If you’ve landed here on a post about how to homeschool on a budget, chances are you are a budget-minded person. So many of us homeschoolers are.
Why? Because more often than not, we are one-income families, trying to find ways to save some money on a tight budget. And, we know that homeschooling can be one of those categories in our budget where we can cut cost.
If this sounds familiar, then you are in good company. I have become a bit obsessed with finding ways to cut the cost of homeschooling. It’s important to me to be able to to provide a quality education for our kids, while still finding ways to save money for our family.
Below, you’ll find the best ways to homeschool on a budget, as well as a free printable budget worksheet to keep you on track!
Let’s get into it.
How much should I budget for homeschooling?
The answer to this question will vary widely depending on a variety of factors.
How many kids will you be homeschooling?
What is the cost of living in your area?
Do you intend to use a boxed curriculum set or piece together your own curriculum?
Will you be budgeting for activities outside of the home, such as additional classes, extracurriculars, music lessons, etc?
Most importantly, how much money can you afford to budget for homeschooling? It’s important to know how much you’re comfortable spending before you jump into spending a lot of money!
Curriculum
Curriculum is one area of homeschooling where you will get the most wiggle room for your budget. You can find curriculum for anywhere from free to thousands of dollars. It’s that vast of a market!
It’s important to keep in mind that free curriculum can be just as effective as expensive curriculum sets that will blow your budget. So, don’t be fooled into thinking that the more you spend on curriculum, the smarter your children will be. Curriculum is a tool. It’s all about how you use that tool that will determine the results you get, not the amount of money you spent on it!
Supplies
After you have narrowed down your curriculum, make a list of the supplies you will need throughout the year. This will give you an idea of how much you need to budget for buying things like notebooks, pencils, crayons, markers, glue, cardstock, scissors, pens, and any other miscellaneous items you will need.
If you want an idea of supplies you will use throughout the school year, see my list of homeschool supplies and grab your copy of my free downloadable checklist!
School supplies tend to me more discounted when July and August roll around. So, that keep that in mind when looking for a more budget-friendly time to shop.
Food
Something that is often overlooked in a homeschool budget is food.
For families with fewer, or younger, children, you may not notice a huge difference in your budget here. But, if you are feeding several mouths or teenagers with big appetites, you will want to give your food budget some consideration.
When your children are home all day everyday, you have to budget for lunches and snacks, as well as their breakfast and dinner.
Plan to leave a little extra wiggle room in the budget for the extra meal and snacks for your kids, just in case!
Field trips
This is a huge discretionary part of your budget that will vary widely from family to family.
If you love getting out of the house and exploring as part of your homeschool learning, you will want to make sure you are prepared financially.
Some attractions, local museums, zoos, landmarks, etc., can really add up if you plan to visit them regularly. Looking into a membership at your favorite field trip locations can be a wise decision, especially if you will be visiting regularly.
If you don’t plan to get out as often, you won’t need to worry so much about budgeting a lot to this category. Keep in mind that there are always tons of free or very affordable places to take your children for learning opportunities, as well as virtual field trips!
And, one of the perks of homeschooling is being able to take advantage of homeschool days, when many educational attractions will offer a homeschool discount on admission during the weekdays!
Extracurricular Activities
Sports, art, music, crafting, clubs, and many more extracurriculars may eat up a large part of your homeschool budget.
Depending on how involved your children are with activities outside the home, extracurricular activities may be the biggest expense, or maybe none at all.
If you want your children to be more involved in extracurriculars but don’t want to fork over all the cash it takes to sign them up, try looking for online instruction. The good news is, we live in an amazing digital age when you can learn almost any skill on YouTube. From music to art to woodworking and beyond, learning skills online can be a great way to figure out exactly what interests your child and what skills they naturally possess.
Child care
Another area of your budget to consider when homeschooling is any child care you may require. If you are trying to homeschool while also working, you may need some part time child in order to juggle both.
Likewise, it is important to consider your own personal needs when you are homeschooling. Giving yourself regular breaks is so important to remember. When your kids aren’t going off to school each day, you don’t get those breaks unless you make a conscious effort.
There are homeschool moms who outsource child care each week, housecleaning, meals, tutors, etc. So, make sure you consider your needs and own mental health when making your budget. It’s vital to take care of yourself, too!
Can homeschooling be cheap?
As with any type of education, homeschooling does have some costs associated with it. From public school to private school, there are costs associated with education no matter how you spin it.
Compared to all the other methods of schooling, however, homeschooling can be one of the most affordable options by far.
You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on curriculum, though you certainly can if you that is available to you. In fact, there are many low cost or free resources available that are very thorough and effective for homeschooling.
Also, don’t forget to utilize your local public libraries. Having a library card is essential whether you have a large or small budget. You will have access to any and all resources you need to teach subjects like science and history, as well as giving your child ample reading opportunities and expanding their knowledge exponentially. Make sure you take advantage of your local library as much as possible!
So, can homeschooling be cheap? Absolutely!
It is certainly possible to homeschool multiple children with just some paper, a printer, a hole punch, and a little bit of cash for supplies. Keep reading below to see some of my favorite printable curriculum that is completely FREE!
How to homeschool on a budget and stick with it!
The most important step is to set your budget. Using a worksheet to write down how much you want to allocate to certain aspects of homeschooling can help you stay on track.
You can do this easily by downloading this free homeschooling budget printable to get started right away.
Once you have your worksheet printed, take some time to consider how much money you have total to allocate toward your homeschool budget. Then, determine how important each subcategory is to your overall vision.
Do you want to have plenty of funds to spend on things like extracurriculars? Or, is it more important to buy an open and go curriculum that costs a little bit more but helps you stay consistent with schooling?
Consider the needs of your family, and be realistic about how to homeschool on a budget!
Don’t set a budget based on what you think should be the most important parts of your homeschool. You won’t stick to a budget that is not reflective of your lifestyle and values. Take a look at what you typically spend money on, and base your budget on your spending habits. This will help you stay consistent with your homeschool budget.
Track your spending and make sure you know your “why.” Why are you desiring to homeschool on a budget? For many of us, it’s because we are trying to help our family financially, especially if we are a one-income household. For others, you want to get out of debt and are funneling more money toward that area of your budget right now.
Knowing your “why” is so important for sticking to a budget. Put a post-it on your bathroom mirror, write it in your planner, make it the home screen on your phone. Put it somewhere you will see every single day, so you will always remember why this is important to you in the first place. It will help you to stick to it when you are tempted to spend more on new curriculum in the middle of the year, or buy the latest and greatest school supplies that you will never get around to using!
Free homeschool curriculum with daily lesson plans
There are many free resources for homeschooling families, and why shouldn’t you utilize them?!
If you don’t have the budget to spend a ton of money on curriculum for your children, please don’t let that stop you from pursuing this calling.
We live in a wonderful time where online learning is very affordable, people are selling deeply discounted materials in good condition on Facebook groups, and Amazon Prime is offering deals on books all the time! Not to mention, the plethora of free educational materials that exist in the world.
The Good and The Beautiful
If you are looking for a free homeschool curriculum that includes daily lesson plans, The Good and The Beautiful is my go-to choice.
Language arts and math curriculum are all free through The Good and The Beautiful, with low cost purchasing options also available.
If you are able to print off the curriculum, you can download K-8 language arts and math curriculum completely free! It’s truly an amazing core curriculum, visually beautiful, Charlotte Mason inspired, and has always been the favorite choice among curriculum in our house.
The Good and The Beautiful also offers a wide range of subjects, including science, social studies, history, art, handwriting, music, and more, all at a very affordable price.
So, if you are looking for budget-friendly homeschooling curriculum, this is definitely my first stop for a quality choice!
No matter what materials you choose, just know that the quality of your child’s education is largely dependent on the time you spend with them, not the educational supplies you have. Curriculum is and always will be a tool. It is there to help us achieve our educational goals. But, without proper guidance and support from parents/caregivers, the tool is just…a tool. Showing up consistently to learn alongside your children and guide their education is by far the most important thing you can do for their education!
And, that doesn’t require a budget.
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