IfIOnly Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I was wishfully looking over the TWTMA math classes again last week. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the cost; it's just not in our budget! It sounds so wonderful to me to outsource math. If only! Lol The top of my wish list for next year would be to: Outsource math *and* composition for middle schoolers and above Provide music lessons for all the kiddos Dream with me! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaceseeker Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I would use the money to hire a chauffeur. I am so very tired of getting my kids to all their wonderful enriching activities (which they love). I need a mommy uber... 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IfIOnly Posted March 27, 2017 Author Share Posted March 27, 2017 I would use the money to hire a chauffeur. I am so very tired of getting my kids to all their wonderful enriching activities (which they love). I need a mommy uber... Oh, yes, good one! I hear ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wathe Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 If money were truly no object? Travel, travel, and more travel. 20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Travel and an au pair to help with the littles. We actually use all the materials we want with no financial limitations, but travel is limited to us financially because of our location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Provide music lessons for all the kiddos Our problem with music instruction was finding a good fit instructor in terms of temperament. Comically the best fit (or least worst) for my intense kid is Russian music instructors who are very good at math and physics too. If money isn't a concern, I would have the instructors come to my home instead of driving or taking the public transport to lessons. Even group academic lessons won't be a problem as I could host my kids classes at home including providing snacks and drinks. We might pay more to have a current tutor come to our home next school year instead of going to her home. The time savings might be worth paying the tutor the "gas money". I would also fly home every summer so that kids can learn their heritage language from their grandparents and other relatives. Then fly to Australia for Christmas breaks so that kids can learn sports from their "sporty" cousins there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IfIOnly Posted March 27, 2017 Author Share Posted March 27, 2017 (edited) If money were truly no object? Travel, travel, and more travel. Travel and an au pair to help with the littles. We actually use all the materials we want with no financial limitations, but travel is limited to us financially because of our location.If you stayed awhile (2-4 years depending on the language complexity and commitment, one source said), kids could learn a foreign language to boot. Edited March 27, 2017 by ifIonlyhadabrain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 We had a bluebird money infusion when I was homeschooling so I actually got to do this. :0) We went on history-driven field trips. Like to Boston. To the California gold fields and forts and so on to science museums in 4 cities one year. All of it matched our history cycle. We had to quit homeschooling for various reasons but my sonn's school had a trip to Greece and Rome and we were able to find that. How we, when we thought we'd be homeschooling, wven though my dh and I could not at the time travel internationally, we were ready to find a tutor to take our son for a month. We took every Tuesday all winter long to go skiing. (PE) I guess another thing that it let us do besides travel was to have dad/son road trips which super-glued them. I say these not to brag but to be thankful and to say exactly what DID happen under the stated scenario. But we didn't buy our kid a car or all the Rich Prople Thhing. But it was a wonderful thing to be able to be on-site in history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking Squirrels Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 It would probably not end up being in my favor. I think what would change the most is I would be quicker to buy every shiny curriculum that caught my attention. Right now we get whatever we feel we need, regardless of cost. So I don't lack for anything I truly feel would be best for our kids. But money is an issue, so I have to choose carefully and be somewhat sure before jumping. I think the grass-is-greener syndrome would catch up with me a lot more if I could just get anything new whenever I wanted. I really don't think that would actually be a good thing! And travel; yes we would definitely travel! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meriwether Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 If money truly weren't an issue, we would do a lot of traveling. We'd do more music lessons. I'd have a house with a schoolroom upstairs instead of in the basement. Curricula probably wouldn't change, but I would buy my books new instead of used. I love a crisp, clean, new book. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IfIOnly Posted March 27, 2017 Author Share Posted March 27, 2017 (edited) We'd do bigger, bolder projects. We'd travel. I'd be a much less stressed out parent. My ds would be happier because he'd have all the dogs, lol Money....ah...the dream! These projects sound so interesting. Would you give an example? I'm so not a project mom, though my kid's would love it if I were. Ugh. Edited March 27, 2017 by ifIonlyhadabrain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 If money truly weren't an issue, we would do a lot of traveling. We'd do more music lessons. I'd have a house with a schoolroom upstairs instead of in the basement. Curricula probably wouldn't change, but I would buy my books new instead of used. I love a crisp, clean, new book. Yessss on crisp books! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IfIOnly Posted March 27, 2017 Author Share Posted March 27, 2017 We had a bluebird money infusion when I was homeschooling so I actually got to do this. :0) We went on history-driven field trips. Like to Boston. To the California gold fields and forts and so on to science museums in 4 cities one year. All of it matched our history cycle. We had to quit homeschooling for various reasons but my sonn's school had a trip to Greece and Rome and we were able to find that. How we, when we thought we'd be homeschooling, wven though my dh and I could not at the time travel internationally, we were ready to find a tutor to take our son for a month. We took every Tuesday all winter long to go skiing. (PE) I guess another thing that it let us do besides travel was to have dad/son road trips which super-glued them. I say these not to brag but to be thankful and to say exactly what DID happen under the stated scenario. But we didn't buy our kid a car or all the Rich Prople Thhing. But it was a wonderful thing to be able to be on-site in history. As someone who has only managed to mostly to car school history via audio CDs the last few years, these are the kind of history activities I could get behind. Lol. How wonderful for your family! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abba12 Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I actually wouldn't travel. I mean, the occasional trip, sure. But we value a stable, grounded life over going one place to another and never settling anywhere. I would hire someone to do more hands on activities. Art, science experiments, that stuff. I'd also hire a music teacher. I suppose my ideal situation would be to do the core subjects in the morning, and each afternoon have someone come in to teach art/music/science/etc. I'd use the money to purchase supplies for the childrens interests and hobbies too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalsummer Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 You could not give me enough money to be willing to travel extensively and recreationally with the kids at these ages. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IfIOnly Posted March 27, 2017 Author Share Posted March 27, 2017 You could not give me enough money to be willing to travel extensively and recreationally with the kids at these ages. DH is a Building contactor, and he and I once turned down a good job in Hawaii. This was from someone he had worked a bunch with, so a legit offer. Maybe someday I'll regret it, but it Just sounded too exhausting in the circumstances we were in at the time. I get it. I would probably more like living in another country for several years or traveling somewhere once or twice a year at most. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 As someone who has only managed to mostly to car school history via audio CDs the last few years, these are the kind of history activities I could get behind. Lol. How wonderful for your family! Thank you. These are some of my best memories. I was inspired by my parents who made it their goal to take theirs kids (us) to all 50 states. It was fun but it was also supremely educational. I have deep respect and love and sorrow for this country and its history--the bad with the good. Because I had seen so much, I knew the value of it. And so. My parents did NOT have a big cash infusion. We camped, used Motel 6 (one room) from time to time. It's one of the great joys of my life, what my parents did and then what we were able to pass along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 (edited) You could not give me enough money to be willing to travel extensively and recreationally with the kids at these ages.We love traveling with the kids. But having our kids around us wherever we go has been all we have ever known. Money no object? Foreign language professional tutoring starting in elementary Music and arts lessons Travel and other opportunities to expand their interests Maid service so I'd have more time for things more important to our schooling Eta: The biggest thing would be the luxury of affording to make educational mistakes. We could afford to be more risk taking bc the cost of mistakes wouldn't be as much of a set back. This applies to everything from curriculum decisions to colleges. Edited March 27, 2017 by Murphy101 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 (edited) Travel, a private math tutor, and a personal chef. Tickets to many more live performances. Edited March 27, 2017 by Seasider 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalsummer Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 We love traveling with the kids. But having our kids around us wherever we go has been all we have ever known. Money no object? Foreign language professional tutoring starting in elementary Music and arts lessons Travel and other opportunities to expand their interests Maid service so I'd have more time for things more important to our schooling Eta: The biggest thing would be the luxury of affording to make educational mistakes. We could afford to be more risk taking bc the cost of mistakes wouldn't be as much of a set back. This applies to everything from curriculum decisions to colleges. We have our kids around us wherever we go all the time and always have too; DH and I both work from home in the main room, so we are *really* all together all the time. Travelling for me with littles with a lot different from living with them in our own environment, though. Travelling for me means the kids have to be restrained (strapped into car seats or airplane seats), don't get to run around much, have to be quieter than they are used to being in hotel rooms, we only eat humanely raised food (excluding all dairy and eggs) so eating on the go is complicated and expensive (although I guess for this thought experiment the expense is irrelevant). I hate travelling with kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I would have a dedicated schoolroom instead of having our dining table be "school central" and we would travel for a few weeks each year. I would also outsource writing in addition to foreign language (which we outsource now) and hire personal trainers for P.E (for me too). In addition to this we would have a very plush home library with plenty of shelves, dark wood, and thick carpets and curtains so it would be very quiet. Most important of all, there would be a cook to prepare all meals (including cleanup) and dedicated staff to keep my closet organized and the laundry cleaned, folded, and put away. This would allow us time to take a nap each afternoon. :001_rolleyes: 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CadenceSophia Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I have told DH many times that if we miraculously end up with a bunch of extra money, the very first thing I am doing is hiring a French speaking au pair. Next would be lots of travel (I love extended traveling with the kids and they love it too! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Let's see.....if we had had an endless supply of money: Private tutor to teach all the kids for me Personal trainer so I wouldn't have gained so much weight and the kids could have had PE We did travel, but only stateside. I wish I could have given them the life I had growing up, traveling the world. I loved my childhood overseas. We found ways to have cross-cultural experiences anyway, visiting temples, a mosque, Epcot ( :lol: ), various urban areas with many cultures living there, but it wasn't quite the same. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I actually wouldn't travel. I mean, the occasional trip, sure. But we value a stable, grounded life over going one place to another and never settling anywhere. I would hire someone to do more hands on activities. Art, science experiments, that stuff. I'd also hire a music teacher. I suppose my ideal situation would be to do the core subjects in the morning, and each afternoon have someone come in to teach art/music/science/etc. I'd use the money to purchase supplies for the childrens interests and hobbies too. This. Multiple musical instruments for one child and at least one instrument for the others by an instructor who comes to my house. Private art lessons for all three and a foreign language tutor who could drop by everyday while I go to sip coffee on my porch and a maid cleans my house. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 We'd travel all over the world. We'd seek immersion experiences. I wouldn't work and I'd get some help (not sure what: nanny, house cleaning, something). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I agree with whoever said it can be a trap. You can end up overloading with activities and new curriculum. I think it would be nice to be able to add different curriculum for specific kids instead of trying to make the same one work for all of them. Fixing up a lot of stuff around the house would make a difference too. I know this is not totally a homeschool thing but it would be nice to have a tidier neater environment. also a cleaner would be great. I'd also like to be able to get the kids into a few more activities that are specific to their current interests but expensive. Though to be honest time is as much of a barrier as cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdbates78 Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 (edited) If homeschool budget was endless, I would spring for regular equestrian lessons for my horse-loving DD. But yikes those lessons are expensive! And musical instrument lessons. And maybe someone to come teach math every day ;) We travel quite a bit, large vacations annually and local day trips and weekend getaways, but that falls in our travel budget, which we religiously budget for every year. We are leaving for a European adventure next week, but this is a large vacation for us and we saved for a few years. Edited March 27, 2017 by tdbates78 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 (edited) Didn't read any replies yet so I wouldn't taint my thoughts. :-) Travel. Better art lessons earlier. (Too many years wasted on inexpensive "explore your creativity through art!" type classes for my art kid.) Math tutors. ETA: someone else said it: tickets to performances. Oh yes. Edited March 27, 2017 by marbel 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I'd hire someone to clean my house. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liza Q Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 (edited) A house with a yard that is also near a great park. Some household help so I would have more time. Tutors for things like music/art/foreign language. A few more online classes if they were exactly what we needed. A few more co-op classes - I would be the one to organize the class/pay for the teacher and I would invite the other teens in our group to take the class with us. Like debate and Spanish - we lost our teachers (who did it for free!) and our group has agreed that it would be too expensive to hire another teacher/rent a space. More travel...but like a few weeks a year, not so much that it disrupted our regular life. ETA: Oh yes - like others have said - tickets to everything! We'd see Anne-Sophie Mutter this weekend at Carnegie Hall....sigh. Edited March 27, 2017 by Liza Q 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Travel. So much travel. Theatre tickets, concert tickets, all kinds of tickets. A housekeeper. Outsource more high school classes. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 (edited) No, you would just stress about different things. I'm not sure money makes a difference in stress levels. Extreme poverty, yes but otherwise not so sure. We've had plenty of money over the years and TONS of stress. I've had low income, then high income, now sort of in between the two. So, not a lot of money but not living in poverty. Money can definitely relieve some stresses, no doubt about it. Educational stress is one thing it can relieve. I'm not talking about jumping to buy every shiny new curriculum. When I had a pretty much unlimited homeschooling budget, I didn't do that. Most people I know are thoughtful about their purchases, money or no. But money can give access to helpful things, like classes or even special tutoring for a kid with LDs. I've known plenty of people who knew their kid would benefit from it, but just couldn't swing it. (And using the public schools/public money was not an option.) There are other things, but you (general you, not speaking specifically to seekinghim45) get my point. Money doesn't buy health or love or happiness, that's all true. But it buys convenience, and reliable transportation, and maybe some flexibility with the grocery budget so cooking is easier for a busy mom. It can buy a little bit of needed fun that many people take for granted (I certainly have). Lack of money is a stressor for a lot of homeschooling families. It's disingenuous to say that unless they are living in poverty, a little more money wouldn't relieve some of their stress. Edited March 27, 2017 by marbel 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Maid. Small RV (like the Mercedes super van ones). Gas. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ndGenHomeschooler Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I'd quit working. I only work two afternoons a week but that extra time out of my schedule really limits what we can do as my DH's schedule doesn't typically allow him to help with much. With work out of the way the first thing I'd do is allow the kids to take extra classes. I'm thinking art classes and violin lessons for my oldest, cooking classes for next DD, art for DD #3, and parkour for DS, and a foreign language tutor and swimming lessons for everyone. We'd participate in seasonal activities like skiing. Event tickets and museum memberships. We live within day trip distance to NYC and I would love to take advantage of that more for concerts and shows. I'd buy the more expensive curricula I look at but don't buy because of the cost. I'd buy a lot more books. We'd move. Possibly to a different state but definitely to a slightly larger house with a lot more land. I like small houses but some closets and a library/school room/family room would be nice. We have half an acre of land right now but would like 5-10 acres with open areas for gardening, woods to explore, and some sort of water access. Travel. I wouldn't want to travel constantly but a good 2-3 week international trip every year and maybe one shorter one to explore the US would be awesome. As it is, we do pretty well. We have what we need, we live simply but debt free except our mortgage even though we don't make much. I've been able to find lots of free or low cost activities so we've been able to experience a lot. The most amazing piano teacher around is a good friend and teaches our kids for free. Our karate school gives us an amazing discount off their already low prices. We get a museum membership or two each year and take advantage of free days at other ones. We like road trips so we've seen a good amount of the country and we make it to NYC to explore all it has to offer about once a year. We're blessed with what we have. 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zinnia Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Housekeeper. House with dedicated homeschool room to mentally shut it off. Barton tutors. Travel without regard for the cost (we are campers, picnickers, how much is admission going to cost travelers now). Preschool for my youngest. She would love it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frugalmamatx Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 TBH, right now if I had the funds I'd stop homeschooling for a while and put dd in a good private school. We'd travel more too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 (edited) Well we are in a different position financially than we were when my kids were all still at home and home schooling, but then I would've loved to travel more, let them take more enhancement classes, and have tutors for some of their subjects. Oh, and I probably would've had a live-in housekeeper who cooked! Edited March 27, 2017 by StaceyinLA 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 If money were not an issue, I would not have homeschooling for high school. There is an amazing Lutheran high school commuting distance from where we used to live, and we would have stayed put just for that. They offered a plethora plethora of AP's, fine arts, and everything they did they did well including math and foreign language instruction. But at $7400 a year for four years times four children, it was a LOT of college money spent on high school, and when three boys would have all been in at once, $1900 a month plus books, and the cost of commuting. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Dedicated homeschool area that isn't shared space. I've picked up Scrabble Jr. a few times this week because of the toddler. I don't have enough tall shelves to keep everything up and away from her. Don't even get me started on storage of pens/pens/markers. It's a nightmare. Bilingual Spanish teacher Really we'd just move to the city so we could be involved in more. Musuems, sports or arts, parks. And if we made it to the city I probably wouldn't homeschool if I'm being really honest. I don't know, though. I still love it in theory. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 My husband wouldn't work and we'd both teach the areas we're most interested in. What a dream that would be. And we'd be roadschooling the whole time. I drove across the US once and it was absolutely incredible. Life changing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I've had low income, then high income, now sort of in between the two. So, not a lot of money but not living in poverty. Money can definitely relieve some stresses, no doubt about it. Educational stress is one thing it can relieve. I'm not talking about jumping to buy every shiny new curriculum. When I had a pretty much unlimited homeschooling budget, I didn't do that. Most people I know are thoughtful about their purchases, money or no. But money can give access to helpful things, like classes or even special tutoring for a kid with LDs. I've known plenty of people who knew their kid would benefit from it, but just couldn't swing it. (And using the public schools/public money was not an option.) There are other things, but you (general you, not speaking specifically to seekinghim45) get my point. Money doesn't buy health or love or happiness, that's all true. But it buys convenience, and reliable transportation, and maybe some flexibility with the grocery budget so cooking is easier for a busy mom. It can buy a little bit of needed fun that many people take for granted (I certainly have). Lack of money is a stressor for a lot of homeschooling families. It's disingenuous to say that unless they are living in poverty, a little more money wouldn't relieve some of their stress. "give me neither poverty nor riches" is one of my favourite proverbs. Some survey done recently showed that between 70- 140 k was the happiest zone for Australia - higher income generally had associated higher stress levels and lower incomes had financial stress issues that impact on happiness. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 We'd probably outsource languages. We could do some bigger educational trips. I might choose some slighly different programs, but not for the most part, but I'd likely get some nicer supplementary materials. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Definitely travel. I'd love to take a year to do RV Schooling. Even without that, being able to take trips to coordinate with our science or history stuff would be great. We are increasing our camping trips this year after a few years of not getting to go very much (we went to Disney last year though). And we are lucky enough to live close enough to NYC for day trips, close enough to Philly for day trips or weekend trips, close enough to Boston and DC for long weekends. We'll be going to the MET in the next month or so to look at their ancient art exhibits. I'd love to go back to Greece. Dh and I went about 6 or 7 years ago when he went for a work trip. I LOVED seeing all the art and the history. I've never really been a fan of history but being able to go and see it really had an impact. I driver and a maid would be great, but if I had a driver to take the kids places I might never leave the house unless we were going on one of those trips described above. :tongue_smilie: The first thing I would do is put an addition on our house. A three-season room, a large deck, a garage attached to the house which would also serve as utility room, expand the kitchen. We actually have plans for some of this that we are hoping to pull off but it's up in the air. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Yell Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 First thing I would do is move. I hate my house. So I would find a house I like in a neighborhood I want to live in. Then I would replace all three of our cars, and also add one since we have four drivers. Not having to fight my house and old messed up cars would make everything sooooo much better even if I changed nothing about hour schooling. BUT I would hire a private tutor for math and language arts, particularly writing. I'm terrible at evaluating writing. Weekly voice lessons, and activities would be determined by interest and best fit, not just cheapest. More field trips, local and beyond. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 (edited) For dd- Good art lessons More dance classes More summer camp For Ds- more choices about where he can go to college For the littles- preschool enrollment funds For me- house cleaner, driver for the teen stuff, warm Caribbean vacation without kids in the dead of winter I hate traveling with kids, but my parents have taken the big kids all around the east coast & to Europe, thankfully Eta- we would pursue high quality evals for one kiddo & hire a tutor for learning disability remediation & access mental health care as often as needed Edited March 27, 2017 by Hilltopmom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I've had low income, then high income, now sort of in between the two. So, not a lot of money but not living in poverty. Money can definitely relieve some stresses, no doubt about it. Educational stress is one thing it can relieve. I'm not talking about jumping to buy every shiny new curriculum. When I had a pretty much unlimited homeschooling budget, I didn't do that. Most people I know are thoughtful about their purchases, money or no. But money can give access to helpful things, like classes or even special tutoring for a kid with LDs. I've known plenty of people who knew their kid would benefit from it, but just couldn't swing it. (And using the public schools/public money was not an option.) There are other things, but you (general you, not speaking specifically to seekinghim45) get my point. Money doesn't buy health or love or happiness, that's all true. But it buys convenience, and reliable transportation, and maybe some flexibility with the grocery budget so cooking is easier for a busy mom. It can buy a little bit of needed fun that many people take for granted (I certainly have). Lack of money is a stressor for a lot of homeschooling families. It's disingenuous to say that unless they are living in poverty, a little more money wouldn't relieve some of their stress. :iagree: When dh was self-employed we were no where near poverty level but we still had a TON of stress. Having to carefully weigh every decision about classes, materials, trips, purchases. Worrying about if anyone got sick since we didn't have insurance for a while (and we did have one day where oldest dd had to go to the ER - ended up being dehydration and kidney infection so nothing too serious, but boy those bills came rolling in). We didn't have to worry about losing our house, and we could afford food but there were still plenty of things to stress about. We don't have as many worries now, but dh is 60 and we may be looking at retirement right as the kids start taking college classes. I'm 13 years younger so I could go back to work as he retires but it wouldn't be my first choice. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My4arrows Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I'd travel more, definitely get a maid and part time cook, a nanny to help with the younger kids. I'd have music, art, foreign language, writing and science teachers that would come to my house. I'd also be able to find more of my kids interests/desire driven studies. And take occasional days off for myself to be able to do my hobbies (this is where the nanny would be very helpful). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I was wishfully looking over the TWTMA math classes again last week. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the cost; it's just not in our budget! It sounds so wonderful to me to outsource math. If only! Lol The top of my wish list for next year would be to: Outsource math *and* composition for middle schoolers and above Provide music lessons for all the kiddos Dream with me! Have you done The Well Trained Mind Academy at all? Will your charter pay for it? Were you able to do any of your wish list this year due to the charter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Flexible childcare--either for the little ones or the big ones needing to be driven someplace Housekeeping Tutors for writing and language arts Math tutors for upper math Foreign language Music Art TRAVEL possibly with a nanny... Okay, honestly if money weren't an issue, I wouldn't have started homeschooling! We would've sent DD to the $30K/yr dyslexia school. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemongoose Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Travel A nanny for younger kid. A housekeeper so the house was more in order. The basement would be finished with a huge library and schoolroom. Private music lessons with better teachers. Art classes. Engineering/robotics classes for ds1. More dance classes for ds2. Horse riding lessons for dd And the chauffeur for all these things that previous person mentioned sounds awesome! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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