greenmamato3 Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 we're only in our second year of schooling and i'm trying to figure out how to most effectively conserve money without running myself wild by going to the library every day. i use and abuse my library's selection but some things i need ON my shelf for those spur of the moment teaching opportunities. furthermore, i've been thinking about all of this even more b/c of all the WONDERFUL resources out there for the study of Ancients this year. i want to have science/bio/history readers, read alouds, reference books, etc. i'm pretty savvy when it comes to amazon/half.com/craigslist; and we have a lot of great used book sales here for homeschoolers (though of course i've missed all three in the past 2 weeks b/c we 've been out of town). how can you go about buying readers without spending $4 on every one? how do you narrow down what you'll buy and what you'll just get from the library? do you buy ahead for the entire year or as you go? i need help on this very practical/pragmatic/potentially pedantic part of schooling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bee Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 When I buy certain products I consider if they can be used with more than 1 child. I start by buying the essentials-math and LA. If, for some reason money is really tight I can always use the library and computer for history and science (but that has never happened). Then I buy history and science. Last I buy art and music and any other electives. I consider what extra readers I want to buy carefully. I ask for input from oldest dd who is a teenager. I've discovered that there can be a point where buying a whole package of books (ie a Sonlight core package) may not be such a good idea if I feel that most of the books are ones that no one in the house will ever read again. If the library has more than 2 copies of a book available via ILL and I think the book will be one that a child will only read once I borrow rather than buy it. I'd also caution that too many books about 1 subject can nearly destroy any love a child might develop for that subject. After we spent a year doing SL core 3 as scheduled in th IG (American history) oldest dd, who loves to read, begged not to do SL again. She said it was just too much history. I make sure to schedule in some "fun" books along with the classics and good books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Closeacademy Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I have a yearly budget and I get 1/12 of that every month. In the early years when we first got started, I went to a lot of garage, book and curriculum sales to pick up anything that looked interesting at a discount. Garage sales can be a great place to pick up easy readers for as cheap as 5 to 10 cents each and if you offer $ for the whole box of books people are usually very happy to get rid of things that they are done with. Now, that I have been homeschooling for a while and know what we need and what does not work for us, I am a lot pickier about what I buy and bring home. Currently, I am getting ready to sell off most of my home library because the literature method really doesn't work for us and I do have a decent library to draw from. As for my budget, I plan out what I want to use and how much I want to spend and divide it up over the course of the year, it now helps as well that I buy good curriculum, take care of it and resell it so that I can buy the next round. Good luck.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudreyTN Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I always start with www.PaperbackSwap.com - you get a credit for each book that you send out, but you can also buy credits. I spent $10 on 3 credits. So, that's still only 3.33 per book, a lot of which are worth WAY more than that. I've actually found a lot of my curriculum there too. I got LLATL Orange, complete set; Spellwell Aa; Singapore Text book; Rod and Staff 1 TM. I also pieced together an animal study for my ds6 using ONLY the books I got from PBS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheezie Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I agree w/ the others. I'm always on the lookout for a deal, whether it's here, yard sales, Goodwill, etc. I've not been so great about budgeting my $$ though. What I normally do is use our tax refund to buy our stuff, but I really need to discipline myself to put something in savings every month that's earmarked for hs use only. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narrow Gate Academy Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 how do you narrow down what you'll buy and what you'll just get from the library? We rely heavily on the library. For a book to make it onto my buy list, it has to meet one of the following criteria: 1. It is a resource that I would need for more than a month. 2. It covers a specific topic that is important to me and I cannot find a suitable library book to use. 3. It is a book that I know my kids will read over and over again to themselves. (ie. They love the historical fiction from Bethlehem books. I also buy them a few classic books as presents on request.) do you buy ahead for the entire year or as you go? I usually have a list for the first half of the year that I search for used before school starts. Anything I can't find on this list, I usually go ahead and buy in June. I try to have a list for the second half of the year by the time school starts. Anything I can't find on this list, I would probably buy by November so I can get it planned. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayne J Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 One thing that has helped me is to create a list of books I would like to own (I am a type-A kinda gal and have planned a few things for the next 2-3 years of school) and I keep a copy in my purse so whenever I find myself at a yard sale/library book sale/thrift shop I can refer to it. I have also taken to asking grandparents for things from the list for birthdays and holidays (storybooks for the kids for example) If you are lucky enough to live near several thrift stores, they are my recommendation. I have found many books--classics--at my local thrift and consignment stores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Paperback swap is my best friend. We get weekly deliveries of books year round. My son is a history/nature buff so if I take books out of the library that I know he is going to like I usually land buying a used copy online. I spend a ton of money on books but it is money well spent. Another good site to check out is http://www.betterworldbooks.com. I have used them for over a year and never had a problem. All the used books have been in excellent condition (most looked brand new). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WiseOwlKnits Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I don't have a good plan in place. I go to the library two or three times a week. The things I do buy have to be something that we'll use often or that I've seen and can't get at our local library. It also helps that we have a small house so that I don't have the space for all the books I would otherwise have. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeslieP Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I used to just work up our wish list and then buy it in one fell swoop, but this year dh wants me to break that down into 3 increments and space out the buying over the summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I have a set amount budgeted for the major curriculum purchases for the year. Then, I have a small amount budgeted each month for spur-of-the-moment purchases, field trips with our support group, etc. Also, I have an Amazon Visa and I get a $25.00 Amazon gift card for 2500 points. I use that exclusively for school books. But, with the way things are going with dh's job, etc., I'm really going to try to rely on the library more this year than ever. We really need to cut back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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