Cheap textbooks and a side of philanthropy

College is a time of great excitement, discovery, and adventure. It's a time during which you feel as though you can conquer the world and anything is possible.

I remember back in my college days I had lots of hopes and dreams. I wanted to write great poetry. I wanted to teach underprivileged kids in Houston. I wanted to travel to foreign lands.

What I mostly did was hang out with my sorority friends, study a lot, drink keg beer, and flirt with boys. Then repeat, repeat, repeat.

Money was really tight for me. My parents and I chose the college I attended based on a scholarship I had received. It paid my full tuition for one year, and it was renewable every year as long as I maintained a certain grade point average.

Despite all my boy chasing, beer drinking, and sorority schmoozing, I did manage to keep that GPA and that scholarship every year. I only had a part time job my senior year - my parents felt my "job" was to get that scholarship back every year.

We still had to pay for room and board and textbooks, which were a lot of money! There was no money left over to pursue any of my college dreams. I could sell the books back at the end of every year, but only at a fraction of what I had paid for them. Luckily, times and textbook acquisition have changed.

Back in my college days, renting textbooks wasn't an option. You bought them for a hefty price and if you couldn't sell them back, guess what? You got to keep a $93.50 copy of Art from the 18th Century. I bet some of us still have that "art book" on our coffee tables. Wheee!!

I have written about Campus Book Rentals in the past. I have even used Campus Book Rentals in the past. I paid no more than about $20 for the textbooks I rented. They even sent me a reminder when my book was due back. It's easy, affordable, and it gives back. Here are the details:

• you can save 40-90% off of campus bookstore prices
• the shipping is free both ways
• you can highlight in the textbooks as if you own them
• the rental period is flexible and there is a 21 day risk free guarantee (ever change your mind about a class you've taken?)
• top notch support staff is available via phone or chat box

Campus Book Rentals is one of the pioneers of online textbook renting. Since 2007, over one million students on 6,000 campuses across the country have used CBR.  That's pretty impressive. You know what else is impressive? Their commitment to giving back. Campus Book Rentals partners with Operation Smile, an organization that provides life-changing surgeries for children who were born with a cleft lip and/or palate and cannot afford the surgeries otherwise. Operation Smile is near and dear to my heart as my son, Slim, was born with a cleft lip and palate and will be undergoing his fourth surgery this summer. CBR promises to donate a minimum of 80 additional surgeries for these kids this year.

Cheap textbooks and a side of philanthropy? Yes, please.

Thank you, Campus Book Rentals.

Visit the Campus Book Rentals website for more FAQs and watch a video of how it all works:




*Feature image from shutterstock.com


I was compensated for this post. Facts are facts, but the opinions are all mine. 

Back to School at 43

Last week, it was Lil' C's turn to be "Star of the Week" for his kindergarten class. The day he was most excited about was the day he could invite a guest to read to the class.

Of course the guest was me.

Books in hand, I took my place at the front of the room and stared at the eager faces of 30 kindergartners. Suddenly, it was as if I had not missed a day of the past ten years in a classroom. The Master teacher in me took over, and I read the three books with expression, tilting them in just the right angle so all the children could see the pictures.

I asked questions in the appropriate places and complimented my rapt audience on their good manners and listening ears. Honestly? I had a blast, and it was just one of the many times I actually miss being in the classroom.

I was an elementary school teacher for 8 years before working in administration for a year and a half. When I became pregnant with my twins, and learned one would be born with a cleft lip and palate, I knew without question I would stay home with them. I haven't regretted a day of the past ten years being at home with them.

But, looking ahead, I think maybe I will return to the classroom someday (after all, college for four boys isn't cheap, amiright?). Since my teaching certificate has long since expired, I am taking classes at our local university to renew it. Did you know that one graduate class at a public university is over $1,000?? Ouch.

Throw in a book that the bookstore wants to charge me $126 for and it's a huge expense just to renew a piece of paper saying that I can teach. But, it's a hoop I have to jump through, unfortunately.

You know what is making it easier for me? CampusBookRentals. After the initial sticker shock of the book I would need for my current class, I checked out CampusBookRentals. The price was way less to rent the book, and $4 less than other book rental sites. Score!

The site is super easy to use - just plug in the name or ISBN number of the book or even just a keyword and voila! Start saving! If you are thinking of taking classes or know a current college student, CampusBookRentals can save you a lot of money. Here are some other benefits:

•  save 40-90% off of bookstore prices
•  free shipping both ways
•  can highlight in the textbooks
•  flexible renting periods
• 21-day risk-free return period (you know, if you change your mind)
• no sign-up fees
• live customer support

You know what else warms my heart about CampusBookRentals? With each textbook rented, they donate money to Operation Smile. Operation Smile is an international medical children's charity teamed by medical professionals and volunteers who provide safe, effective reconstructive surgery and related medical care for children born with facial deformities such as cleft lip and cleft palate. They work in over 60 countries to heal children’s smiles and bring hope for a better future. Obviously, this is a cause near and dear to my mama heart.

One more great thing about CampusBookRentals: they know that being a college student is expensive, so they offer a RentBack program. RentBack is a new initiative that allows students to rent the textbooks they own to other students, which is awesome because it makes them 2-4x more money compared to what they'd make through buyback options! Sounds pretty great, right? Check out the video for more info:






Going back to school doesn't have to be difficult or expensive, no siree, not for me. Not with a little help from CampusBookRentals and RentBack.

 

 

This was a sponsored post, but all opinions were definitely my own!