The summer is coming to an end and the time for book shopping is fast approaching. Look up what books you need and take a good, hard look at the total price at the end of that college store list. Once you're done with that lovely experience, close that tab and read this list.

1. Make a List.

First you need to make a list of all the books you're absolutely required to have, separated by class. Make sure you include the author, edition and ISBN in your list because the books you're expected to have are specific to the year in which they were published (especially textbooks).

2. Check your Library.

Once you've completed your list, check out your school library's website and search for each and every one of those books. There is a large chance that 75% of those books are available for free. If they're not available to borrow, your professor may have also placed one or two class books on reserve for the students. Don't even think of purchasing a single book before you've looked through your college's ultimate resource of free reading material.

3. Price Comparisons.

Amazon, Chegg, and Barnes and Noble are blessings - so don't waste them. While Amazon tends to be the hub of cheap finds, sometimes Barnes and Noble and Chegg have the exceptions to that general rule. The most important part of building the ultimate, bargain based shopping cart is looking at the used prices sections. Make sure to look at the quality description provided under the price, so as to ensure that you're not paying next to nothing for something worth nothing. You can find books under "Good" or "Very Good" for up to two cents (plus $3.99 in shipping)!

4. Shipping Location.

Have your books delivered directly to campus so that you won't have to lug them across any state lines during move in week. Also, be careful to check for arrival dates when you set the order as to make sure your books won't be arriving in October. You can always pay for expedited shipping but another trick is simply contacting the seller and informing them of your upcoming classes while subtly suggesting that they send the package at a slightly faster pace. Most of the time, they're pretty accommodating!

While purchasing your books from the school store may very well be a faster approach than following the steps from this list, my way will save you up to hundreds of dollars and you don't even have to thank me in person. Happy shopping, brainiacs!