How to Avoid Spending Hundreds on Textbooks You Probably Won't Read Anyway

Winter term is eons away (thank the academic powers that be), but it's never too early to save.

Did you know Thrift Books sells textbooks? I didn't either. But now that I've figured it out, my life will never be the same. Actually, it will be exactly same; I'll just be richer.

...I'm going to make out like a banditIt doesn't matter what your major is, Thrift Books probably has your textbooks, and if you know your course lists, I suggest you get them now. I know, their Christmas sales are over and gift shopping is all but done, but I'm looking at their non-sale prices and I'm going to make out like a bandit.

Who knows? Maybe you'll actually make money selling them back at the end of the term this time. Regardless, you'll be able to hold on to a lot more of your money, which means you can actually afford your drinking habit. Your coffee drinking habit.

There's an entire section for the science and mathematics people! I don't get physics but Douglas C. Giancoli sure does. And you can get his book, Physics: Principles with Applications, for $13.37 — an incredible 95% less than the list price of $245.32. You know what else I don't understand? Biology. So it's a good thing I'm not the one writing the books. Jane B. Reece, Neil A. Campbell, and Michael L. Cain wrote Campbell Biology which Thrift Books has for $18.38, which is 92% off the list price of $218.09.

Econ major? They've got that too. The Economics section is filled with insane mark-downs. Economics by Campbell R. McConnell is $4.51, which means you save 99% of the list price $447.37. Because who in their right mind would pay $450 for a book? If you're trying to get into grad school, check out the Graduate Management Admission Council's The Official Guide for GMAT Review. Listed at $46.94, these guys will save you 91% with copies starting at $4.17.

Both of these books were on my course reading list this term. Sarah Orne Jewett's The Country of the Pointed Firs is just $3.59, which saves you 62% of the original list price of $9.49. Henry Bibb's Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb: An American Slave is also $3.49, saving you 73% of the list price of $13.24. For all the English majors out there, the literature section of Thrift Books textbooks has you covered.

If you're in finance, you're in luck. Check out the finance textbooks to save a few bucks while you learn to make millions. Michael E. Porter's Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors is marked down a whopping 85% from the list price of $43.99, and is only $6.80. And The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham is only $10.84, which saves you 60% of the list price $26.98.

There's a section for History nerds too! And they even have art history titles for my fellow art historians out there. John Locke's Second Treatise of Government is $3.59, which is 72% off the list price of $12.99. ...I still have my copy and yes I bought it hereOn a more personal note, Jaromir Malek's Egyptian Art is a super great deal at $4.32 — 87% off the list price of $33.94. It also makes a great coffee table book, which I can say because I still have my copy and yes I bought it here.

I'm not entirely sure what political science is, but there's a section for that too. A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn is 80% off the list price of $28.98 at $5.66. And Thomas L. Friedman's The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century can be yours for $3.59 — 84% off the list price of $22.99.

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