The Nerdy Nurse’s tips for saving money in nursing school

Goldmund Lukic | Stocksy

Brittney from The Nerdy Nurse is offering up money advice to cash-strapped nursing students. In school and on a budget? Tune in!

There are many expenses associated with attending nursing school. Some of these include textbooks, uniforms, clinical supplies, meals, testing and licensing fees, transportation costs, and general living expenses. If you combine this with the fact that often times a nursing school schedule leaves little time to work and earn income, your budget can become quite stretched during your years of nursing education.

Thankfully there are many ways that you can save money while going to nursing school. Not only can you save money on the books and supplies you will need for your education, but also on other necessities and living expenses that you might not have thought of that are involved with your nursing education. Below you’ll find some useful resources to help you save money while getting your nursing education.

Nursing Textbooks

If you read and follow no other instructions on this list, please, I beg you, read AND follow this one.

Do NOT buy your textbooks from your college bookstore!

You are going to pay full retail, and sometimes even an inflated retail. If there is some sort of special bundle that your store has, ask your instructors if you really need this package. You can easily find out the ISBN numbers of the books required for your courses and go online to purchase them and save yourself hundreds and hundreds of dollars.

Some great places to buy nursing textbooks are: Amazon, eBay and Half.com.

You can even rent your textbooks from places like:

• Bookbyte.com 
• eCampusave

And don’t forget, if you have a tablet or an e-reader, e-textbooks will really help to lighten your already heavy nursing bag and save you money!

Carpool!

Depending on the size of your nursing class, and the length of your commute, this could save you a ton of money over your time in nursing school. It will likely help you make friends and study partners. With the cost of gasoline at over $3 per gallon, this is a chunk of change you’ll want to keep. No only will you save on gas, but also on automobile maintenance because you’ll be racking up less miles.

Here’s the thing about carpooling: You have to ASK your classmates! I didn’t find out until a month before nursing school was over that a classmate who sat two rows back from me lived four houses away from me! I could kick myself for all the money we both wasted by not riding together.

A little penny-pinching and sacrifice while you’re in school will be well rewarded in the end. And while you won’t strike it rich as a nurse, the wages are generally pretty fair and the job stability is better than many other careers.

Read the rest of her tips here, and then share your own in the comments below!