Today, I’m tackling the topic of how to homeschool on a budget, and giving you practical ways to cut costs and save money! From creating a homeschool budget, to finding free resources and curriculum – I’m sharing all my tips on how to homeschool successfully without breaking the bank!
The reality is, there is no cut and dried “cost” of homeschooling, because every family does things their own way. However, there are some key things to look at when planning your homeschool budget. I’m covering all of that for you here, so you can have a realistic idea of what the typical homeschool costs are, and how to spend less.
To be perfectly honest, when we made the decision to homeschool our children, I didn’t stop to think about the cost of homeschooling. Obviously, I knew we would need to use a curriculum and buy some school supplies! But because I hadn’t yet entered the world of homeschooling, I really just didn’t know what I didn’t know.
I’ll just add that if you’re brand new to homeschooling, it’s a good idea to have a deschooling process first. If you’re unsure what that is, check out my post that explains the deschooling process in detail. It really is an important step towards having a successful homeschool!
Fun, but not needed
Now that we have been homeschooling for a few years, I realize that homeschool expenses can add up very quickly if you let them. It’s easy to spend money on homeschool “stuff”, because quite frankly, it’s kind of fun getting all the new things! I’m a bit of an office supplies junky, so opening up a brand new binder or package of new pencils is something I probably get a little too excited about!
That being said, I have learned how to cut back on our spending when it comes to homeschool supplies, and have learned that you do not need to spend a bunch of money in order to give your kids a quality education. Because homeschooling has become so mainstream, there are unlimited free resources out there now to take advantage of. There is even 100% free homeschool curriculum!
When learning how to homeschool on a budget, can it get expensive? The answer is – it CAN, but it certainly doesn’t have to! You can do this on even the smallest of budgets (even free), and I’m showing you how!
Creating a Homeschool Budget
There are a few things to consider when creating your homeschool budget. Some of these are things such as:
- Loss of income: Will one parent be quitting their job, or cutting back their hours in order to homeschool? If so, you need to plan your budget around one income instead of two.
- Age of your kids: This will determine things like curriculum materials, extracurricular activities, etc.
- Number of children you have: More kids doesn’t always mean more money, but it can depending on how you decide to homeschool. If you want to save money, choosing curriculum that can be taught to multiple ages at once, will help.
- Income gain: By choosing to homeschool, will you be pulling your children out of things like private schools, daycares, after school care, etc? If so, this will be putting money back into your budget.
- Tax Deductions: Depending on where you live there may be certain tax breaks you can claim each year that will help to offset your budget. Look into what’s available in your area before creating your homeschool budget.
- Extracurricular activities & homeschool curriculum: This is where things can get pricey, but only if you let them. I’m going to show you how to cut down on potential costs in this area, but you will need to factor this category into your family budget.
Before you start searching for the best homeschool curriculum and planning out your homeschool year, take a bit of time to consider the things I just mentioned. Give yourself a budget that is realistic, and sustainable. From there, you can start the process of choosing exactly what you’re going to use for your homeschool.
Homeschooling Curriculum
This can be one of the biggest expenses people encounter with homeschooling. I think that most new homeschool parents spend way too much money on curriculum during their first year of homeschooling! So again, is homeschooling expensive? It can be, especially in the curriculum category! Except, I’m going to show you how to avoid overspending on homeschool curriculum if you are looking to save some money.
I have a blog post all about how to choose the best homeschool curriculum for your family, which gives you the top 10 things to consider before making your choice! Check it out before deciding which curriculum you think will suit your family. Going through the 10 steps I outline, will save you lots of money in the long run!
If you have not yet started looking into homeschool curriculum and what’s available, buckle up! There are so many options right now! Homeschooling has become so popular (for good reason), which means that there are more and more resources becoming available all the time.
But how do you sift through the options and find what’s right for you and your budget? My advice is to start out by utilizing as much free curriculum as you can, especially until you figure out your child’s learning style and what best suits them. This way, you won’t feel like you’ve wasted a bunch of money on stuff that just isn’t working.
How To Access Free Curriculum
There are a few different ways in which you can find free curriculum and free resources of all kinds!
- Many of the popular homeschool curriculum companies offer free digital downloads of their full curriculums, or free sample pages so you can try it out first. The Good And The Beautiful offers all of their math and language arts courses as free downloads, as well as tons of free sample pages for other units. This is a good place to start if you’re ok with faith based curriculum. I recently did a full review of their curriculum, that you can read here.
- Another avenue to explore is online courses. There are websites such as Outschool.com that offer courses in almost anything! Now, they aren’t free, but they are very affordable and many are set up as “pay by lesson”. So if you try something and it’s not working out, just cancel future lessons and stop payments!
- Public libraries are another great place to find free resources for your homeschool. Talk to the librarian at your local library and I guarantee she will have tons of great suggestions for you.
Create Your Own Curriculum
Yes! You can create your own curriculum for your homeschool! Now, I would suggest you first familiarize yourself with your provincial/state laws regarding homeschooling, so you know exactly what is legally required of you to do. But after that, you can create your own curriculum and really cut down on homeschooling expenses.
You can do this by accessing resources online, free printables, visiting your local library, and simply creating lessons yourself! Listen to what your child wants to learn about, and let them lead you for awhile. This will help you to create lesson plans that will not only teach your child what they need to learn, but will also be enjoyable!
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School Supplies
One of my favourite things to do each school year is to go out and buy a whole bunch of school supplies! There is something about the smell of an office supply store that makes me giddy….weird, I know.
However, homeschooled children need way fewer school supplies than public school students. Why? Because we buy ONLY what we need, not what the teacher has written on the supply list. Also, homeschool supplies tend to last longer and not need to be replaced as often. This is likely because our kids aren’t packing them in a backpack and transporting them back and forth to school everyday – breaking and losing things in the process.
>>>Here is a full list of the most common homeschool school supplies for grades 1-6!
I bought a box of pre sharpened pencils on Amazon two years ago, and we’re still not through them yet! My kids reuse their binders and duotangs after each unit or course study. They stay in great shape because they’re only being carried from the shelf to the table, and back again!
As a homeschooling family, we only purchase what we actually need, when we need it. This saves a lot of money.
Extracurricular Activities
I believe that extracurricular activities are an important part of a child’s education. These can be things like music lessons, art classes, sports, and more. But the good news is that as homeschoolers, there are ways to save money here too!
I have discovered that a lot of places offer discounted rates for homeschoolers if lessons or activities are booked during the daytimes. Because most people need to book their children’s activities for evenings and weekends, many places will gladly accept the business during their slower hours by offering cheaper rates! Make sure you ask about this when looking into different activities for your kids to be involved in.
Also, ask about group rates when planning field trips with your friends or homeschool community. Many museums, galleries, and even sport facilities will offer discounted group rates. This is a great way to cut down on additional costs.
When trying to homeschool on a budget and keep your costs down, it’s up to you to get creative with planning your homeschool and your activities! (Are you starting to see a trend here?) And remember, there are also costs to consider when you DON’T homeschool as well, and that leads me right to my next point.
Ways Homeschooling Saves You Money
Even though there are some costs associated with homeschool, there are also costs associated with public and private schools as well. By choosing to homeschool, you are saving on certain things, such as:
- School clothes and uniforms
- Yearly tuition or program fees
- School lunches/lunch money
- Before and after school care
- Extra school supplies that are not needed
You also save time, since you aren’t rushing to get your kids ready and out the door each morning. Homeschooling allows for a more relaxed schedule and a simpler start to the day.
Our homeschool morning routine is my favourite part of the day! If you want to know more about how we schedule our days as homeschoolers, check out my blog post all about creating a homeschool morning routine that actually works, and brings peace to your mornings.
Summary
Learning how to homeschool on a budget is not hard, and there tons of resources to help you do this!
There are so many great ways to cut down on homeschooling costs and stay within your budget. Make sure you take the time to sit down and decide what your homeschool budget looks like, and then do your best to stick to it. Homeschooling is really wonderful, but if you overspend year after year, it may not be sustainable.
Take advantage of free resources, curriculum sales, group rates, and more! You will feel so much better about your decision to homeschool if you stick to your budget, and not let yourself get carried away with all the extra courses and expensive supplies.
One last thing – your kids don’t need a “fancy” homeschool experience. They need loving and attentive parents, who invest in their education in more ways than just financially. Provide your children with a healthy and loving learning environment where they feel safe to try new things and make mistakes. This is worth more than anything and will have the longest lasting effect!
Blessings!
~Maryann
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