This article may contain tips that are no longer active. Check out these additional resources for more ways to save and make extra cash!
41 Companies That Will Pay for Your College
College Freebies You Need To Know About
17 Companies That Send You Products to Test for Free
Back To School Deals Landing Page
Free food, discounted textbooks, and savings, oh my!
1. CampusBooks.com is Travelocity of textbooks.
CampusBooks does for books (all books — new and used, rentals, and eBooks) what Travelocity does for travel: namely, it finds you all available offers, compares their true prices with tax and shipping, and shows you the best deals so that you get exactly what you want for the very best price.
Whether you’re buying, renting, or selling textbooks, CampusBooks shows you all of your options in one place. With their Buy vs. Rent Superbot and exclusive coupons, you’ll never again pay too much for college textbooks and you can save up to 90% off list price!
2. Amazon Prime Student offers you textbook trade-ins and free, 2-day shipping for 6 months.
Amazon Prime Student links you right to the Amazon bookstore, where you can buy, rent, and trade in books once the semester is over. After your free 6-month trial, pay only $49 (50% off) on your next year of Prime membership. Even with the discounted membership, you’re still getting all the benefits of a normal Prime membership–free 2-day shipping, unlimited streaming of TV shoes and movies,and more!
3. BookScouter searches websites like Amazon.com so you can sell books for the best price.
BookScouter compares offers across dozens of book buyback vendors–all with a single search. Just enter an ISBN, identify which vendor you’d like to have sell your book, print a free shipping label, pack your books securely, and drop them off at your local shipping center. Once the vendor receives and inspects your books for damage, you get moolah. Now if only English Lit. was this easy.
4. The Krazy Coupon Lady app shares the best deals for your area.
Geolocation is a glorious thing, especially when it helps you locate more than your next Pokémon Go character (I totally just scored a Mankey FTW). With our app, you’ll find curated deals instantly at stores like Target, CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Rite Aid, Dollar Tree, and Whole Foods, along with printable coupons. Save your favorite stores and upload your own deals to share with millions of your (new) closest friends.
5. Raise.com delivers discounted gift cards to your digital wallet within minutes.
Headed to the store? Out to dinner with friends? Shopping for new kicks? Raise.com lets you choose the business you want a 10-20% discount from. Then they deliver your gift card to your Raise.com wallet for instant use in-store, just like a regular gift card. You can also spend them online or print them out if you plan to leave your phone at home.
Extra Credit: Use code KCL to save $5 on a $50 Raise.com purchase.
6. Tun crowdsources local student discounts and scholarships.
Tun helps you save on everything from retail opportunities offering student discounts to books, supplies, and clothing–basically everything you need to kick off the school year. You can even apply to scholarships right through the site, with many paying up to $1,000 for submitting an essay. I’m pretty much partial to the $1,000 opportunity asking you to write an essay on what kind of cooking utensil you’d be. #LadleForLife For Apple and Android
RELATED: 11 Online Jobs for College Students
7. FiveStars rewards you by tracking your points when you check into nearby businesses.
FiveStars lets you use those points for free items and discounts. Just look for the green check-in icon, click on the business, and tap “Check in to get rewarded here.” You can even get gifts on your birthday! All you need is a phone number to earn points and rewards, view businesses, see hours, and call or get directions.
8. GasBuddy crowdsources the best gas prices locally.
GasBuddy offers two handy capabilities. First, it’s a low-price finder by zip code; second, it shares a daily posted gas price average so you can find the cheapest prices in your area. Bonus for the statistics fans: You can forecast upcoming gas trends based on past posted history so you can fuel up at just the right time.
9. Rovertown turns your phone into an advanced discount seeking beast.
RoverTown delivers exclusive discounts to college students by sharing where you can score a sweet discount…and then it applies the discount for you. Since they’ve paired up universities with retailers, you can follow companies and get notified when you’re at a business with a discount.
10. Cartwheel saves you money when you’re shopping Target.
With Target’s app, you browse and add offers to your unique bar code online. Then, just pull up the bar code on your phone and present it like a coupon at checkout. All the offers you’ve added will come off in one easy-peasy scan.
Extra Credit: Don’t have a smartphone? Tape your personal, printed bar code to the back of your cell phone instead.
11. Groupon saves you money so you can fully embrace the local experience.
Tired of coupon books for local activities? Groupon delivers deals for up to 70% off the best stuff to do, see, eat, and buy in more than 500 cities across the country. And since deals are available to use immediately, you’re never more than a few taps away from tickets to the next hot event, or a chance to eat a whole pizza by yourself. #weekendgoals
12. Ibotta gives you money back on items you buy anyway.
Whether you’re walking the plank for some Captain Crunchberries or you want to score some sweet, locally-sourced strawberries, Ibotta gives you cash back. Just locate featured deals on items like food, alcohol, beauty items, clothes, and stuff to clean your place. Then scan your receipt (and usually the item’s bar code) after you buy the item. When you hit a $20 minimum, pick your payout in PayPal or gift cards for places like Amazon.
Extra Credit: Join our Ibotta FB group and expand your Ibotta team. The bigger your team, the faster you earn bonuses.
13. Kruue works with student body-approved companies for relevant discounts.
The Kruue mobile app gives you chances to redeem offers from your favorite local businesses for free. Simply find and scan your university Kruue code at local participating businesses. You have the chance to redeem a different offer every time you scan (once every 24 hours).
14. Checkout51 features groceries you can earn money back on.
Less time consuming than Ibotta, Checkout51 offers fewer (usually) higher-rebated items. Just snap a picture of your receipt and get cash back. When your account reaches $20, they’ll mail you a check. Even better? You can combine offers with other savings apps: Ibotta, MobiSave, Shrink, and Shopmium.
UP NEXT: 20 School Lunchbox Ideas Every Parent Should Know
Tell us what you think