Curriculum Junkie in Training (How do you afford it?)

[HeatherLynn]

What creative ways have you found to fund your curriculum buying?

 

So, I can already see I have a curriculum addiction developing. I have taken time to research the curriculum we will use, and honestly didn't look at prices until I decided what we wanted to use. So, why is it that almost everything I have chosen has a hefty price tag? That being said, I do not want to change my decisions. I have the book "How to Homeschool for Free" but honestly, I prefer curriculum.

 

My DH is flipping out about the costs, which are going to be pretty high because of establishing our homeschool the way I *feel* I need it to be in order to succeed (with sanity). So, I am looking for ways to fund this and not cause any undue strain. :D

[MIch elle]

That way you can recoup almost your total cost once you sell it. If you buy new then use the products with the idea of selling when you're done with it (this is not always possible).

 

Sell stuff as soon as you're done with it to pay for your new stuff.

[Chris in VA]

Go used. Homeschool classifieds, this board, and vegsource have been big helps.

 

Sell after using. See above.

 

Use the library--I find very few books are genuine "keepers."

 

Make sure you are using your materials efficiently. I find a lot of folks go overboard in Language Arts. (Depending on the ages of your kiddos--this is more for elementary--)If you do a narration, some copywork, and outside reading, you can cover lots of language arts with SOTW. Add in a spelling program and maybe grammar, and you've got LA, History, and Reading for about $50.

 

Let life be a guide, too. I unschooled Science for the first couple of years, somewhat unintentionally, and found dd wasn't behind at all.

 

Make sure you aren't buying with rose-colored glasses--If I buy this, my kids will turn out great! kind of thinking.

 

Remember you can always add to your curriculum. You don't need everything right now. You also don't need all the "pretty" things--plain paper, yellow pencils, etc are just fine.

[elegantlion]

I have tried to keep my purchasing in perspective of our overall finances. Some years were tight and I needed to make do with a small amount. Now my dh is a carpenter and understand that in order to build right you have to have the correct tool, same for education. However the "right" tool isn't always the most expensive.

 

I look at thrift stores and paperbackswap.com for most of my reading books. I make a master list for each year and buy from that list. I try to make sure I'm not overlapping information and keep my schedule in mind while buying.

 

Another thing that REALLY helps is knowing what my educational philosophy is. I've found a wonderful framework this in LCC and most of my choices stem from that model of education. There are plenty of great choices on the market today and knowing HOW and WHAT I want to teach keeps my wandering eye in check.

 

We are finishing our 5th year of homeschooling and I have a good idea of what will work and not work with my ds. So I plan a few years out and buy things as I see them and have the finances.

 

However, if I were new to homeschooling I would not plan further out than the current year, you truly don't know what will work for you and your dc. That big expensive curriculum package may seem great and is oh so tempting. You might find that getting a week behind in a scheduled package would drive you crazy. Tempting as it is I wouldn't buy too far ahead.

 

HTH

[FloridaMomTo5]

Definitely search for used curriculum!! There's always someone who has what you need, and most of the time the books are in great shape! My other suggestion is to sell things or return them if possible when you notice that the curriculum you bought will not work. Don't let it collect dust. Of course there are exceptions to this... My son struggled with OPGTR, but I decided we were going to push through it,and it is working out now.

 

Use the library whenever possible!! and above all I've found that prayer helps me not to overbuy :) Oh, and try to get dh involved in the planning process. My dh attends the convention in our area each year with me, and that gets him excited about helping pick out the curriculum that he finds most important. That always keeps us in agreement.

Hope this helps,

Beth

[Avila]

Have to agree with everyone else on here -- buy used!

 

We have two local places that buy and sell used curriculum on consignment. The selling there isn't that great of a deal, but you can buy at a nice discount.

 

We also have several used curriculum sales sponsored by local homeschool groups, and those are the real bargain if you can find what you are looking for. The sales are open to non-members, so contact any groups around you that are close enough to drive to and ask if they have one of these. If not, it would even be worth setting one up yourself at a park or church basement. This is where I get at least half of my stuff.

 

I have a budget in mind and a list for each child. I buy new at the conference once a year for the things (like workbooks) that I am pretty sure I won't find used. I try to buy the absolute essentials out of our tax refund to make sure we are able to start the year. Over the summer, I check the consignment stores and used sales. There I buy ahead on things, buy things I really want to see at home, buy things that are more expensive than I want to pay new, whatever. I try to only buy things new that are workbooks or a sure bet for us and buy used for everything else.

 

Having said all that, I am REALLY trying to reform on this. More is not better; it is just more. And you have to store it, which takes room. You can buy ahead, but there is no guarantee you will actually use any of it because kids are different, new things come out every year, and sometimes you just get bored with something and want a change. You also have to mentally deal with the stuff -- remember what you have, what you were planning to use it for, etc. It can also be a block if having it means you can't be satisfied with what you are using or if you are keeping things in your head to constantly tweak what you are doing.

 

Good luck!

[ClassicMom]

Well, before this year and the economy in our city turned to crxx, my husband was working full-time. We would take 1,000 out of our tax return and set that aside exclusively for homeschooling. That would also be for outside classes, supplies, etc.

 

Since it's not our first year, I also sell what I'm not keeping each year as well. This helps to recoup a lot of what was spent and adds quite a bit to that 1,000. This year, we are both working part-time so there was no tax refund to use. So, I just have money from selling books.

 

I was lucky enough to find some math books that I needed from a friend who never sold ANYTHING!

 

I found a few things used so far and may need to check a charity organization for a few things as well.

 

There are a lot of used boards out there where you can get some great buys.

Here

Vegsource.com/homeschool

homeschoolclassifieds.com

half.com

amazon.com

I also check Ebay.com but make sure the buyer has a good standing and has been in business a long time. Also make sure you know how much the product costs before you bid. Many times I've seen people make bids that were more than what the item costs new!

There are other boards, but these have the most traffic (that I know of).

[KristineinKS]

Like WendyK, I tend to buy things little by little as good deals come up whether we need it now or not - for example, I've got stuff that I've purchased for US History, even though that's two years away (not curriculum, but supplemental books & such). I don't buy much used, but if it's something we'll need soon & it's a great deal, then I might. Also, I work from home part-time & up until my husband was laid off a few days ago - my income was solely for fun stuff - all our curriculum, books, educational toys, games, field trips, etc. Bookcloseouts.com is another great site for bargains! :)