Savvy Start to the Semester + Giveaway

Is it just me or did Christmas break fly by? Thomas and I started Christmas break by heading off on a ski adventure, we had an amazing time with our families for the holiday, we rang in new year with a bang and managed to find a house that we love! That being said and done, it’s now time to start a new semester, which can be SO expensive! Thankfully, I’ve found a few ways around some of the most expensive aspects of a new semester!
Textbook Prices

1. Don’t buy your books. WHAT? Don’t buy books? Okay, buy them, but don’t go through the bookstore, unless you have to! Check out Chegg, Amazon Textbook, or BigWords. I’ve been renting from Amazon since I started college, and thanks to my Prime membership, I get the books within two days and at a great price. Chegg is another awesome resource. I started renting from them my second semester of college. They not only have great prices on renting and buying new or used books, but they almost always send fun goodies along too. Last semester I received a new flavor of Red Bull, Tide Pods and a coupon for 3 months of Hulu for FREE! I just started using BigWords, but they are an awesome company who scans tons of websites to find the best prices!

2. Be prepared with supplies. Nothing sucks more than having to run in to the bookstore and grab a set of pens thats $4.99 when a pack of 10 at Walmart is $2… That $2.99 savings could have gone towards a Starbucks tea… Or Chick-fil-A! Buy your supplies early!

Clearance rack

3. Check the clearance rack for notebooks and other supplies! All of the “fun” school supplies are long gone because no one actually cares about college kids and their need for school supplies mid year. But the clearance racks hold lots and lots of spiral notebooks. So what if the cover isn’t adorable? Mod-Podge a cute piece of scrapbook paper to the front and call it a day!

4. Invest in some form of a planner. The year is almost 3 weeks in and there’s a good chance stores are starting to put planners on sale, especially the ones that started in September! I received a Kate Spade planner for my birthday. It was on sale for $19, and thankfully my savvy aunt jumped on the sale and purchased it for me. If not a planner, use free printables or even your phone to store assignment due dates and test dates because we all know you probably won’t keep up with your syllabus the entire semester.

5. Look up everywhere that gives student discounts. Make a list of your favorite places, put it in your phone or planner and put those discounts to use! Student discounts can save you at SO many places, some that you would never expect to give a discount! Saving in one place can go to spending in another!

Now, I know that starting a new semester or even starting a new year can be pretty awful. With the resolutions, the dieting, and the crazy professors who actually take attendance, it can be tough! Lucky for you, I’m hosting the #SweetStartTo2016 giveaway with 23 other bloggers, with an awesome prize package worth well over $300! The giveaway will be open from Today, Monday, January 18th 2016 until Monday, January 25th 2016! Good Luck!
$150 Visa giftcard // Naked Smokey Palette // Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask (3.4 Oz) // $10 Starbucks giftcard // Custom wire wrapped bracelets from Courtney & Courtnie // Custom Monogramed koozie & keychain from Cassidy’s Monograms // “Good things come to those who hustle” mug from The Sugar Creek Shoppe

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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  1. Starting Nursing School definitely everything in this giveaway is awesome, it's hard to pick something that won't help me get through this semester! I love the Starbucks gift card and the visa card, it would definitely help a lot!

  2. This is adorable & such a great idea!! I love all your advice being a student myself – you added in great ideas! I always rent my textbooks through bookrenter and its so much easier than buying!

    : )

  3. I'm sooooo jealous of your ski adventure! I've been dying to go for a few years now, but adulting costs a ton of money, hahaha. We had to save for our wedding then a honeymoon & now a house. We'll eventually go skiing again! So excited about this giveaway!!'

  4. Even though I'm all done with college, I completely agree with everything! I lived by Chegg and their awesome samples! As far as supplies goes, I stocked up my freshmen year and actually only had to buy maybe a few new folders and notecards! I would reuse my notebooks and use them until they're all gone! Even a year after graduating, I still use a notebook at work for call notes!

  5. These are all great tips!
    I loved stocking up on school supplies mid semester and happily headed to Target to do so.
    I also rented most of my books from Chegg or a company called slugbooks they were both wonderful.

    xoxo, Jenny

  6. Skiing was a BLAST! We are very fortunate to have awesome jobs that allow us to pay for school, and allow us to travel frequently. Adulting definitely has me missing the days of living with parents and having my mom fill up my gas tank!
    Those are all such exciting things to be saving for, I know, eventually we'll cut back on travel to save for a house and wedding, all in due time! Congrats to you though, those are such amazing things!

  7. College or no college, the clearance racks are my bff's 😉 Glad to hear other people have enjoyed Chegg as much as i have. I didn't even consider doing a huge stock up. I love saving and probably could have gotten a discount in bulk.
    I ALWAYS use the notebook until its totally full. I'm on my third semester with one notebook!

  8. I have never understood that! Professors provide the tests, why wouldn't they provide the way to answer them too?
    I'd totally buy them in serious bulk if Walmart had them!

  9. I just discovered that you can rent books on Amazon for a wayyy better price than a campus book store! Where was this two years ago?! Thanks for sharing your tips!

    xoxo
    Amy

  10. I totally miss back to school time! I'm in graduate school now and most of my classes are online so the whole feel is just different. I miss buying tons of school supplies!

    LiveLifeWell,
    Allison

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