Things to Consider before Buying Textbooks

Purchasing textbooks for your courses can cost you a bomb. Many textbooks are highly expensive and hamper your pocket money and monthly budget in a huge way. All the

same, you cannot eliminate this expense completely. What you can instead do is keep in mind a few parameters and then decide on buying textbooks. This will help in keeping your

budget in check and might even give you an idea as to where can you save money.

1. Preserving the book: If you are majoring the subject for which you are purchasing the book, it is advisable that you keep the books you’ve bought as you can refer to them later. If you plan out masters, you might need to keep going back to your old books for references. For many of the entrance exams you might need to get your basics strong and clear. So, these books if preserved will help you a great deal; you will have your own library to study from. This will avoid hunting for the study material later on. Therefore, in such cases, where you plan to keep the book even after your term is done, it makes sense to grab a fresh copy of the book.

2. Check for used copies: One smart way to save up on your money is to buy used copies of books. These books are reasonable and much more affordable than new books. However, it is your duty to ensure that you are picking up a copy that is in a good condition. Checking the book inside out, page by page is time consuming, but worth the wait. You might find a bit of wear and tear here and there, but ignoring that, the book needs to be in a state wherein it can be comfortably used. Generally, many copies of the book are in new-like conditions, which make these books a great bargain to consider.

3. Do you really need the book: Many a times, you buy a lot of books for the course, but they are barely used. A lot of times, the book is even listed in the reading list, but then as well it is not required for the course. In such cases, you need to make certain that there is an actual requirement for the book. You can find out about the same by asking your seniors. They would know much better. Mostly, the reading lists are the same and the professors do not change often. So asking people who have already taken the course makes sense.

Most importantly, you need to know if you can afford purchasing the physical copy of the book. If not, you always have the option of buying books online as they are affordably available there. However, if these books are only going to be used for the course, you can try purchasing them second hand or any other used copy. You can also try buying e-books as they would be much cheaper and can be preserved in a better fashion.