Before filling up that basket with books, students may want to check out alternative textbook retailers, like Half.com. (Michelle Bishop)

Throw off your blankets, get out of bed and get ready to hit the books. A new semester has finally begun and what's the first thing on everyone's minds? How much money they're going to have to spend on textbooks.

To save money this semester, start with finding the cheapest place to buy your textbooks. Most students go to the UNO Bookstore, but there can be much cheaper ways to buy books, like using the Internet or going to a local store.

At Half.com, most textbooks are just that: half price. For example, one book used at UNO is How to Conquer Speech Anxiety and Nervousness by Karen Dwyer. At Half.com, it sells anywhere from $4 to $25, other places sell it between $25 to $50. The Big O Bookstore on 72nd and Pacific sells it for $22 used and Amazon.com sells it for $19.85 plus shipping and handling.

Shopping early is a must because with prices like that, they are sure to sell out fast. When buying from the Internet you more than likely will have to pay for shipping and handling and wait a few days for your books to arrive, but it's still cheaper and sometimes worth the wait.

This popular book used for UNO's Intro Psychology class is sold at the UNO Bookstore for $72 used. The same used book is available online for as low as $30. (Michelle Bishop)

Amazon.com and Textbook.com books are about the same as the bookstore. There is only around a $5 difference for some books, especially those that are widely used.

There are some Internet sites that are even more pricey than the bookstore, such as BarnesandNoble.com and booksamillion.com.

To use another example, there is the popular UNO introduction to psychology book, Gateways to the Mind and Behavior by Dennis Coon. Sold at the UNO Bookstore new for $97 and used for $72, the same book was available at press time for only $39.99 plus $3.25 for shipping and handling at Half.com. Cheaper prices were even found on eBay.com for the same used book, totaling in at around $30 including shipping. That's a savings of over 50 percent off the used price from the UNO Bookstore.

Before buying books from the Internet be sure to go to comparison sites like Bigwords.com or Alibris.com, which scour the Internet searching dozens of sites all at once to find the cheapest price for you. Also, always check out eBay.com-it doesn't always the books you need, but when it does, the price is normally just right.

There is still one more option for people who aren't fond of ordering from the Internet. A new store opened up last semester called The Big O Bookstore, located on 72nd and Pacific.

Do the smart thing and buy books from the cheapest place possible. Money is always an issue, but try not to make it too big of one-there are plenty of other things to worry about.