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. 

Smile! School is Almost Here!*

The boys and I went school supply shopping the other day. There is something about crisp unbent folders, pencils sharpened to a fine point, and unbroken crayons that always gets me excited for school.

Yep, the school year will be here before we know it. Kids will be flooding the hallways again, and parents will breathe sighs of relief.

My college-age babysitter and I were talking the other day about how expensive textbooks are these days - in the hundreds of dollars (and I thought dropping $75 for three kids at Target was steep!). I guess some things never change. I remember being so dismayed about paying big bucks for a brand new textbook and getting a few dollars for it at the end of the year.

I recently heard about a great website called CampusBookRentals, and I can't wait to tell all the college-age people in my life about it. A student can go to their website, search for the book he needs, and purchase it for 40-90% off bookstore prices! There is free shipping both ways, risk free returns within 30 days, and an option to keep the book longer if needed. You can even highlight in it!

Where was this program when I was in college?!

Here's a little more about how it works:



They also have an awesome program called RentBack which can actually earn you money by renting your books to other students - every time your book is rented, you make money. What college student doesn't love extra cash?

Do you know what I love even more about CampusBookRentals? They donate to Operation Smile with each textbook rented. Operation Smile is an international medical children's charity that provides reconstructive surgeries for children all around the world who are born with facial deformities such as cleft lips and palates.

These are life-saving medical procedures for these children. Without repairs, many of these children die before their first birthday because they are unable to eat. Others are shunned by their communities because they are unable to communicate effectively, socialize, or even smile.

Because my son, Slim, was born with a cleft lip and palate, this is a cause near and dear to my heart. He has already had three surgeries and is gearing up for orthodontia and implants. These surgeries simply make a child's mouth work the way it's supposed to and improve his quality of life.

If you or someone you love is taking college classes, do yourself a favor and check out CampusBookRentals.com. It will definitely make you smile and help a child smile.


*I was compensated for this post, but all of the opinions are my own.