Students can rent textbooks or go digital to save money

College students are being forced to become more savvy when it comes to getting textbooks for their classes. Bookstores are like a house of misery for anyone going there the first couple days of class. Long lines of ridiculously sad students blowing their money on required books, when their better judgment is telling them they'll never actually read them. Money is tight, and the cost of textbooks has soared at twice the rate of inflation for decades now. Here's three suggestions for students on a budget.

First suggestion: Ask your professors if you really need the book. Sound silly? It's not. Ask them outright if they believe there's enough good content online to allow equal learning without the textbook. The worst they can say is no, and it costs you nothing to try.

Second suggestion: Go digital. I know that some subjects simply don't work digitally. I tried doing a small amount of calc in an e book program, and it's just not usable enough to be effective. HOWEVER, subjects like english, geology, geography, etc. are perfect contenders for a digital book. You'll save likely 30% - 40% if you can stand to use digital content. You may even get used to it, and you'll be saving 30% semester over semester. The Amazon Kindle isn't quite there, but it's being improved and may become an effective e-textbook reader. You can also checkout the SonyStyle. New competitor to the Kindle. In both cases, the cost of the reader itself is rather prohibitive, but keep your eye on them. They'll eventually come in line with a college student's budget. Just might take several years.

Third and last suggestion: Rent Textbooks. In the last two years renting textbooks has become a phenomenon. Similar to Netflix, students go online (you can see CampusBookRentals.com or BookRenter.com as examples), pick the books they need, get them delivered right to their door, and simply return them after classes end. Textbook rentals are likely going to be the #1 biggest savings for students until more open content or digital options become available. You can always save half on your books by renting, but many times, you'll save up to 80% or more. It's at least worth checking out.

So there you have it. Either don't get the book at all (with your professor's permission), go digital, or rent textbooks. In any case, you can't go wrong. Saving money will be the only result.

Until next time, good luck with your classes.