What to do when you are committed to homeschool and trying to make the money stretch….

Remember that your investment and riches come in the quality of life for your family. Treasure the time spent together, learning and growing. You do not have to be rich with things and money to be successful, happy and find joy.

A recent mom’s night out with homeschool moms gave me insight into an issue that is becoming more prevalent right now. More and more families are seeing the failings of public school and choosing to homeschool on a tight budget. And with that choice, there can be economic challenges.

With many homeschool families surviving on one income or trying to run a business from home, homeschooling on a budget is a must. With rising costs of food and housing and utilities across the country, more and more families need budget friendly homeschool options. It is possible and you don’t need to feel guilty for saving and budgeting. You can be successful on a low income.

How is it possible to homeschool with so little income?

1. Budgeting your Money to Stretch
2. Spacing out Curriculum
3. Finding & Utilizing Free resources
4. Supplementing with Low Cost Resources & Experiences
5. Getting Help from Community

(1) Budgeting Your Money to STRETCH

Most families on one income understand the true depth of making money stretch. However, families that are new to homeschooling or have a recent job change may struggle and need help. There is no shame in looking for less expensive resources. There are so many resources and ideas out there to help your money stretch. You can homeschool and be successful on a budget.

Find Expenses You Can Reasonably Cut Out:

• Make an excel spreadsheet of all your income and expenses to outline all the money in and out per month or get a cheap organizer.
• Make some sacrifices to pursue your priorities: lessen or cut eating out or lower subscriptions.
• Decide on the “needs” vs “wants” for each person in the family.
• Decide if you can make more items homemade instead of freezer or “quick” meals.
• Research affordable meals and ways to utilize resources at home – such as a vacuum food saver.

(2) Spacing Out Curriculum

• Find the core units you need and start with those (Math and Reading)
• Supplement with the other subjects (such as free resources, local trips, studying nature and more.)
• Slowly add in curriculum as you can afford – buy one book at a time each month or each semester and you will eventually get caught up. If you can’t afford a certain curriculum, look into the free options.

(3) Finding and Utilizing Free Resources

• Free Curriculum Online – Here are some free online schooling options.
• Free Websites – Here are free resources for great online websites
• Free Resources at Library – books, STEM kits, activities, monthly crafts, story time, science guests and more.
• Free Creating Your Own Lessons – See a few of my own I’ve created for you to use.

(4) Supplementing with Low Cost Resources & Experiences

You don’t have to do a co-op or homeschool group every year or at all. While they are wonderful and can be very beneficial in their own ways sometimes you have to save. Often times co-ops come with time commitments and extra costs depending on where you live. It’s okay to set it aside for a season if you can’t afford it.

• Thrift stores – for used books, clothes, furniture, organization and more.
• Garage sales – for used books, clothes, resources, science or art materials and more.
• Renting – some bigger cities offer options to rent equipment or materials for a project.
• Borrowing – ask a friend if you can borrow a text book to try it out or microscope for a unit.
• Buying and selling back – many times you can sell back a book on Ebay or Amazon.
• Making copies and binders to reuse resources – if you have multiple children, make a hard copy to keep forever and reuse so you don’t have to rebuy the workbook and tests every time.
• Using a white board for lessons and reduce copying costs.
• Buying used books (we did this for Greek language curriculum and it was 1/2 the cost and the books looked new! See Amazon versions.)

(5) Getting Help from the Community

• It’s okay to ask for help from your church – from babysitting, to job help, to income and more. Many times a church community will rally around someone struggling and help them for a time with home repairs, a meal or two, buying children clothes or emergency supplies.
• Getting help by applying for State aid for health insurance – we all know that medical costs are only increasing. Look into your local Medicaid or CHIP programs to help with medical costs for a child who may need braces, glasses and regular check ups.
• Apply for temporary food stamps or energy assistance – look into your local state agency for the income guidelines for temporary assistance to get your finances in control. Many people with multiple children or one income apply and get temporary help to get improve their income and savings situation and help to pay bills or groceries.
• A work temp agency – many job agencies help you find work that suits your family, from online/at home work to part-time jobs and more to help you make a little money to get through.
• Applying for Toys for Tots or getting items from a Food Pantry – many times you need to apply months in advance but it doesn’t hurt to ask. If you have little kids and lots of expenses, making a Christmas special with Toys for Tots and a few extra loaves of bread is a lifesaver and there is no shame in asking if you truly need help.
• United Way & Salvation Army – provide lots of resources for anything having to do with a crisis or emergency or needing help with costs/expenses.
• Utilize cost saving apps – such as Sam’s Club or Walmart+ that may give discounts to those on assistance and improve overall costs for delivery and prescriptions.

Whether you are starting out homeschooling for the first time or going through a change, you can homeschool on a budget. It’s okay to tell you children no or to find other ways to enjoy things. We even had our children take their allowance money to get extra snacks a few times so they could understand the expense of eating. Eventually they found out what they “need” and what they “want” are two very different things and they can survive without cheetos or oreos. Find resources that are available. From people to community to online. Many families need help with budgeting. Anyone can homeschool.