August 4, 2008 by Mara Strom With the first day of college right around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about all those beginning of semester start-up costs. Are you trying to stretch your scholarship dollars? Or make your work-study money go as far as possible? Over the next few Mondays at the Financial Aid Finder, I’m going to focus on some frugal(ish) ways to save money and reduce your overall expenses. This week, we’re talking about textbooks. Books are often one of those unplanned — or under-planned — for expenses that can really bust your budget. The cost of books has gone up more than 180 percent in the last decade and it’s not unusual for students to blow $1,000 or more on buying them. Given that textbooks are unavoidable (assuming you...