How do you budget for school? Monthly, Yearly? Do you have set amount to spend?

[MommyInTraining]

We were just doing mostly a monthly budget, but am looking for something more structured for a year's worth of material.

 

We have 3 school age children.

 

Thanks!

[chaik76]

We budget monthly. I do two things for yearly purchases...1) save a specific amount out of our monthly budget and 2) When it's available, we pull a set amount out of tax returns or summer pay.

[LunaLee]

I have a lump yearly budget for that years main curriculum purchases, a smaller set amount taken out of dh's bonuses for bigger ticket fun stuff and things for the upcoming year and then a smaller monthly budget for covering things like art,science, and office supplies or readers.

[elegantlion]

I have a monthly budget and I do about three larger orders during January and February for the next fall. It's easier for our family to break up the larger amounts. The monthly amount usually goes toward extra reading books, supplies, or self-education.

[Amber in AUS]

Oh, I seriously need a budget and my kids are not even that old yet. I am spending a fortune all the time mainly on books for reading but I could be way more conservative (and really should be). I so need some structure to my spending!

[mamaof2andtwins]

My curriculum is purchased with my tax return money, so I do not have a "budget" per se.

 

Jennie

[Jenny in Florida]

Once we're about halfway through the year, I start planning for the next one. I choose, source and price everything I want to use, then add up the total. If it's going to be significantly more than the previous year, I first try to see if I can get the total down a bit. If not, I chat with my husband about what I want to do and make sure it won't break the bank.

 

In general, I try to keep it at no more than $500, just because that seems to be a comfortable amount for us. I can do it for less if I need to, but I haven't needed to in recent years.

 

I purchase pretty much everything in a lump during the spring.

[DawnM]

We buy as needed. So far I have never just bought a huge amount at once as I have found good quality used/2nd hand. My budget has always been around $500/year, but that is changing now that my kids are getting older.

 

I buy throughout the year to ease the sticker shock!

 

We don't do any expensive outside classes so far, so I am adding what many spend for that into my budget.

 

This next year we will probably go up to a little over $1,000 for 3 kids.

 

Dawn

[SheWillFly]

Our budget is set by the needs of the year. I do my research for our core right after I file my taxes. The tax return + what I feel we need = budget size. I also receive surprise gifts of love (checks ranging from $20 - $200) from my grandmother. Those checks go toward anything extra that I would like to do with the kids or to fill in supplies that we've run down.

[G5052]

I do set aside about $50 every time I'm paid (9x year) to buy ahead, but otherwise I use any Paypal balance from reselling and buy year-round. I also save change and get Amazon certificates through Coinstar. Sometimes I have a little left in the household budget at the end of the month too.

 

As others have said, I'm finding it more expensive as we go. There's less and less used curriculum, and the books are more expensive.

[Emmy]

I do one big purchase for the year and get "most" of our stuff then. Of course throughout the year there are always additional purchases....books I come across here on the boards or supplemental things I find. Those come out of the monthly budget - I have a set amount I can spend each month on homechool stuff.

 

So I guess the answer is both.

[Katiebug_1976]

All of my dh's paychecks are eaten up by bills/living expenses. So we do not really have a budget for school. The way I get money for new books is to sell the ones we do not need anymore. So as I sell books throughout the year, a little comes in here and there and I am able to buy piece by piece for next year, or save it until there is enough for a larger purchase. If this does not bring in enough $$, then we try to take a portion out of out tax return. So far this has worked, but the tax return is gone this year and I am only 1/2 way to reaching my goal. So we will see what happens.

[Guest aquiverfull]

My curriculum is purchased with my tax return money, so I do not have a "budget" per se.

 

Jennie

 

ME too! :D

[Stephanie/MO]

yearly, although at Christmas the kids sometimes get what some families would consider school-related "toys" or books :)

 

Since I have kids all ages 2-21, I make a bulk of my purchases between May-August.

 

Blessings,

Stephanie

[kelouis75]

I do set aside about $50 every time I'm paid (9x year) to buy ahead, but otherwise I use any Paypal balance from reselling and buy year-round. I also save change and get Amazon certificates through Coinstar. Sometimes I have a little left in the household budget at the end of the month too.

 

As others have said, I'm finding it more expensive as we go. There's less and less used curriculum, and the books are more expensive.

 

This is a great idea. I never knew that we could get Amazon certificates this way....

 

As for our family budget, the pattern has been two big lumps, usually falling in the winter and summer... I try to get all supplies during those times too.

[Catwoman]

I don't have a budget for school materials; it seems that I'm always buying something!

 

I honestly have no idea how much I spend each year on school stuff for ds, but my dh estimates it at around $5000.00. (I think that estimate is high, but he pays more attention to that sort of thing, so he might be close.) That may sound like quite a bit, but if we were to send him to a private school, the cost would be several times that amount, so dh still feels like he's getting off cheap! ;)

 

Cat

[LisaKinVA]

We budget yearly... Each winter, I make plans for the following year. Make a list of the books, costs, etc. I run it past my husband. Then, I look for ways to save some money (free shipping, special discount, etc.). But, dh doesn't have a "use it or lose it" mentality when it comes to the school budget.

[Ali in OR]

We made the decision to home school when our now 8 yo was in preschool. Her tuition then was about $100 a month, so we just made that our home school budget. When dh is paid, it is automatically deposited into a separate account. The first year or two, it was hard to get everything since I had to wait for the money to be there. But now there is a balance there so that I can usually buy when I want to. I still spread my purchases out and tend to buy most everything between February and August. A lot of the budget goes to building our library--we use a reading-intensive history plan and love reading here.

[Tree House Academy]

We save a large amount after Christmas and through March for the bulk of the curriculum in the fall. Then I have a $50 monthly budget for anything else that might tickle my fancy/we might need.

 

I also sell a lot of items and use that money to buy other items through the year.

Edited April 15, 2009 by Tree House Academy

[lovinmomma]

We just started homeschooling and our budget didn't allow for such a thing, so once a week (for an hour) I am cleaning a building for our church. It pays $30/wk., so this is our budget for the year. I will also use this $ for sports, etc.

 

Julie

[twogirlsmommy]

DH gets paid every other week. So, twice a year we have an "extra" check. We make our major purchases out of this. Then we have a smaller amount per month to spend on misc supplies like paper, glue, etc.

[Ibbygirl]

We buy as needed. So far I have never just bought a huge amount at once as I have found good quality used/2nd hand. My budget has always been around $500/year, but that is changing now that my kids are getting older.

 

I buy throughout the year to ease the sticker shock!

 

 

I do the same thing. I buy things throughout the year second hand. I also rely heavily on the library for readers and such as they usually have most of the books, if not I buy them online used. I already have bought almost all of my things for next year's school already and what remains (a microscope and BJU LIfe Science kit) I will buy over the 2 months before the next school year starts and take the money out of the groceries. :)

[M&M]

Budget! I am supposed to have a budget!?! Don't tell DH ok!!

[Ibbygirl]

Budget! I am supposed to have a budget!?! Don't tell DH ok!!

 

LOL Your life sounds alot like mine! hehe :)

[HFClassicalAcademy]

we figure that we would be spending close to $5000 per child to send them to private school. With this in mind, if we need something for our school...I get it. Dh is extremely generous and doesn't mind as long as it is for the kids' education and it doesn't become "wasted" money (wasted money would be buying a museum membership and not going to the museum).

 

I find that I don't usually need a whole lot, except the core curriculum. Field trips and extras just happen, but it still doesn't add up to a whole lot. My main spending months come in May and June when I go to the homeschool conference and buy most of our stuff.

 

I'm imagining that school expenses will increase as the kids get older, but I still tend to be a frugal mom most of the time!! And the good thing with having lots of kids is that eventually most of our school items get reused...therefore, saving us money!

 

Liz in NC

[dani3boys]

I do try to find used books as much as possible and borrow a lot of books from the library. Most of our spending is done in the spring so I have time to plan for the next school year which starts in June!

[AudreyTN]

Budget! I am supposed to have a budget!?! Don't tell DH ok!!

 

:lol:

 

I usually buy the larger priced items with Tax Return. Other things are bought as I sell stuff... or if I find outstanding deals I just buy it.

 

I take care of the finances so I'm the one to know when we have a bit of extra money.

[Aurelia]

I write down all the stuff I want to buy and add about $300 to the total (because I know I'll find cool stuff I have to have) and then either save X amount monthly or, more usually, spend our tax return money.

[sgilli3]

I dont have a budget.

Dh is extremely generous when it comes to my spending.

 

As we dont have access to a library, I tend to buy a lot of books ( and extra bits and pieces :D)

 

I also have workbooks sent across from Oz, which isn't cheap, but when we have friends and family come to visit, I make sure their cases are loaded to the brim with school items for the kids.

 

For birthdays and Christmas we also tend to buy items that we can use with our everyday school activities ( books, games, funky stationary, stickers, craft sets etc)

[Narrow Gate Academy]

I set a yearly limit. Then I allow myself a certain amount a month to spend after setting aside some money for one large RR order after the state convention. Since I try to buy used, some months I go a little over my limit and other months I'm under. It tends to average out over the course of the year.

[Peggy in Va]

Budget! I am supposed to have a budget!?! Don't tell DH ok!!

 

:rofl: I won't tell if you won't. Nice to know I'm not the only one. Of course it explains why I've had to turn a spare shower into a storage closet.:)

 

Seriously though, in the past I just always used our tax return. This year, I will be doing the same, except that I will be trying to restrain myself a bit. I don't know if it will be possible, but it's always good to have goals.

[M&M]

:rofl::rofl: I had to cancel Amazon Prime. It was too easy to just click on a book and get it in two days! Used book sales are my favorite and a really big one is coming up in May...I cannot wait!!

[Osaubi]

I don't budget, but I am frugal. I keep a running list of items we will need for next year and look for used/2nd hand when possible. Since I homeschool year around, I purchase stuff when we need it. That also helps with the sticker shock.

 

Since our co-op classes vary from year to year I never really know how much we are going to spend on extra classes. I do try to keep them free or really inexpensive.

 

My dh never says anything about how much I spend on homeschooling stuff. He figures I know what we need, and he knows I will do my best to spend the least amount.

[ChicoryChick]

The bulk of my HS funds comes from our tax rebate. I make a spreadsheet of what I need for the school year (not including school supplies) in February, and the cheapest place to purchase them. Once we get our tax refund I make the purchases. (this week has been my homeschool Christmas :))School supplies are purchased in July when the good sales are going on (this I usually save up for a few weeks ahead of time). Smaller items like reading books, I keep a wishlist of what I want and both my sister (she goes used book sale shopping a lot) and I have a copy and we pick up the juvenile fiction/biography/nonfiction books throughout the year. I also utilize BookMooch and PaperBackSwap.

Edited April 16, 2009 by kayinpa

[mama2cntrykids]

My curriculum is purchased with my tax return money, so I do not have a "budget" per se.

 

Jennie

 

Same here. Especially since my dh was just laid-off. In fact he just asked me today if I have all the HS stuff ordered before we run out of money. Sad, but true! I haven't btw, lol...

[Quiver0f10]

We use our tax return.

[deemk]

i don't budget since there's no room in the budget for it. we're already in the negative before i buy school books/supplies. but because we feel it's what's best for them i try to be as frugal as i can. i try to buy as many things used as possible, and i try to use 1 book for more than one kid if i can. i resell things as soon as i find they're not working out. often i am ebaying clothes that we're not using to have side money for books. i have an amazon credit card so that i get points every time i use it and then they send me $25 coupons every once in a while. it's definitely not an ideal situation. but we have decided that educating them is worth going into debt for, and we know it won't be like this forever.

[deeinfl]

use our income tax money, but then income tax money started to be needed for bills, so I now buy year round.

 

I'm usually a year ahead of what we want or need and I will usually search the for sale boards or amazon first. If after this I am still having difficulty finding it, then I purchase one new item in every pay period of my husband's check as the budget allows, of course.

 

Breaking it up this way makes it easy not to feel the sting of hundreds of dollars taken out in one shot and I end up getting exactly what I wanted for them and not settling.

 

This year I was able to sell some things I was no longer using and made about 100 dollars for curriculum puchases after shipping charges, of course.

 

Highschool curriculum can be way more expensive than elementary. :)

 

Blessings!!!

 

Dee

[Penelope]

I don't budget yet but my kids are young. I do plan to start a budget this coming school year as I'd like to track my spending better and compare to what we would spend in private school. I know what I spent from curriculum publishers, but I haven't been tracking the other spending -- books, supplies, sports, field trips, games -- as well.

 

I am fairly frugal but I have had to waste $ here and there, trying things out to figure out what my style is and what works. Though I guess that is not a "waste", then. ;)

[Mom22ns]

Budget! I am supposed to have a budget!?! Don't tell DH ok!!

 

:iagree:

This is one secret that is worth keeping!

 

Seriously though, I am frugal. I have picked out what I want for next year and am constantly shopping used right now. I will only buy new what I can't get a good deal on. I use the library, buy used books from amazon, you name it. When all that is said and done, I get what I think I need when I think I need it.

[TxMama]

For my younger children I budget for about 1/10th the tuition of a local private school . It forces me not to go crazy and overspend to have a specific target. So for my 6yo and 3yo my target is $500. We should come way under that amount this year. I prefer non-consumables so we get our money worth by using it again with a younger child. When I find a homeschool curriculum that I love I prefer to buy new because I want those folks to stay in business!

 

This worked well until the teen years.:lol: For the teen years I had a $100 per month budget but exceeded it a few times.....like the year we bought a microscope and Rosetta stone + all the usual curriculum. I'm thinking that with my younger kids I should stay well within my spending limit because I already have a stocked library and lots of extras.

[Psm73]

We use our tax return. It's always more than enough to cover our hs purchases.

 

Of course, being a huge Dave Ramsey fan, I desperately wish we didn't get a tax return ... would rather owe every year (why should the government get an interest free loan on my money???) But b/c of the way dh's company collects taxes out of his paychecks, this is what we end up with every single year... a tax return.

 

It works for us and it definitely helps me stick to a budget. Plus, I get to order all our curriculum in the spring before the big rush.

[mtnheart]

We have one son, 5, and I try to set aside $20 each week. When that fails I also throw in birthday money for me or him from my relatives. It comes to about $1000 per year for one kid, so it is more than enough.

 

I choose what I want and compare prices- package purchase vs amazon vs used (when available). We use Winter Promise-a good bit of exclusives or consumables at this age-, so I usually just order the whole pack and am pretty happy. I always have extra $ left right now, so that is for field trips and those little extras.

[dcjlkplus3]

I haven't read any other posts.

I figure out what I need/want for the year.

Then I take that money out of our tax refund as a priority.

There are still other expenses, like ink, paper, library fines, etc. that I don't budget for at all and we just handle as they come up.

[runamuk]

I don't have a budget. I decide which curricula I want to use and then look for sales and used items. I don't mind spending the money on our 3rd/4th grader as I know the items will be used for our younger son, too. Money spent now will be money saved down the road.