The month of August brings us back to school. For college students, one of the biggest surprises can be the cost of textbooks. I remember some books costing $40-50 or more when I was in college, and I am sure that number has risen substantially in the seven years since I graduated. I recently heard one story of someone who went to purchase a textbook for a introductory history class and had to pay $160 for the one book.
Obviously, buying used textbooks has been a solution to combat high book prices for many years. If you don't want to buy a used textbook, you can check online for the book. Below, I will list four sites to check out if you are considering buying online.
First, when looking for a textbook, I always recommend searching by the ISBN. This is a code that is unique to the individual book. There are many textbooks that may share the same title, especially if it is a generic title like "Modern Mathematics". Even when the author name is a match, there may be two, three, or even more editions of the book. All of this is a lot to check when shopping. However, if you simply get the ISBN of the book you need (you can even go to your campus bookstore to get it from the book), you can make sure that you are purchasing the correct book for your class without having to check each item carefully.
Amazon.com - Amazon is a leader in textbooks, too! Plus, their marketplace makes it easy for stores to sell used books in addition to the new books available through Amazon.
Half.com - Half.com is an Ebay-owned company that allows people to sell their used textbooks to the next year's students.
Chegg.com - Chegg.com allows you to sell your used books and to purchase used books at reduced prices. It also has a tutoring section and a internship/job search section.
Abebooks.com - Abebooks is my preferred site. While it tends to focus on older and out-of-print books, there are plenty of newer titles available, as well. Plus, if you need a book simply for research (not as a textbook for your class), the previous edition might be available here at a greatly reduced price.
Showing posts with label Save Money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Save Money. Show all posts
Monday, August 18, 2014
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Can a New Font Save You Money?
Recently, 14-year-old Suvir Mirchandani made headlines when he claimed that the US Federal and State governments could save almost $400 million per year by switching fonts from Times New Roman to Garamond. While others have claimed the savings would not be nearly as much, it makes one wonder how much money an individual or small business could save by switching fonts.
First, one of the flaws in Mirchandani's argument was that he only considers ink consumption. Garamond uses more space than other fonts, meaning that while ink consumption may decrease, paper consumption will increase, decreasing the savings. Mirchandani's savings would also assumes that every printout is using the government's default font and that every person will readily agree to switch to Garamond. Both are also unlikely.
However, even if the government could save $400 million, does that mean that the savings could be duplicated in your home? If you compare how many sheets of paper are printed by our governments each year to your own printer output, the savings would be minimal. Over the course of the year, you might save a few cents to a few dollars, but large savings would take decades to earn. If you don't mind switching, it might be worth it in the long run, but it is not going to be an effective cost-control measure.
First, one of the flaws in Mirchandani's argument was that he only considers ink consumption. Garamond uses more space than other fonts, meaning that while ink consumption may decrease, paper consumption will increase, decreasing the savings. Mirchandani's savings would also assumes that every printout is using the government's default font and that every person will readily agree to switch to Garamond. Both are also unlikely.
However, even if the government could save $400 million, does that mean that the savings could be duplicated in your home? If you compare how many sheets of paper are printed by our governments each year to your own printer output, the savings would be minimal. Over the course of the year, you might save a few cents to a few dollars, but large savings would take decades to earn. If you don't mind switching, it might be worth it in the long run, but it is not going to be an effective cost-control measure.
Friday, July 18, 2014
Save Money Online
Recently, I was looking online for a new pair of shoes. I selected a pair, but before I went to pay, I searched online for coupons. This search ended up saving me five dollars on my shoes. Over the past few years, I have been able to save myself money on many of my online purchases, and I have been able to help save my customers money, as well.
Large companies will have a large variety of coupon codes available at a given time. To find these coupon codes, I simply did a search online for "Payless coupon codes". In this case, I discovered a 15% off any order coupon that I was able to add to my order to get my discount. Sites like RetailMeNot.com and Coupons.com will have a listing of these coupons, and they will usually also show when the coupon was last reported used. Like physical coupons, some are good for any purchase, some are good for purchases over a certain amount, and some are only good on a particular item. However, it only takes a few minutes to look through the list and try some of the codes that are applicable, and it has the potential to save you money.
If you want to save even more money, you can also sign up for daily emails. I get a daily email from Brad's Deals and also one from one of my favorite tech supplies Tiger Direct. The Brad's Deals email contains a large variety of products at a discounted rate, and some of the deals are exclusive to those on the email list. If you are looking to save money, check and see if your favorite stores have a daily email list.
Large companies will have a large variety of coupon codes available at a given time. To find these coupon codes, I simply did a search online for "Payless coupon codes". In this case, I discovered a 15% off any order coupon that I was able to add to my order to get my discount. Sites like RetailMeNot.com and Coupons.com will have a listing of these coupons, and they will usually also show when the coupon was last reported used. Like physical coupons, some are good for any purchase, some are good for purchases over a certain amount, and some are only good on a particular item. However, it only takes a few minutes to look through the list and try some of the codes that are applicable, and it has the potential to save you money.
If you want to save even more money, you can also sign up for daily emails. I get a daily email from Brad's Deals and also one from one of my favorite tech supplies Tiger Direct. The Brad's Deals email contains a large variety of products at a discounted rate, and some of the deals are exclusive to those on the email list. If you are looking to save money, check and see if your favorite stores have a daily email list.
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