A college textbook purchase can set you back hundreds of dollars. This article shows one great way to save money in college by getting a textbook free. You can't do it every time, but if you make some good friends, and if you treat their used textbooks well, you can save some serious money.

The Strategy: Borrow from A Friend
I know, it sounds pathetic, but you need to save money right? It's easy. I just called and emailed some friends that had been in other classes with me, and I asked if they still had their textbooks. One did, and he let me borrow them for the semester.

Tip: Make lots of friends like this. I had a friend a semester or two ahead of me, and he took similar classes. We did have one class together and we hit it off. Also, he loved to keep his books for reference for later. I didn't keep mine, and he didn't mind loaning his. I was always careful with his books, and I didn't write in them. I just had to drive to his house to get them, and I avoided several college textbook purchases by maintaining the friendship.

One of the books I needed just had articles in it - just a bunch of articles in one place. A new version had come out, so I had to ask the professor what articles we would be using, and compare that to my borrowed book. He said there were only a few new ones, and I found those online doing a search, or through a library database, like EBSCO Host. I had access as part of being a student, so it was free.

I took care of his books and returned them at the end of the term. And he lent me some more after that.

Nearly Free: Technically, I may have had to use some paper and toner to print a 10 or 20 page article, and I drove to his house to get the books. Still, not bad ;o)