Homeschool Savings

There are many ways to save money when homeschooling. As many ways as there are to save, not every money saving tip has to be used every year by every homeschool. Each year is a new opportunity to utilize new ideas, tips, and techniques. Here are a few of the ways we have saved money throughout our 22 years of homeschooling.

We research, research, research before purchasing curriculum or changing methods. Spontaneous, spur of the moment purchases have not ever produced good results for our family. This of course does not refer to promptings from the Holy Spirit. Obeying the leading of God is the best money saver ever! Due diligence and prayer are also key.

One of the most recent saving decisions has been to purchase available workbooks when using online curriculum. This is much less expensive than printing each page out at home. The cost of the workbooks for all three students is less than one third the cost of ink used in printing an entire year's work for three students. Using plain notebook paper and colored paper to create our own notebooking pages also saves money on printer ink. I do print out specialty pages to add interest and variety once in a while but not every day.

Another way of saving on paper usage and printer ink is to occasionally do our lessons on the chalkboard instead of in a notebook. Not only does using the chalkboard save money, but it also adds the spice of life to keep ordinary days sweet rather than monotonous or dull. Saving money is good, but feeding a love of learning is essential. Variety helps do this with no extra expense.

In keeping with the thought of variety, we save money by using objects around the house as manipulatives and ingredients for experimental labs. Legos and other small toys make ideal counters. Coffee beans, buttons, popcorn, and other simple objects provide hands on objects for math and art. Countless science labs can be performed using common kitchen items.

Purchasing books that can be used for more than one student is one of our best decisions for saving over the long run. This is an area where research and due diligence pay huge dividends as not every book is going to work for every student. Families with fewer children may find they don't receive significant savings from this tip, but large families definitely might.

Listening to more experienced home educators has also provided significant savings. Purchasing books filled with the wisdom of experience has prevented our family from unnecessarily spending hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. We haven't chosen to do everything everyone else has done, but we have been shown ideas that work for us.

Keeping our learning adventure as simple as possible saves money too. The less we need, the less there is to buy. The less there is to buy, the less money we spend. The less money we spend, the more finances and peace of mind we save.

A simple rhythm of living and learning produces a peacefully soothing environment where learning can happen with ease. Home can be a safe haven in a loud world. It is my desire to save more than money by creating such a place of learning. These are a few of the things that are helping us develop such a place.

Blessings to you,
Abundantly Blessed