My advice for books is to find a torrent version of your textbooks. If you can find one with the same edition as your class, great. If not, you may need to rent/borrow/whatever. I find that sharing gets too complicated during study times, and I don't have the attention span needed to photocopy a textbook. But, don't let the cost of a book get in the way of your education. If you need the book and associated software/whatever, then get it, one way or another. $200 is nothing when compared to the value of better grades.