By: Ashley Cerasaro
Weekender Correspondent

Thanks to moi, December has always been Discover Card’s favorite month. But I’m not the only one. My roommate has always managed to keep Visa in good spirits this time of year. And if you’re anything like us, you’ve probably spent more time at the mall or shopping online this season than your checking account actually allows. For most college students, that isn’t much to begin with.

And now spring semester is less than a week away, and they want us to do what? Buy textbooks? Well, according to the bookstore, I need to scrounge up $174, and that’s only for one class... ONE CLASS! Fantastic, I guess I won’t be eating this month.

But that’s not going to happen, one, because I like food too much, and two, because I just saved a bunch of money buying my books online. That grand total of $174 magically became $104 after 15 minutes of online browsing.

Go to Google.com and type in key phrases like “buy textbooks online” or “compare textbook prices.” All you need is the book’s title, author, edition or ISBN, its 10-digit identification number, to get you started. If the description is vague and you’re not sure it’s the exact edition you’re looking for, e-mail the seller and ask them outright.

I’ve always received prompt responses. It’s worth waiting that extra day than paying the shipping costs to send it back later.

Shopping for textbooks is no where near as fun as shopping for a new pair of stilettos, but the money you save could get you at least two new pair. So whether it’s you or your parents forking out the cash, do yourself and mom and dad a favor and take some time to shop around. Your checking account will thank you later.