What appears below is probably one of my favorite curmudgeon posts. It is certainly the time of the year to bring this post back (I am sitting in a classroom annoying students working on my final by the clicking of this Dell keyboard). However, I have been taken by the holiday spirit and it occurs to me that the money from selling back your textbooks could be put to a better use. Buy your mom a decent present!!!
Note: Aside from how I suggest you use the money, the rest of the original post still applies.
The end of the semester is drawing near. The college book store has contacted me to determine if I am going to assign the same textbooks next year. Now is the time to explain the “beer money ploy”. I am not certain just who should benefit from understanding the beer money ploy. Knowledge of this ploy might be applied in offensive or defensive mode. My lot is not to take sides, but to educate.
The beer money ploy offers an opportunity for students to generate a little extra spending money as the semester ends. This is useful at a time when money tends to be tight, but the ploy must be executed strategically. Apply this strategy too early and your GPA may suffer. Apply the strategy too late and all your buddies will have left for home and you will have no one to party with. The beer money ploy is based on the differential between the initial cost of textbooks and the price the book store will pay you to sell your books back. Say you have a book that costs $100. Think of this as an investment – in your education and in your beer fund. If you rely on help in purchasing your books, it is important that the full detail of this ploy remain somewhat hidden. It helps if you complain a lot about the high cost of textbooks. At the strategic time, after you have studied for your finals and before your friends have left, you head to the bookstore and sell your book back for $50. Like magic – $50 beer money.
Follow this site – from time to time I will offer other helpful financial tips. Next – borrowing money from your roommate.