With college expenses rising at a steady and daunting rate, textbooks are becoming one of the most expensive necessities for financially insecure students, leading to some creative methods to save money on these vital supplies.

A survey from the Student Public Interest Group states that textbook prices have increased by 22 percent in the last 4 years.

According to another survey the average college student spends $1,200 on books a year.

That’s almost $5,000 over four years. Many students are going into college with very little money to begin with. The textbook situation has quickly become a real problem.

Natalie Smith, 18, education major from Yardley complains, “Textbooks are excessively expensive, especially considering how much college tuition costs per semester.

Students are already starting their desired career with massive amounts of debt and textbooks are not helping In today’s day and age it’s rare for a college student to graduate without the trail of debt behind them.

Students in most cases are expected to pay back loans about six months after graduation.

To fight back against these rising prices more and more students are going through back doors and other sources to buy books.

In recent years renting textbooks from the bookstore, as well as ordering them and buying used ones from online vendors such as Amazon.com, Chegg, and Textbooks.com have become popular options.

This is useful for students who won’t use the textbooks again after the semester is over. Textbook sites promise students cheaper prices and less of a headache.

However, some students still do things the old fashion way.

Brooke Foster, 18, from Pipersville said, “No. I bought my books straight from the bookstore because I didn’t want to order the wrong ones,” when asked if she went through other sources to buy textbooks.

Some teachers are very specific about their textbook requirements and there’s no way around it.

“I bought books through friends that had the classes before me and that was one of the best decisions that I made. I saved a lot of money” said Rasheed Douyon, 18 year old Business Administration major from Bensalem explained.

Colleen Gall, 18, Public Relations major from Fairless Hills said when buying her textbooks “I go online to see if I can find the books cheaper. If they’re the same price as in the bookstore I’ll just buy them there since it’s more convenient.”

It’s important that students realize their options and do their research. With grants and scholarships there’s essentially free money students can use to put towards the pricey costs of books.

The textbook industry is a business like any other. For students who don’t want to fall for that business, being a little more frugal can help them make the smarter choice for them and their bank account.