Prepare Yourself for the Upcoming School Year

As you soak up the sun of summer, the last thing you want to think about right now is going back to school for the fall term, right? Well, prepared or not, fall term is coming! There are a few simple things you can do during the remainder of summer to make next year really rock! (Rock financially, that is.) And don’t worry – I’m not going to tell you to make a budget!

1. Save. You know you should be saving, and you know come mid-year, you’ll wish you had, so just do it. If you’re pulling in a paycheck this summer, try to live on as little of it as possible and save the rest. That doesn’t mean “never go out and have fun,” of course – balance is key! But don’t blow all your hard-earned cash now, and have nothing left over to get you through the year!
2. Get your textbook list early. As soon as you can, find out what textbooks you’ll be needing for your fall classes. Once you have the list, email your professors to see if the books are really required. It never failed, every term there would be some book for some class that the professor said “Oh, that’s still on the required reading list? We won’t be using that book. Sorry you wasted your money!” By my sophomore year, I was wise to those shenanigans, and started verifying my textbook list with my professors.
3. Get your textbooks for cheap. I’m harping on textbooks here because they’re a big expense, and there’s no reason you should have to overpay for them. Once you have your list of (actually required) textbooks, you can start shopping around for the best prices. The sooner you do this, the better chance of finding a good deal. Here’s my list of the “preferred order” to shop for a textbook, from cheapest to most expensive:
   1. Used, directly from someone on your campus. Websites exist to facilitate this sale, such as Starving Scholars and BookSwap.com. You may also find someone has made a textbook exchange website for your specific school – for example, my school has BookMaid.
   2. International edition. I’ve never gone this route personally, but the international edition of a textbook can usually be found online, and for a lot cheaper than the regular edition. Caveat emptor (buyer beware), though – the international edition may have different pictures, will probably be in black-and-white, and might even have different page numbers. A search site like BigWords.com can help you track down the international edition of your textbook.
   3. Renting textbooks. You have to send them back at the end of the class (usually with free shipping), so you can’t sell them to try and recoup some of your money. But renting textbooks can still save  you a lot of coin! Obviously, renting textbooks works best for books you know you won’t want to keep as a reference after the class is over. My favorite textbook rental site? Chegg!
   4. Used, from online retailers. Again, BigWords.com will come in handy here – it searches a ton of sites, including Amazon.com and Half.com.
   5. Used, from your campus bookstore. We’re starting to get into “last resort” territory, but some books are campus-specific, and you might not find them anywhere else. If that’s the case, it’s time to hit the bookstore. The sooner the better – if the book is only available at your campus bookstore, the used copies will be snatched up more quickly. If you have the option to reserve the book online, do it!
4. Track what you spend this summer. I know I said I wouldn’t tell you to make a budget, and I’m still not going to. But you can help yourself out by becoming better aware of where your money goes. If you can get this habit going during the summer, you have a better chance of keeping it up once you’re in school.
5. Start scheming. A year from now, you’ll have another year of college under your belt. And if you’re going into your senior year, you’ll be a graduate one year from now! What do you want to be different when that time comes around? How will you be better than you are now? What will you have achieved? And I’m not just asking about your grades and your in-class projects. Lots of people start businesses, participate in charities, or find other really awesome side projects to work on. What will you do this year that’s extraordinary? Start planning it now.