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This fall, Yossi Hoffman starts a new chapter as a senior at NYU and as in years past, he's spending big dollars on his textbooks.

"They are just extremely expensive, no matter what you are studying," Hoffman said. "I'm studying music and it's still, I'm spending hundreds of dollars on textbooks and textbooks are not at the core of our curriculum."

Kelli Grant with SmartMoney.com says for cash-strapped students, textbooks can be the straw that breaks the camels back.

"It's very easy to spend $700, $800, $900 on textbooks especially with certain majors. One science textbook alone can cost $200," Grant said.

Experts say if you're not saving on your textbooks, then you are not doing your homework. There are a number of affordable alternatives that will give your wallet a study break. Buying used has been one longstanding option, but these days you can also rent.

"This idea of renting is you pay usually a very small fee, often half of what you would pay to buy the book outright and you can keep it for anywhere from just a couple of weeks to a full semester or two and then you just mail it back to the company you are renting it from," Grant said. "Some of them even offer the opportunity to buy the book."

Two sites to check out include chegg.com and bookrenter.com. Both offer a variety of titles, but not all. Just be sure to to ask about the condition of the book since renters are allowed to highlight in some cases.

Book downloading is also an option for those who may want study materials on the go. One notable resource is coursesmart.com where buyers can easily save 30 to 60 percent on electronic books. However, there are some drawbacks to downloaded materials, especially when it comes to archiving your personal library.

"Most times you only have access to the book for a semester or two, so it's not great for books that you might use as a resource for many years down the line in your given profession or that might be useful even a semester or two later," Grant said.

Additionally, ebook selection is low and you have limited ability to print.

For a real bargain, students can get some ebook versions of textbooks for free. One site is gutenberg.org, another is textmediabook.com.

Finally, once the semester ends and you're finished with a new or used book, resell as quickly as possible since new editions can come out yearly.