The thought of sending my children to a public school makes me nervous for the simple fact that even though public school is technically “free,” there are many added costs. For one, I would probably have to buy each of my kids nicer clothes than the tee-shirts and gym shorts that they prefer to wear around the house. Buying food that would pack well for lunches or paying for cafeteria meals would be another added expense. Add random school supplies that the teachers request at the beginning of the year other than the usual paper and pencils. Then add field trip money and of course school pictures and other expenses that are expected of each student. Sometimes I feel as though I am saving piles of money simply by staying home; curriculum and material purchases aside!

Even though I am saving money (in some ways) simply by homeschooling there are several tricks to the trade to keep the costs low. I could easily spend one or two thousand dollars per child on homeschooling related costs and many families suggest this amount for a yearly budget. If I had only one or two children I could see pulling this as a possibility but with five kids, that it just not an option. Of course I want the best education for my children and I fully believe this is possible with a bit creativity.

Combine Subjects

If you have children who are close in age, consider combining several subjects. Instead of purchasing a seperate history curriculum for your eight,ten and twelve year olds; buy one curriculum and go through it together. The twelve-year-old can work on a research project in addition to the required work, the eleven year old can focus on their vocabulary skills and the eight year old work on age-appropriate projects. This way, you are saving money by only purchasing one curriculum instead of three!

Check The Copyrights

Certain curriculum companies are extremely strict about copying their workbook pages. They make it very clear that when you buy their products, you will not copy them even within your family. Others are more lenient. I have been finding more and more companies that specifically state in their copywrite that you can copy their workbook pages as long as you are using it within family. Finding these types of workbooks has saved me piles of money over the years.

Spiral Notebooks

If you want to save money even further, ditch the printer and use spiral notebooks for your children to copy their work into. Instead of filling out the worksheets they neatly write it in spiral notebooks. I have been doing this with two of my children and I have noticed that it has been helping them keep their work more organized. It has been helping with discipline and handwriting as well. You can pick up notebooks at the Dollar Tree and save yourself the cost of printer ink this way.

Buy Used

Before ordering new, be sure to check used book or auction websites to see what you can find. If you aren’t picky you might be able to find what you are looking for at a fraction of the cost.

Read Reviews

I have seen friends, time and again, order a full curriculum set out of excitement in the beginning of the year with full enthuseasum only to return it or resell on eBay a few months later. This could have possibly been remedied if they had looked at some honest (not paid) reviews of the product online. Reviews are a great way to see the product in use by actual homeschooling families.

Go To A Convention

You might think this idea is crazy and in no way will help you save money but that is not necessarily true! You see, at a convention, you have a chance to get your hands on the materials. You can open them up and leaf through them. You can see up close if you think it will be a good fit for your family. You can talk to a representative from the company about your doubts, questions and concerns that you might have. Looking through a book ahead of time has saved me many times from purchasing something that simply would not work for us.

How Do You Save Money While Homeschooling?