they are renting at any time. Kindle Textbooks are “Rent Once, Read Everywhere” as they can be read across the most popular devices with FREE Kindle Reading Apps for PC, Mac, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and Android-based devices.

What the folks at Amazon have to say. . .

“Students tell us that they enjoy the low prices we offer on new and used print textbooks. Now we’re excited to offer students an option to rent Kindle textbooks and only pay for the time they need–with savings up to 80% off the print list price on a 30-day rental. We’ve done a little something extra we think students will enjoy. Normally, when you sell your print textbook at the end of the semester you lose all the margin notes and highlights you made as you were studying. We’re extending our Whispersync technology so that you get to keep and access all of your notes and highlighted content in the Amazon Cloud, available anytime, anywhere – even after a rental expires. If you choose to rent again or buy at a later time, your notes will be there just as you left them, perfectly Whispersynced.”

            -David Limp, VP of Amazon Kindle

 

Personally, I believe this can be a great deal! Parents, professors, and students good luck with the upcoming school year! Hopefully, this information provides you with another financial option for purchasing some of your back to school needs.

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5 Important Tips For Student Banking

Check Your Account Daily

Everyone, not just college students, should check their finances daily. By doing this, you are always aware of exactly how much money you have at all times. Why would you allow someone to know more about your money than you?

Overdraft Protection

Two words… Overdraft Protection. Sign up for Overdraft Protection when you sign up for your account. Doing this will help you avoid penalty fees for going over your limit. I know someone who had about $400 in one month tacked onto her checking statement for overdraft fees and penalties. Obviously, she does not follow step one and two. Learn from her mistakes.

Set Realistic Alerts for EACH Account

The very same person mentioned in the tip above became my inspiration for this one. If your account consistently holds a balance under $100, setting your banking alert for $100 will not help you. Instead, pick an emergency figure that is more realistic for reminding you, hey you need to make a deposit. It will help keep you out of the red.

In the Choice between a Debit and Credit Card- Choose Debit

Debit equals your own cash and credit equals money borrowed plus interest. If you have the money in your account, swipe your debit card!

If Banks Can’t Offer the Basics… Walk Away

If the bank cannot offer you FREE checking, FREE online banking, and most importantly for the student, no minimum balance, then walk away because another bank will.