How do you set your budget for homeschooling?

[mommy4ever]

I'm assessing all we've spent and looking ahead to predict what we might need for next year. This was our first full year homeschooling. So there was extra spent, some trial and error. I now have a good sense of how it will go.

 

I am fortunate, in the sense, that our provincial government allots each homeschool student with a certain amount of money, based on how we register. What ever we qualify for is our budget! We submit receipts for refunds. The monies start to become available in October. We have access to 1/2 then and 1/2 in January or so.

 

I tried to work within this budget as much as I could this year. I did exceed it marginally, but only about $100 or so. So the cost of homeschooling 3 kids for the year, that was paid from our household budget was approx $100. I'd like to make that number $0. I wish we had a program like K12 here. It would be awesome for my older girls. I do like the freedom to chose my own curricula with funds provided.

 

I've started setting aside $50/mo for next year. It won't amount to all that much, but it will create a working budget for me to use, so it doesn't sit on my credit card until I'm refunded. So come September I'll have $300 to work with for class registrations, consumables. In October I submit receipts, and continue building my school fund. Once November hits, I'll have gotten my refund, and added another $100 to the fund. So when January comes and I need to order items for the second semester, I'll have a good working fund again, approx $500. I intend to build this up as a $1000. Then I can leave it as a cushion. I think now, we're pretty much set and don't require much more for reference books. I have most of what I need for other curricula too. I have AAS to the 6th book(from older dd), so dd7 doesn't need anything more now. As well as Math Mammoth, we have all to grade 5 now. So only one more in a few years if we don't get it for dd12. So there is some wiggle room. The costs for her go down as we re-use some of the curricula we had for the older ones.

 

NEEDED:

DD14 - One Year Novel, Bible study

 

DD12 - Bible Study, possibly next Math Mammoth,

 

DD7 - McRuffy Science 3(I think)

SOTW 2 activity guide(pdf)

 

So we're in pretty good shape for the fall in terms of curricula and how much we'll have to spend. I will likely need to place an order to CLE to get the next grade reading and LA, since we are working on it now. Either way, I think within the restrictions of the budget, I should be able to get my girls involved in some pretty fun things!

[RobynN]

I don't really have a budget. I figure out what we need, research programs and buy whichever ones we like the best. I have 5 kids and spend around $5,000. to $6,000. a year on curriculum, books, supplies, etc.

[prairiewindmomma]

Our budget is tighter here, and we receive no support from our government/umbrella group.

 

I am able to wiggle out about $60/month from our groceries. That gives me a budget of $720/year for everything.

[MyFourSons]

My budget is $100.00 a month for 4 kids. I try to use non-consumable products as much as possible.

 

Last summer, when I had some larger purchases to make, I spent a large and then didn't buy anything else for 4 months.

 

My monthly budget also pays for "extras" like co-op classes, field trips, and music lessons.

[skueppers]

I have a (very) part-time job. I use the income from this job to pay for homeschool stuff and extracurricular activities.

 

We also allocate $25 a month from our household budget, and pay for the subway fare and food on field trips out of our household budget.

 

Our biggest expenses this school year were a family membership to the public swimming pools ($500), the stuff we needed to do Lego WeDo robotics ($400, because I bought a netbook to use for homeschooling in addition to the Lego stuff), tuition at the Saturday German school ($325 per semester), and books from Germany (reading/writing curriculum, readers, read-alouds; about $400).

[cjgrubbs]

This was our first year homeschooling and I worked really hard to buy used where I could. I researched scores of programs and spent probably hundreds of hours online trying to get it all worked out while they finished up their last year in public school. I kept records of every purchase I made bc I wanted to know how much we spent and bc I wanted to know what I had paid so if I decided to sell something I could know what I should ask for it. Some things didn't work for us and I made some changes in January and bought a few more things and all in all we have spent $818. This is for my 5th grade son and my 2nd grade son. I bought lots of books that will serve as reference books or will be used each year. I have already started selling some things that didn't work for us, but that is not reflected in the above total. My husband at first was very shocked by the costs of things but I took him to a homeschool conference and after attending workshops with the vendors of many of the things I wanted to buy (and comparing to other companies) he jumped on board quickly.

 

I have already started selling some items that didn't work for us and have more to sell. I have also started making my list for items I want for next year youngest will be k so have to buy for 3!) and will be scouring the boards and Homeschool Classifieds looking for these things used. I wish I had $500 per kid per year budget. I could really do a lot with that, but alas, I feel blessed that God has given me this chance to homeschool my kids and will make do with what I have!

[mommy4ever]

Our biggest expenses this school year were a family membership to the public swimming pools ($500), the stuff we needed to do Lego WeDo robotics ($400, because I bought a netbook to use for homeschooling in addition to the Lego stuff), tuition at the Saturday German school ($325 per semester), and books from Germany (reading/writing curriculum, readers, read-alouds; about $400).

 

I wish I could get a family membership for price! For us, it would be approx $1500/year. However, I may be getting a very part time job, teaching aquafit classes, that may possible get that membership for free! We'll see. I find out more on Monday. It would be a huge benefit to the homeschool! Especially since it's a facility, gyms, weights, courts. The girls could really work off some steam a few times a week.

 

We got 2 netbooks this year as well. With 2 doing school mostly online, and me needing to print things continuously it seems(gotta love ebooks). That it was necessary. It was our biggest expense. We may need to replace my desktop, we've had that blue screen of death appear a couple times and I managed to get it started. I keep backing it up to the external, as it's a matter of time.

[abrightmom]

I find it impossible to set an amount . . . I ask my husband for as much $$ as he can possibly give me. :001_smile: The amount varies year to year and I'm always wanting more. My wish list is huge . . . needs change . . . curriculum flops . . . books tear . . . kiddos have different needs so they can't use the same math or English their older siblings used . . . our budget is always in flux and if I could have several thousand a year I would in a heartbeat.

 

I've got my eye on VP Scholars classes taken on-line but those babies are $500 a pop. Whew! If only . . .

[tiffanieh]

I'm assessing all we've spent and looking ahead to predict what we might need for next year. This was our first full year homeschooling. So there was extra spent, some trial and error. I now have a good sense of how it will go.

 

I am fortunate, in the sense, that our provincial government allots each homeschool student with a certain amount of money, based on how we register. What ever we qualify for is our budget! We submit receipts for refunds. The monies start to become available in October. We have access to 1/2 then and 1/2 in January or so.

 

I tried to work within this budget as much as I could this year. I did exceed it marginally, but only about $100 or so. So the cost of homeschooling 3 kids for the year, that was paid from our household budget was approx $100. I'd like to make that number $0. I wish we had a program like K12 here. It would be awesome for my older girls. I do like the freedom to chose my own curricula with funds provided.

 

I've started setting aside $50/mo for next year. It won't amount to all that much, but it will create a working budget for me to use, so it doesn't sit on my credit card until I'm refunded. So come September I'll have $300 to work with for class registrations, consumables. In October I submit receipts, and continue building my school fund. Once November hits, I'll have gotten my refund, and added another $100 to the fund. So when January comes and I need to order items for the second semester, I'll have a good working fund again, approx $500. I intend to build this up as a $1000. Then I can leave it as a cushion. I think now, we're pretty much set and don't require much more for reference books. I have most of what I need for other curricula too. I have AAS to the 6th book(from older dd), so dd7 doesn't need anything more now. As well as Math Mammoth, we have all to grade 5 now. So only one more in a few years if we don't get it for dd12. So there is some wiggle room. The costs for her go down as we re-use some of the curricula we had for the older ones.

 

NEEDED:

DD14 - One Year Novel, Bible study

 

DD12 - Bible Study, possibly next Math Mammoth,

 

DD7 - McRuffy Science 3(I think)

SOTW 2 activity guide(pdf)

 

So we're in pretty good shape for the fall in terms of curricula and how much we'll have to spend. I will likely need to place an order to CLE to get the next grade reading and LA, since we are working on it now. Either way, I think within the restrictions of the budget, I should be able to get my girls involved in some pretty fun things!

 

HAHAHAHA...excuse me while I stop laughing! Budget? What is that 4 letter word you speak of!? I probably SHOULD have a budget cuz Lord knows we don't NEED 4 different language programs, or a several different history books in any given year, BUT EVERYTHING LOOKS SOOOOOO GOOD! And I just can't resist!:lol:

[lionfamily1999]

Well, I start listing and price hunting in January. In February I start purchasing. I buy a little each week with a goal of having everything I need by June. This year is expensive, because dd's hs and middle ds is going into ms. By the time Luke starts moving through the ranks I will have nearly everything already purchased. Then, my budget will look much more like yours ;)

[txhomemom]

I wish I could spend more on homeschooling materials (did in the beginning), but times are tough now and I am currently not working at all. I am only homeschooling one right now and try to keep my budget under $300 for everything. I don't include outside activities in that figure however. I try to spend as little as possible by buying used materials or buying curriculum that can be used for multiple years. I also will hold garage sales several times a year to make money for either curriculum or other things the kids need. I am slowly learning to be a little more aware of how much I spend on things and I definitely overspent in the beginning. It is nice when you can do that, but so not necessary to provide a good education.

[Momma2Many66]

I spend about $1000 a year on curriculum for all 4 of my youngest children in total.

 

As they have gotten older, it has gotten more and more exspensive.

 

But the nice thing is, when we find a curriculum that works, we stick with it and all of my younger children can use it over and over again and benefit from it.

 

I try and keep my costs down by using laminating write on/wipe off sheets for the workbooks, so they can be passed down to my younger children and used again and again.

 

I laminate all our flashcards to withstand years of use and abuse from all our children.

 

I also buy many of my books used at the GoodWill, thrift stores, yards sales and ebay.

 

And I teach our children to take good care of our school supplies and be good stewards of all our homeschool materials so we can use them for years to come.

[RahRah]

I have $300 a month budgeted ($3600 a year - about half what it would cost us to send DS to the good private school nearby) and that includes activities, programs and all the bells and whistles.

[Wabi Sabi]

I work outside the home and have a small portion of each paycheck ($100) deposited into a separate account that I use for anything the kids need: homeschooling supplies, books, field trips, library fines, toys, activities, soccer lessons, Little League, clothing, shoes, etc.

[mommy4ever]

HAHAHAHA...excuse me while I stop laughing! Budget? What is that 4 letter word you speak of!? I probably SHOULD have a budget cuz Lord knows we don't NEED 4 different language programs, or a several different history books in any given year, BUT EVERYTHING LOOKS SOOOOOO GOOD! And I just can't resist!:lol:

 

:lol: LOL... In order to live and achieve our goals, we budget. DH wants this house paid off as quickly as possible. In order to do so, we need to be very careful with our $$, we are essentially a single income family, we squeak by, only making ends meet because I take in a couple kids.

 

So I must be a good steward to our income, I'm ok with getting rid of the mortgage sooner, it'll be nice not to have those payments. I like to spend on school, though, I admit it! We spent a lot last April when the girls came home suddenly. It wasn't planned, but what a blessing it has been.

 

So now, to keep going, to keep the girls home, I need to be careful about every $$. We actually save $ by homeschooling. There is no tuition to pay, no bus passes, no field trips. For dd13 to be in school last year, we paid approx $1500 out of the household budget. For her to be home this year, we got rid of all of those, and over spent from the gov't funding by $125(or so), so her third would be $42. Ok, plus gas to get to various outings but that is minor, as her bus wouldn't show up 1/2 the time last year and I was driving her, so I cancel it out. So if my 2 older were both to go to school next year, I'd be paying out of pocket $3000, and the little one in school would be about $750, plus field trips at about $30/mo so 1050 for her. So $4000 we'd spend on them out of pocket. By homeschooling, we work with the gov't funding only, as much as possible, so we aren't paying from the house hold budget!

 

I suppose I could be of the school of thought that since we'd spend that at the school, we could spend it at home too. But I can't imagine spending that much more!

[Snowfall]

I research the heck out of things so I can make as few curriculum mistakes as possible and have waited for sales on things that I know will eventually go on sale. Despite that, I've had a reading curriculum flop and am currently waiting on TWO new math programs to get to me (for one child) because I simply cannot accurately tell which will be better for us until I try them out. But one was Math Mammoth through the HSBC sale, so that's ridiculously inexpensive, and the other was Singapore, and I only purchased half a year, so that's not too much either.

 

So...budget...yeah...I should probably have one, and I try to manage our money wisely, but I buy what I think we need and otherwise don't think too much about it. If I did, I'd get upset every time I read a thread where I saw how little some people manage to spend. It would make me feel like an irresponsible, materialistic failure, so I don't think about it. :tongue_smilie:

[Guest]

It would be lovely to set aside a set amount each month. Unfortunately, we don't have anything else to squeeze out each month. We count on our tax return, and should we ever not get one, we would have to wait for a side job to come up. I get depending on what we get.

 

ETA: I did get about $100 worth of books at our library today for $5. That was a steal. Too bad it wasn't really anything the kids needed. :)

[mommy4ever]

I'd get upset every time I read a thread where I saw how little some people manage to spend. It would make me feel like an irresponsible, materialistic failure, so I don't think about it. :tongue_smilie:

 

I'd be right beside you crying. I don't have a $0 budget. I think this year we had nearly $1000 per child this year, after registration fees as a budget. So for those who homeschool for very little, my hats are off to you. If I had to, I'm sure I could. But at this point our education taxes pay for a homeschool budget, and I'm grateful for that.

 

I don't know that it'll last forever, which is why I'm creating a cushion for curricula. So I won't need to try to operate at $0. I suppose if I had to, all I would need is paper and printer ink. However, at this time, we're blessed to have gov't support here.

[Love2teach0307]

I'm in the midst of planning 3rd grade plus my 4yo is begging to do "school" stuff so I'm looking at getting her some "educational" toys. I've already started buying some, but I try to stick to a budget of $500/year for books and curriculum. I also put $500/year back for all the extra stuff - field trips, sports, clubs and such that gives us a little bit of life outside of home. However, no matter how I plan it, 3rd grade is going to cost around $600. I get an awful large number of books for that since we use reference books alot around here and I love used books.We like hands-on projects and stay away from workbooks, but even without using all the fancy curriculum sets, we're going to spend money on real books one way or the other.

[Poke Salad Annie]

I spend very little each year to homeschool. In a recent post I gave my total for this year ---about $72. I just made a purchase for next year of Life of Fred Fractions and the Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament History---$12 total for both books. I scour the used books at the homeschool store and online, and also look for books in thrift stores.

 

I also use many free things I find online (math, grammar, etc.) and try to make any expenditure only for something I really want and feel is of value to add into our schedule. I think you can homeschool inexpensively with a strong will to do so, but it does take a lot of work and determination on your part.

Edited March 4, 2011 by Poke Salad Annie

[scrapbabe]

HAHAHAHA...excuse me while I stop laughing! Budget? What is that 4 letter word you speak of!? I probably SHOULD have a budget cuz Lord knows we don't NEED 4 different language programs, or a several different history books in any given year, BUT EVERYTHING LOOKS SOOOOOO GOOD! And I just can't resist!:lol:

 

:iagree: :lol: This is me! We don't buy groceries, or have running water, but we have every math curriculum known to man!

Edited March 4, 2011 by scrapbabe

[mommy4ever]

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

:iagree: :lol: This is me! Who needs grocery money when you could buy curricula instead?!

[mommy4ever]

I spend very little each year to homeschool. In a recent post I gave my total for this year ---about $72. I just made a purchase for next year of Life of Fred Fractions and the Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament History---$12 total for both books. I scour the used books at the homeschool store and online, and also look for books in thrift stores.

 

I also use many free things I find online (math, grammar, etc.) and try to make any expenditure only for something I really want and feel is of value to add into our schedule. I think you can homeschool inexpensively with a strong will to do so, but it does take a lot of work and determination on your part.

 

 

That is awesome!!! I commend you for your determination! WTG MOM!

[scrapbabe]

I spend very little each year to homeschool. In a recent post I gave my total for this year ---about $72. I just made a purchase for next year of Life of Fred Fractions and the Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament History---$12 total for both books. I scour the used books at the homeschool store and online, and also look for books in thrift stores.

 

I also use many free things I find online (math, grammar, etc.) and try to make any expenditure only for something I really want and feel is of value to add into our schedule. I think you can homeschool inexpensively with a strong will to do so, but it does take a lot of work and determination on your part.

 

You totally rock!

[mom2bee]

Lol, this is exactly why I'm saving NOW for my unborn kids education. I'm hoping that the best way to home school successfully homeschool is to start planning before you have children to homeschool and while you are able to experiment on someone elses kids!!!!*evil laugh* </joke>

 

Seriously though, I'm prepared and willing to spend a good deal of money on my kids math and practical skills education to get them the best, but I'm steadily building my own English, Math, US History, Spanish, World Geography and Islamic Studies curriculum and hunting down good science books to add to my 'hit list', since the only thing I feel . Provided my children are born in good health and a normal state, we'll be using my curriculums until they head into upper math and college level texts.

 

The only thing I'm really uncertain how to plan out is the Science curriculum, but I do know that I want to go deep and broad in our science studies each year, so I don't like "Units in a textbook" for science....

[Mrszjk]

My husband is a full time grad student and I stay home. So all budget is tax return and loan money. I keep the bill well under $200 a year the goal is $100 but the library book sale always get my money. I do tons of research into curriculum about a year or so in advance. Then wait for things to go on a great sale or used. We also shop the library book sale and have found so many great books. We also use lots of great free things on line such as audio books, nature study, and unit study ideas. It takes me so much self control to not buy all the shiny new curriculum and my husband to keep me reassured that they don't need everything.

[mommy4ever]

My husband is a full time grad student and I stay home. So all budget is tax return and loan money. I keep the bill well under $200 a year the goal is $100 but the library book sale always get my money. I do tons of research into curriculum about a year or so in advance. Then wait for things to go on a great sale or used. We also shop the library book sale and have found so many great books. We also use lots of great free things on line such as audio books, nature study, and unit study ideas. It takes me so much self control to not buy all the shiny new curriculum and my husband to keep me reassured that they don't need everything.

 

Awww... he's so sweet! Wish more people had that attitude! I am planning ahead for next year and the year after now. Now i have TIME to wait for sales, or some one selling it. When we started it happened within 3 days. I didn't have time to wait for a sale. But it's worked out fabulous so far. Even though we had to spend more than planned initially. Now it's calmed down :)

[Dawn in OH]

I don't really have a budget for this. Basically, I determine what I need. I find the best price for it. I tell my husband this is what I want to use and what it costs. He asks me why I picked that particular item, and if I have good reasons to support my decision, which I always do, he gives me the okay to spend the money. I tend to be the frugal one in the marriage. He knows that if I'm actually willing to spend the money, I must feel there's a real need for the item. I don't go crazy. I'm very reserved with the spending. A few times has even had to push me to buy some items.

 

I'm actually planning to spend much more this year than in the past. I've finally decided on some materials that I was considering for quite a while. My oldest two will be working on 4th grade and picking up a couple of new subjects. With the two little one's in the house I've finally decided that I feel stretched too thin trying to do everything myself and still stay one step ahead all of the time. My time has become more valuable than my cash assets.

[Guest RecumbentHeart]

We are putting aside $10 a week so that's $520 a year for books and supplies. I find myself buying books out of my own personal allowance though because I am yet to master the virtue of self control.

[Allearia]

Well, I usually start by finding all the classes in my area and deciding my dc must take them to become educated, happy, well-rounded human beings. Then I browse the curriculum board and realize if I only bought three new curricula and four science kits and added two new subjects my sons will cheerfully do all their work and beg for more.

 

Then it is time to register for the next season of soccer as well as contribute for coaches' gifts, players' gifts, end of year party, and buy snacks.

 

Then I stalk the UPS guy and enthusiastically open everything and try to figure out how to work three more hours of school into our day while adding five more hours a day to my part time job to pay for the classes, curricula, and soccer.

 

Then I run a Quicken report on homeschool expenses and look at how many hours I had to work to pay for all that stuff, realize that if I cut down on work and spent more time on homeschooling, field trips and playdates we would come out ahead and I vow to never go to the WTM forum again.

 

Then I click over on the WTM forum to see what I missed the past half hour and start the process all over again.

[mommy4ever]

Well, I usually start by finding all the classes in my area and deciding my dc must take them to become educated, happy, well-rounded human beings. Then I browse the curriculum board and realize if I only bought three new curricula and four science kits and added two new subjects my sons will cheerfully do all their work and beg for more.

 

Then it is time to register for the next season of soccer as well as contribute for coaches' gifts, players' gifts, end of year party, and buy snacks.

 

Then I stalk the UPS guy and enthusiastically open everything and try to figure out how to work three more hours of school into our day while adding five more hours a day to my part time job to pay for the classes, curricula, and soccer.

 

Then I run a Quicken report on homeschool expenses and look at how many hours I had to work to pay for all that stuff, realize that if I cut down on work and spent more time on homeschooling, field trips and playdates we would come out ahead and I vow to never go to the WTM forum again.

 

Then I click over on the WTM forum to see what I missed the past half hour and start the process all over again.

 

 

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

[Holly]

We don't really have a budget. I don't go crazy...we probably spend around $300 on curriculum each year not including activities. I also try to re-use curriculum when possible, but I get bored of teaching the same curriculum over and over again. :blush:

 

I split our purchases up over several months and save 2nd semester purchases for later on. I think I'm more efficient with my buying know that I have a better idea of what works for me and the kids.

[Snowfall]

LOL! I just realized that I will surely have what DD2 needs for 1st and 2nd grade math without spending more than $20 or so, no matter what curriculum works best for her, because I will have Rightstart B and C, all of Math Mammoth, Horizons 1, and Singapore 2. So one way or another, we've got 1st and 2nd grade covered almost for free. Plus, I'll have tons of math manipulatives, Phonics Road, Artistic Pursuits, and SOTW all to use again. Schooling child #2 is going to be much less expensive!!! Then I'll be able to be one of those people who says, "I only have to spend about $50/year for my first grader," and I'll never feel guilty again. :lol:

[dakarimom5]

This year I spent $80 to homeschool 2. Now that I know where my DS#2 needs help and since we are bringing home the other 2, I have a budget of $600. I thought that was a lot but for 4 children it is not. I can get it under that if I give up AAS and I'm not willing to do that. Hopefully I can get most of what I need used.

 

But the good news for me is that the year after next I should get off cheap since I will have all the stuff for DS#4 already!! But then again, DS#2 will be in high school and that may break the bank.

[m0mmaBuck]

I plan for a total of $500 for the two kids with DS9 being the majority of that. Last year I spent $300 on DS and about $50 on DD which left me wiggle room for random purchases throughout the year. I realize as both of the kids get older (and as DD starts "real curriculum") that amount will increase, but for now $500 is plenty.

 

That amount doesn't include memberships/extras that we would most likely do anyway regardless of HS'ing.

[Hunter]

Watching this youtube video on planning really helped me budget my money more effectively

 

 

 

I only make purchases a month in advance of needing them, and if I have written them into the yearly plan.

 

I'm not spending less, but I'm buying fewer, better quality items.

[elegantlion]

 

I'm not spending less, but I'm buying fewer, better quality items.

:iagree: with this statement. We homeschooled with a 100.00 budget and a 1000.00 budget, depending on our income for the year.

 

We're now planning middle and high school, which can get more expensive. I tend to pick the programs, then set the budget. When I buy what I need it ends up being about 800-1000 per year. That includes at least 100.00 of material for my self-education and probably 100.00 of reference sources.

 

We also don't buy expensive history programs or use online classes. Especially in the early years, I believe it's wise to leave some wiggle room in the budget. I've had a switch gears after the start of the year several times. It seems like it's one subject a year that is a miss. There were some years I didn't have the budget to replace that curriculum with my next best choice because I'd already blown the budget.

 

I tend to plan like this.

 

1. pick my ideal materials for each subject.

2. Do this :001_huh: when I realize how money it's going to be.

3. Prioritize them and eliminate what I don't need.

4. Decide where to purchase from, amazon, RR, the publisher. Some products I buy directly from the publisher.

5. Change my mind at least once or twice. :lol:

6. Present the budget to dh and wait for the money to roll in.

7. Start ordering. We do in small increments, works better that way.

[waa510]

I'm still new to this, obviously, but I don't really have a budget in the sense that I have XX amount to spend and that's it. That said, Dh does everything financial in our home so I usually just let him know that I have X to buy and he'll either ask me to wait, if possible, til next month or tell me to go ahead and purchase it. From talking with other homeschoolers, it seems to work out better if you buy a little throughout the year..which is what ends up happening in our house as we school year round. I also had a fair amount to spend last year so when I saw something going for a great price at a used curric. sale, even if I won't use it for another year or two..I bought it. That should help us out a lot in the future when things get more expensive. I would rather spend the money while we have it on things I know we'll use than wait.

 

I also use convention and friends of mine who are using something I'm researching to figure out if something will work for us. Reducing the waste of $$ buying something that won't work is a big goal too.

 

I'm still new to buying smart so :bigear: for more seasoned hsers' tips. :D

[Hunter]

waa510,

 

If you are new to this, be VERY careful about buying for next year. You will often change your mind. A bargain is not a bargain if you don't use it! There are very few people who can plan that far ahead. Oh, the surprises that pop up!!! :-0

[RoundAbout]

We're just doing preschool right now, and nothing is strictly necessary at this age, so I just try to keep it under $25/month for art and craft supplies, games, dollar store workbooks, puzzles, and manipulatives. I was lucky to get the Miquon Orange books off Paperback Swap. I've invested in a few things to use in the next year or so like OPGTR. Also some things like BFSU and Mapmaking with Children because I was curious. We also paid for a More Starfall subscription.

 

I always pay attention to the budgeting threads because likely we won't need to be on a strict homeschooling budget and I have a weakness for educational supply stores and catalogs. This could be a very dangerous combo in the future :D

[foxbridgeacademy]

I went back over the last few months, I've been in a buying frenzy getting ready for the next year. I have spent $271 on curriculum, maybe another $50 on supplies, and when I'm done no more then $350 total. This is for 2 children, 5th and 3rd rising. I'm able to save money by combining them in several subjects. History, Science, Latin, and Writing.

[In2why]

I haven't added it up. I am really lucky to have some great thrift shops around here though, and I get a lot of materials and books there.

 

I keep a list of sonlight books and other book lists and when I come across them, I pick them up. Same with Magic School Bus Books, Usborne, and even curricula. I found the entire set of FIAR for less then $10.

 

I have wasted some money on curriculum, but I am getting much better at knowing the learning styles and what works with the kids.

 

If I had to put a number on it, I would say I spend about $800 a year with activity fees, books, materials, printing costs, and subscriptions.

[waa510]

waa510,

 

If you are new to this, be VERY careful about buying for next year. You will often change your mind. A bargain is not a bargain if you don't use it! There are very few people who can plan that far ahead. Oh, the surprises that pop up!!! :-0

 

 

 

I'm a little new, but I've already got my first year under my belt so I like to think I've got all the crazy newbie spending under control :D. I've bought the entire ETC series, HWT up to grade 2, SOTW series ( not all yet though), FLL 1/2, RS A & B...so far I've used everything I've bought used and don't plan on deviating from what I've bought that DD isn't old enough for yet. She loves the SOTW audio cd for ancients a friend gave me, so I know that series will work well for her. And FLL should work very well since OPG has been a hit. When I buy, looking at what works already and comparing that to what I'm considering helps a ton. I don't know, I'm that kind of person anyway..I buy ahead in lots of aspects of life so it makes sense I'd apply it to homeschooling.:tongue_smilie:

[susankenny]

We will spend 300 - 400 on curriculum next year. This is for both children. I use part of our tax return to buy it. Using our tax return works nicely, and then I don't really budget anything, I just research before tax season, so I'm ready to buy when my money comes in:)

 

 

 

Susan

 

Oh, ETA: I will spend close to $100 on supplies when the back-to-school sales come in early August. We also spend $60 on our co-op and $65 for our homeschool association fees (keeps us legal).

Edited March 6, 2011 by susankenny

[WIS0320]

I am a first year homeschooler and we have been pretty relaxed this year with only 2 main purchased programs (PR and McRuffy Math K). I don't have a set budget for next year but I am struggling to not buy every single thing that I read about that looks so good. I will try and keep our choices in a reasonable price range but I seem to be attracted to programs that are pricey? I know for sure our math and science alone will be $100ish combined (McRuffy) and we are already using PR so that will be another $200 when my child is ready to move into Level 2. I guess that means out of the three history programs I'm eyeing SOTW is the best bet because it is the most reasonably priced and most users here seem to really love it. I am thankful I've got a really great library system to access for all the "extras".

[...................]

I just choose what I need and buy as I can. Since I am eclectic abd use simple materials, I don't spend very much. Usually about 400 per year for two children.

[Veritaserum]

What we do is set aside a certain amount of money each month for school expenses. As I encounter needs, I use those funds to purchase items that fill the needs. I've learned patience the hard way and now resist the urge to buy too far ahead. I'm so glad I followed that rule this year because some of the programs I thought we'd use for sure turned out to not suit our needs. I buy in the summer, once I'm more certain about what we are really going to use during the coming school year. :)