[Professors before the first day of classes] : Alright everybody, before you come to class on Monday, I need you to buy the list of books and supplies that I listed on my syllabus. You can buy all of these items at the school’s store. 

[Broke a** College Student]:  A pack of math popper scantrons $15.00, Borderlands La Frontera $25.95, The Genetic Analysis Textbook $200.00, History 101 online Learnsmarts $282.25…. WHAT THE HECK!!! THIS IS TOTAL HIGHWAY ROBBERY!!!!!! 

[Financially savvy upperclassman]: Yo… chill…. You won’t be burning all of that money because I have some hacks for you.

Did you guys have parents who would always tell you this at the Grocery Stores:

[Asian Parents with heavy accents] : AIYA!!!  Don’t buy the full price!!! Always buy on SALE or use Coupon!!! 

Well, if they did tell you that, then your parents did you a solid. Here’s my 5 hacks to help you save a decent penny on things that are “required” for school, so you can use it on more important things like Wagyu Steaks and investing.

① Textbooks and Books

I know you guys are probably taking like 4-5 classes that require you to buy several books, making you cough up an arm and leg as a student. I mean these things aren’t cheap. If you’re not careful they can run you $400-$600 a semester - and that’s being conservative! (RIP to those piggy banks that have been smashed already, I feel you. 😭)

Have you guys ever heard of Half Price Books? Well, you better find the nearest one to you quick because that place is like a the fairy godparent for your bank accounts. Why spend $200 on textbooks or $30 on the bible (Yah… I had to buy a bible for one of my classes) when you could get them for only $20 and $15 respectively? (I know the name ‘Half Price’ can be a bit deceiving, but they’ve got some wicked deals on textbooks! This place is like the outlet version of your local Barnes and Nobles, so make sure you check it out! If you don’t have a car to drive there or you’re too cheap to burn some gas, make sure you check out hpb.com and sign up for the newsletters. Every now and then they have coupons ranging from 20-40% off, which will save you a pretty penny.

Now if that doesn’t work, go to amazon, alibris, abebooks, and any other seemingly sketchy book sites - just don’t go to your college bookstore (my brother did this for his first college class ever and burned $200 on textbooks with fake covers that he never even read). ....I’ll just leave it at that.

But, what if I told you you could get your textbooks…. For FREEEEE. Yes. Free. Like no money or whatsoever. Library Genesis to the Rescue! This place is basically the Nirvana for FREE textbooks. It is the true savior of your piggy banks (a million squeals of joy could be heard in the distance). Without going to any store, you can save hundreds of dollars on textbooks! Your welcome. So head over here to find your textbooks today: http://libgen.li/ 

[Broke a** College Student]: Chris… I still can’t find my books at those places... so what now? 

Join your school’s Free and For Sale, Textbook Exchange, or any school group and just ask around. There’s eventually going to be someone who has what you’re looking for. And if they do, make sure you negotiate the heck out of them to save more money!  

② Math Scantron Poppers/Blue Books

(UH or any other school who does this): 

Remember those green/purple/red pieces of paper that you used to bubble in answers? Your primary teachers just magically had them ready and would pass them out for you? Yeah…well now that you’re an “adult” you have to pay for those now. For my University of Houston peeps, they like to call them “poppers” that you’ll use for Math Courses (like Calculus or College Algebra). Your classes will require you to buy like a pack of 50 “poppers” running at $10-15 and you don’t even use all of it! Those poor trees that died in vain. Well what if I told you guys that you don’t have to spend that much and can save a tree? Good News! You can do both and it’s totally simple! First, get to know people in those classes. (Yes, you’re gona have to step out of your shell if you wanna save some cash.) Second, split the cost and the number of “poppers” among everyone. Boom! You saved money and maybe made a friend or two. (Yay networking!) 

However, if you’re the anti-social type, and absolutely hate talking to other people, it’s ok! Another Solution is to use the extra “poppers” you have and put your homework answers or school notes on the back. Or sell your extra sheets on your school’s free and for sale page to make back a couple of bucks! That’s a NGUYEN right there.

③ Pencils/Pens/Paper/Other School Supplies

A pack of pencils $5.00, a pack of pens $7.00, a pack of paper $8.00…. Hold up! If you’re about to buy those at FULL PRICE, please don’t. How about $0.10 for a pack of pencils, $0.10 for a pack of pens, and $3.00 for a pack of paper instead? Doesn’t that sound better??

If you keep your eyes peeled, there are annual back to school sales from big retailers like office max/depot, staples, and walmart! It’s okay to buy things on sale, there is no shame, paper is paper!! Typically from July to September, these places have ridiculous discounts on all the things you’ll need through the school year. So for all the college students everywhere, you all better read up on those summer ads because you never know what good deals you might find. It also doesn’t hurt to keep track of them through the year too! Too bad Costco doesn’t have these prices, or else buying in bulk would be SO much easier!

[Broke a** College Student]: What if I miss that back to school sale or I’m too busy with school?

That’s ok! Here’s another way to save on those things that I think you might like because… it’s FREEEE. So think of college like a junkyard. There’s going to be a lot of stuff that’s lying around like pens or pencils (or dollar bills if you’re lucky…) that people leave behind. Take them and disinfect it (because you don’t want their cooties on you) and voila! You have a bunch of free pens and pencils!

For free paper hacking that’s going to be dependent on your school. If your school has a system where you have been allotted some “printing money/points” to use to print at the school’s copy machines it’s bound to expire at the end of the semester. Don’t let it go to waste, use it!! Just print blank pieces of paper and there you go. You have free paper!! (I know it requires effort but you don’t want to be that sketchy student known for taking the paper right out of the machine and eventually getting banned from using the machines.)

Or another way you could do is go to your school’s library and ask the librarian for paper everyday so you eventually will have a stack. (Cheap, I know but you gotta do you what you gotta do if you don’t want your greenies to burn).

④ Clickers/Student Response Devices

For y’all who are about to spend like $50-70 for a new one with just a one year subscription at your school store, STOP. Let me tell you how I saved 50%+ when I was in the market for one.

First, I went to my school’s Free and For Sale, Textbook Exchange, and school group pages to ask around.

Second, once I found someone who’s selling it, I made sure to negotiate the price down to about $10-15 (for the LCD clickers) or $30-40 (for the QT2 clickers). If they agreed to the price, then I bought it. If not, I kept trying. After few tries, someone sold it to me at this price. For my readers out there, be persistent (unless you need it for class the next day, then any discount is better than no discount).

Third, once I bought the clicker, I checked to see if it still had a subscription because this basically saved me $30-40 dollars. But if you get a clicker and it doesn’t have a subscription, you could get the subscription for about $24.99-$48.99 depending on how many years of school you have left. Most people just need it for just a year or two, so you could basically buy a two year subscription for about $35.99 which is basically like buying a new one, but you get an extra subscription.

➥ Pro Tip: When you buy a clicker off of someone, make sure you have the seller take pics of the clicker he/she is selling you to see if it has the device ID on it because you need that to register to your school’s system. 

⑤ Getting an Ipad/Touch Screen Laptop/Drawing Tablet

Alright the last hack I got for you is a big one because it’s going to be expensive at first, but it’s an investment that will save you money on pens, pencils, paper, and other school supplies. GET…. AN…. IPAD that has apple pencil compatibility or a touch screen laptop like a surface pro. Depending if you’re getting it used or new, they’re roughly around $300-$1,500. I know, a steep price but trust me, it’s an investment and it will save you the hassle on school supplies in the long run because everything is on one device. No need for folders, binders, loose papers, lost pens, etc. No more running around and looking like a goof ball with a heavy backpack. Invest in one and you’ll thank yourself later. My favorite note taking apps that I use are notability and onenote. They’re very student-user friendly and they always auto backup so I never lose any of my notes.

But if that’s over your budget, you could buy a drawing tablet for about $30 on amazon and connect it to your non-touch screen laptop. I first started off with a drawing tablet my freshman year and it was very helpful. I would rewrite all of my notes so I would always have a digital copy with me. This really reinforced my memory and helped me do really well in all of my classes!

Here you go!!! 5 essential hacks you need to avoid a piggy bank massacre !!!