Homeschool Budget

[Jenny in Florida]

So, unlike some of the other posters, I do consider the extra-curriculars to be mostly homeschooling expenses. Because if she were in school, she would be doing the school extra-curricular activities instead of the private activities she is currently doing.

 

It probably depends on your student and the school (and financial) situation.

 

In my son's case, with the exception of the private voice lessons, every activity in which he is involved is one he shares with schooled kids. In other words, all of those other kids are going to school AND participating in these activities.

 

And, even if he were in school, my son would absolutely continue at least some of the outside activities he's doing now.

 

For example, he considered applying to a performing arts magnet school for next year. If he had gone there, he would have had to drop some of the community theatre and drama classes, because he would have been very busy with the school-based program. However, as a theatre "major," he might not have had access to a full slate of dance classes at school. And, since his goal is musical theatre, he would need to keep dancing. So, there's three classes a week outside of school time.

 

He would definitely have continued with the choir he sings with now, because it's just great training and allows access to opportunities for performance and travel that the school programs would not.

 

And, again because he would not have gotten it at school, he would have continued with the private voice lessons.

 

In fact, another school-based program we investigated (one county over), that offers a musical theatre track, would have required him to continue with at least voice. And we would have encouraged at least some outside dance, since he wouldn't have gotten much of that at school, either.

 

So, that's why I don't count the cost for extras in our homeschool budget. With the possible exception of one or two, they are things that we would pay for even if he were in school.

[Murphy101]

WHEW! I was beginning to think I was one of those braggarts mentioned upthread.

 

Wait... am I a braggart because it's perceived I spend too much or because I am perceived as frugal? I'm confused!:001_huh::)

[Pink Fairy]

I tend to spend a lot, but we use a charter school and receive $1600/child, plus we spend money of our own money on some Catholic curriclum. We've been hsing for 10 years, so we have many books and supplies already in place. If I had to average it all out, not including extracurriculars like dance, music, etc., I think we spend around $1000/year overall on curriculum for four children. More of that goes to my oldest, as she doesn't get hand-me-downs from siblings, less goes to my youngest because he gets a lot of hand-me-downs. The rest of our charter school money goes to extracurriculars, good quality art supplies, and building up our home library with books.

 

I could easily spend more if I had it, but I could also spend a lot less without too much effort on my part. I consider a lot of what we spend money on to be extra, nice to have but certainly not necessary.

[Mother Superior]

Wait... am I a braggart because it's perceived I spend too much or because I am perceived as frugal? I'm confused!:001_huh::)

 

LOL. What I meant was, I was worried that because I spend thousands on homeschooling my kids every year, I'd be perceived as a braggart. But then I saw I wasn't the only one, and that you carefully spend your money just like I do-- WHEW!

[Murphy101]

LOL. What I meant was, I was worried that because I spend thousands on homeschooling my kids every year, I'd be perceived as a braggart. But then I saw I wasn't the only one, and that you carefully spend your money just like I do-- WHEW!

 

Ohhhh I see.:)

 

Well it is a ton of money for us. 4k is at least a couple months of our total yearly income. I have to be very very careful and plan ahead. We try to look at it as investing in our kids bc heaven knows they are our only retirement plan.:D

[Allearia]

This is mostly for my older ds last year while younger ds was still in preschool.

Curricula: $639

Classes: $840 (drama, Latin, math, other)

Piano: $1598 (includes piano rental, does not include $1300 paid by charter school)

Field Trips: $298

Soccer: $443 (older ds spring and fall, younger fall only)

Total: $3,818

 

This does not include the fee for the all-day nature class on Mondays which is childcare, that would be another $1000. It also does not include drama and soccer summer camps which would be another $750.

 

Now that I have figured this all out this is pretty scary, I definitely need to think more before buying more curric or signing up for classes.

 

Since my other ds' preschool was $900 a month I guess this seems like a bargain but would like to bring the total down. I shouldn't need to buy much curricula for a while.

[sassenach]

I spend about $600 for 2, materials only. I probably spend another $100-150 for field trips throughout the year. I resell all of our materials and generally make back about $200. I use most of that to fund my annual convention trip.

[Random]

DS 7:

Saxon math, Used TM, new workbooks: $40

AAS: $30

Horizons Phonics: $99 (then, Shurley for $40, used)

 

 

DS 9:

Saxon math, used hardbound text: $25

AAS: $40

Literature for TOG: $200

Shurley Grammar: $40, used

Guitar lessons: $1000/yr ($20 per weekly lesson)

A Beka Science: $50 (or maybe Apologia for $100, with the notebook)

 

 

Both:

Bible Study Guide for All Ages: $50

TOG: $200 used (This is a curriculum we will use for the next 16 yrs, for all children, after buying once.)

Spanish: $80 for PowerGlide

Song School Latin: $30

Crafts: $100/year (I am not crafty. :tongue_smilie: Actually, I can't stand them and have to buy the pre-made, all-in-one kits!)

Supplies like paper, pencils, laminating sheets, etc.: $75

 

We change our curriculum from year to year, but this is what I'm planning for 2011-2012. We have a crummy library, otherwise, we'd be able to spend closer to $0 on the TOG literature. Also, I'm in the stage where I'm buying all of the TM's. Hopefully, in a few years, the costs will come down as I only have to replace consumables.

 

So, about $900, for both kids, not counting the music lessons, which we would probably do anyway.

[Shellydon]

This has been and interesting read for me. I am surprised at how little many folks are able to spend. Interesting!

[Tutor]

I have four children (ages below). We spend about $500 per year for them for all school-only related things (books, paper, pencils, project supplies, late fees at the library, etc). I don't count activities like swim lessons or scouts toward those expenses because we'd do those no matter where they were being formally educated.

 

Our oldest two will be starting high-school level courses next year, and I am planning to spend the same $500 for all 4 kids but we'll be setting aside a little extra in case we find a need for outside tutoring that we can't barter for (like the Mandarin lessons my 12yo wants).

[MSNative]

Wait... am I a braggart because it's perceived I spend too much or because I am perceived as frugal? I'm confused!:001_huh::)

 

On this board, it doesn't seem to matter. Someone will judge you one way or the other. However, I've found this to be a very interesting thread - snark aside.

 

Extra classes seem to be the big budget busters. I always shunned them because of that. However, my son is taking an online class and it is amazing!! I try to stick to $800 a year for three kids. Some years it's a little more, e.g. this year we bought Rosetta Stone for $90. But it is language training for all of our boys (and me) for at least a year. My big budget buster each year is always robotics. I love coaching it. My kids love it and learn so much. But each year, I always end up hundreds of dollars in the whole. An expensive addition.... :)

 

Do y'all include money you recoup selling curriculum in your budget or is that extra? I consider it extra. If I didn't, my budget would go up another hundred.

[myfatherslily]

Last year I bought for a 1st grader, plus just a few things for the younger boys. I think I spent around $300, but I never did add it all up in the end. This year I'll be purchasing for 2nd and K. I was writing a tentative list this week, trying to see if I could keep it under $300, but I'm not sure that will happen with what I want. I'm trying to balance frugality with time (& energy!) constraints. It just HAS to be under $400, though. I just don't have more than that to spare.

 

The great thing is that there is so much available (despite what Gary N. might lead us to believe;)), we have the freedom to set a budget and just go from there. Want to spend more? Go for it! Need to spend less? There are plenty of options to make that happen, too.

[AngelBee]

We haven't started yet, but I've been researching obsessively since my dd was born (I like to plan ahead). For the one child, based on what I want to use and what I've been able to find at the thrift store so far, we'll be spending probably around $200 a year. Including late fees at the library.

Would not include my late fees! :001_huh: :lol:

[Embassy]

We spend about $1000 for curricula and supplies for 2 elementary-aged kids. This amount would be cut in half if we weren't doing 4 foreign languages. I use the library heavily for history, geography, science, and literature so I don't really spend much for those subjects. The needs are different each year, but generally we buy a math program every year and see what is needed in other subjects. Part of our budget this year went towards a guitar and another part towards a zoo membership.

[justamouse]

I'm willing to bet I've spent about 200-300 this year. BUT I have so much built up - for years I've bought from the yearly library sales, and so all I really ever need is maths and languages. I've also got one kid that got up to 10th (homeschooled) grade previously, so I ahve all of his stuff. Now I just tweak. I really tried to see it long ago as an investment, and I did so wisely. So this year, when we purchased a house, I was able to put the brakes on the HS budget.

 

Another really huge thing for this year was a kindle. I cannot tell you the amount of free books I've downloaded-all classics.

Edited February 11, 2011 by justamouse

[12Stars]

I tend to spend a lot, but we use a charter school and receive $1600/child, plus we spend money of our own money on some Catholic curriclum. We've been hsing for 10 years, so we have many books and supplies already in place. If I had to average it all out, not including extracurriculars like dance, music, etc., I think we spend around $1000/year overall on curriculum for four children. More of that goes to my oldest, as she doesn't get hand-me-downs from siblings, less goes to my youngest because he gets a lot of hand-me-downs. The rest of our charter school money goes to extracurriculars, good quality art supplies, and building up our home library with books.

 

I could easily spend more if I had it, but I could also spend a lot less without too much effort on my part. I consider a lot of what we spend money on to be extra, nice to have but certainly not necessary.

I wonder if we are in the same Charter, we get the same stipend. We spend about 150 per child on Catholic curriculum.

We are very simplified and I buy used most of the time. I will research high and low if something I need is too out of our budget.

If it is too pricey I make due and we won't buy it.

 

I think each family has to evaluate their ability to provide or not to. It is not about bragging :001_smile:. Just like everyones motives for homeschooling are different. Sometimes I would like certain materials or curriculum but it is just not in the plans, and sometimes it is. To each their own.

[babysparkler]

We budget somewhere from $1000-1200 for 4 kids (though this year may be less since I have gotten past all of the start-up things like manipulatives, furniture, and curricula that can be handed down and used again :hurray:). I can't bring myself to add up the extras like horseback riding lessons, chess tournaments, soccer, etc... so those are not included.

[RachelFlores]

Wow, this really is interesting. Starting last summer we set a budget for me of $1000 to school my dd in K. This was less (far less depending on the school) than half the cost of sending her to a private K so we thought it was a decent budget. I recorded everything I spent including school supplies, furniture and art supplies. After making several bad curriculum decisions I had used it all up by November. Now the furniture and art supplies should last for several years and some of the school supplies too (over bought some things, under bought other), but I ended up spending $150 more for HOD and feeling like that was cheap. I do plan on reselling the curriculum I didn't use and using that money for next year. It was a very costly year, BUT I did learn a lot about homeschooling, my teaching style and dd's learning style. I don't think I will make many costly mistakes in the future, at least I hope I won't.

 

We are joining a co-op next year and it is pricey, $500 a year for supplies and building fees for a 1st grader and preschooler and that does not include books. The $500 is spread out over the school year though. I really worried about that price, but I know this is what we (me and the children) need for next year. Looking at the price of curriculum and books, I'm not planning on spending more than $500 for everything. Essentially I am trying to keep the same budget as last year without the mistakes.

 

We also do not include extracurriculars in our budget, dd plays soccer and she will be doing swim lessons in a few months. We also have two museum memberships. We would spend on those things whether we were hsing or not.

[funschooler5]

We spend about $400 a year for three kids.

 

ETA: But this doesn't include used books I buy throughout the year as "extras." I don't even want to know the total on that!

[texasmama]

Our curriculum/school supplies budget for two kids is about $1000 per year. I don't count music or other lessons, because we would do those regardless of where the kids were schooled.

 

This is true for us, as well, except I am hs'ing three kids, though one is a pre k'er. I will be reusing most of our curriculums for the younger kids and I preserve the ones which are consumable when I can. My boys take co op science and have piano lessons. This figure includes the classes (cheap!) but not the lessons.

[Satori]

Wow, this thread was enlightening! It definitely seems there is an average amount people spend per year, at least more average than I would have expected. I would have guessed people could homeschool for as little as $100 for paper/pencils/gas money to library to thousands, and people were everywhere in the middle.

 

I won't say what I spend in a year, but I am trying to be more frugal than I've been in the past when we both had good jobs.

[Joker]

I spend about $800 for older dd and $600 for younger. Next year I will be using Florida Virtual Academy for a couple of older dds classes but the price won't change because they will be extras that we haven't done yet due to cost. The amount would be quite a bit less if I didn't buy all our reading books but our library isn't great (or close) and the books get used a lot around here.

[Nakia]

If I were to buy everything new for next year, it would cost me around $800 for three girls including curriculum and all arts and crafts supplies. I am taking the plunge and buying used again, so I won't spend that much. I've already been able to buy quite a bit used here. I didn't include field trips, dance, swimming, or horseback riding in that figure.

[kristinannie]

You can spend as much or as little as you want and still get great results. I am going to spend about $700 this year for one child, but almost all of it is nonconsumable and will be reused with the next 2 children so I don't feel too guilty about it. I do spend a lot on art supplies though since my son paints for a couple of hours every day! I don't think you have to spend this kind of money. Honestly, most of the expense is on my spanish program and my history program (which I plan to use over two years).

[Jennifer in MI]

I don't think I want to add it up! I'm fairly frugal in that we re-use certain items with different kids. But, this year, my oldest started taking CC classes. We spent over $1500 on those alone. If we had to add in karate, baseball, piano and ballet lessons, we'd probably be upwards of $6000 - $7000!!

 

But, without the CC and outside activities, I think we'd be around $1500. We use Sonlight for the middles. I put together my own stuff for the oldest and I've been able to find many of his things used. So, I think we do pretty well for four kids!!

[LisaKinVA]

This varies for us... but as our children hit middle/high school... I shudder :D

 

I will have four dc in school this next year:

 

6th grader, 4th grader, 3rd grader and Ker.

 

My 6th grader's curricula will be a mixture of new/used.

 

Bible -- $100

History --$350 (but much of this will be used by all)

Science -- $300 (because I'm purchasing the lab DVD... it's also a high school level course, and I already own the textbook)

Math -- $300 (more than one book, plus on-line class, also could be considered high school level, half is non-consumable)

English -- $250 (most of this is non-consumable...)

PE -- Swimming, $1000. We do count swimming as part of our homeschool, simply because I don't think we'd be able to swing it if all the children were in PS.

Latin -- $650 (non-consumable text, and on-line course)

Mandarin -- $300 (non-consumable, will be reused)

Art -- $50 (reference book)

 

It's a lot... but most of this will be used for at least 3 children.

 

For My 4th and 3rd grader, things are a bit more simple.

 

Bible: $50 (same course as older brother, just need some extra workbooks)

Math: They will both be in different levels, but total for the two children will be about $250

History: $200 (extra timeline binders, and purchasing the books for the courses.

Science: $250

English: $70

Literature: $200

PE: Swimming $2000

Latin: $100 (new workbooks, have the rest of the program)

Handwriting: I have

Art: $20

 

For my Ker:

Math -- $50

Phonics -- I have

Art -- I have

Science & History -- use what we have, or fold into history with oldest two in a non-formal manner.

Latin -- I have

PE -- she'll do some dry-land training with older siblings (running, yoga, calesthenics, Wii Dance... and other games.

Handwriting: I have

For my 2yo -- I won't be purchasing anything.

 

Most of the money gets spent on the oldest. I've had a good degree of success re-using for the children, although my 4th may need some new approaches to phonics.

 

My oldest has been in K12 since 2nd grade... so I have some re-purchasing in some areas I wouldn't normally need to re-purchase.

 

I'd have a really difficult time scaling this back. I am currently working on finding some less expensive ways to get things accomplished, but I really can't rely on the Library. There are some books that we are #36 on a cue for...

[BBG580]

Wow, this thread has been enlightening to me!

 

We're new and I guess I've spent more than average for two very little kids. I am not yet confident in my ability to teach and I think I prefer the "hand-holding" of very detailed curriculums so I've spent more money on them. Phonics Road, ToG, McRuffy Color Math and pieced together science and geography have totaled around $700. I've spent about $300 on my preschooler for I'm Ready To Learn + all books and resources, Get Ready Get Set and Go For the Code and Little Saints curricula. So, $1000 or so for us. I'm obviously not going to use all the PreK stuff in one year for him, it should last the next couple years and then onward for my next little one. I'm mixing and matching at this point and that is going well.

 

Compared to the $250 per month I currently spend for 2x per week 9-12 preschool and the 9k I was planning to spend for private Catholic school for my oldest, I feel like this was a reasonable, affordable compromise.

Edited February 11, 2011 by BBG580

[justamouse]

I do plan on reselling the curriculum I didn't use and using that money for next year. It was a very costly year, BUT I did learn a lot about homeschooling, my teaching style and dd's learning style. I don't think I will make many costly mistakes in the future, at least I hope I won't.

 

 

 

This is very true. You have to plug your mistakes in, and as you go you make fewer mistakes. I've made huge ones, and that's why I can streamline now. :D Simple is the way to go for us.

[caitlinsmom]

I budget based on "new" cost of materials but what I actually spend is different. So for this coming year I will have a 3rd, 1st and pre-K and I am budgeting $2000 for curriculum only. Now that is the new price for ALL TOG materials because I do not have a decent library available to me. Next year we are also trying a few new things so I imagine we will spend a bit more than normal. However, I do search used avenues before purchasing new. This year I had budgeted $2K but found 90% used and only spent about $700. I figure every year will cost me about $2-$3K and dh and I are both okay with that.

 

Lessons right now are free as we trade guitar lessons for tumbling. We will be adding piano for 2 kids and martial arts in the very near future. We will also be loosing our trade option so I will have to budget $100 (max!) a month for extra curriculars. We will not put out much more than that for extras because our focus is on academics rather than extras.

[Tree House Academy]

We have a "Homeschool Budget" and I do my best to stay within what we plan. My yearly homeschool budget for 2 kids is around $2,000. That 2K includes curricula, schools supplies, "school store" stock, science labs (outsourced), projects (like when we raised butterflies from caterpillars) and field trips. I manage to save on curriculum by buying used where I can. I also use HOD, so as my older son finishes a guide, I put it away for my yongest. In the next 3 years, I hope to be spending next to nothing on the younger child, curriculum wise! :)

 

Co-op does add to that cost, but we plan it in a different part of the budget, so it is not considered part of my "homeschooling budget." We do this because Co-op is something that we could easily drop if we had to.

Edited February 11, 2011 by Tree House Academy

[Mommee & Baba]

We budget $1,000/yr for 2 kids and eventually 3.

 

However because I buy used and sometimes a year or two in advance because of an awesome used price....we average just on school curriculum and school supplies about $400/yr for 2 children. MOST of what we purchase will be reused for our other children, saving us future costs even more!

 

I do purchase crafting kits and paint by number and such things for additional activities but I did count those purchases as well! :) However we don't do many activities outside of the home that costs alot...we get discounted price to the science adventure center which is only ($20/yr for our family)....and we have a wonderful library and fun indoor activities for no cost. Most science kits and experiements we have the things around the house or we get free kits during a free day blog post I find...so alot of work goes into finding things for free to nearly nothing. But we do budget a larger amount and hope that one day we won't have to go over it. But for now...we're well under our alloted budget :)

 

I also get in on Melissa and Doug coops as well as Dimension Craft coops so I pay 50% off retail...helping us to save even more on teaching tools and art/crafting items. I also get the enchanted learning discount that gets posted here and I snag a year sub. to that site for like $2 when it's $20 reg. price I believe. My children are involved in Awana and Girls in Action which are free through the Church we attend. They do alot of things that we don't have to budget in as it's part of their program. We also attend the Lowe's workshop once a month and sometimes more for the kids and that's free too!

 

The only branching out we might be doing next year or this summer is my dd5 wants to take ballet.

Edited February 11, 2011 by mamaofblessings

[Murphy101]

I don't start with a budget.

 

I start with a list for each kid. This allows dh to somewhat gird himself.:tongue_smilie: and it gives me an idea of what to keep an eye out for used, so that when I can, I can get it cheaper if there's funds available. Otherwise, if I wait until we are needing to start in a month, I don't have the time to shop around.

 

Once our taxes are done, we see if there is any refund left that can be allotted to curricula.

 

At that point, I will usually have to adjust my list. Do without this, get that instead, make do with this, and so forth.

 

I don't count anything I'm selling in the budget bc I can't guarantee I will sell it or get the price I hope for. Plus at this point, I don't have a lot that I need to sell. MOSTLY, I use what I buy. Because I really can't afford not to most of the time. If something doesn't work, I don't have the soar funds to just buy something else in the hopes that it will. Plus after so many years, MOST of the time, I'm fairly sure about what I'm buying.

 

The only extracurricular we count is band. The rest can vary from semester to semester.

 

I would count supplies purchased during back to school sales. Dh does not tho unless HE considers it's "weird off the wall stuff that only a homeschooler has on their list". Like Mexican pottery clay. Or a tray of oil pastels, water color tubes, paper mâché strips, prisma pencils (tho I won him over on that one as they last forever) or dissection materials (he actually suggested road kill is free:tongue_smilie:)

[MSNative]

I don't start with a budget.

 

I start with a list for each kid. This allows dh to somewhat gird himself.:tongue_smilie:

 

I would count supplies purchased during back to school sales. Dh does not tho unless HE considers it's "weird off the wall stuff that only a homeschooler has on their list". Like Mexican pottery clay. Or a tray of oil pastels, water color tubes, paper mâché strips, prisma pencils (tho I won him over on that one as they last forever) or dissection materials (he actually suggested road kill is free:tongue_smilie:)

 

:lol: Your post made me smile! You and your dh seem to have great senses of humor. Must pass the road kill comment on to my dh.