Looking for homeschool hacks to save money and leave a little cash in your pocket?
With the price of everything rising, it’s no secret that most families will be having to make cuts to their budgets. This is especially true with homeschool families.
When you spend your days at home, there are a lot of unexpected expenses that you wouldn’t have if the kids went to a public school:
-Kids tend to eat all day long, instead of just at the designated lunch time.
-They use tons of toilet paper, paper towels and take long, hot showers multiple times a day.
-They turn on the sprinkler and run around in it for 3 hours, while trying to avoid doing their schoolwork.
-When you’re running errands, you have to buy multiple lunches, instead of just your own. (Not such a treat when you spend $50 on lunch again!)
-They literally never stop eating. (Did I already mention that!?!) 😉
But when it comes to saving money while homeschooling, it seems like all of the ideas are weird. (If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down, for instance…)
But there are some affordable homeschool hacks that are so simple, you won’t even have to put forth much effort.
5 Homeschool Hacks to Save Money
Buy used:
It’s perfectly okay to want fancy-schmancy new curriculum each and every year but in reality, it’s just so darn expensive! When you’re buying multiple levels of each subjects, it can add up quickly. Instead of purchasing the entire curriculum new, find a used teacher’s manual that’s in good shape. Now, you just need to buy the child’s workbook new! (And a lot of time, you can find those used, as well. Check local bookstores, curriculum sales and Facebook groups for affordable books!)
Go for a walk:
We had spent hundreds upon hundreds of dollars on my son’s karate lessons before I realized he wasn’t actually enjoying it. But, it was wearing him out so that he would actually fall asleep at a decent hour. After taking a short break from karate, I realized going for a daily walk had the same effect and was MUCH cheaper! No expensive costumes, gas back and forth to the studio or monthly fees. And in reality, my son enjoyed the walks and spending time with me more than he ever liked karate!
Avoid peak hours:
If you have ever read the fine-print on your electric bill, you’ve likely seen that electricity costs more when used during “peak hours.” But electricity isn’t the only thing you should consider.
Movie theaters offer matinee movies for a much cheaper price because it’s often less busy during the day. Restaurants offer lower prices on lunch menus than dinner menus. Hotels charge more on Friday and Saturday nights than weeknights.
Take some time to really think about how you can save money by planning around peak hours.
Utilize your community:
When we were searching for a guitar teacher for my daughter, I was shocked at the prices! $35 for half an hour of guitar lessons was totally out of our budget. Then someone told us about a local church who gave guitar lessons for FREE! It was in a group setting, but she still was able to learn to play and we were able to bless the teacher with a generous donation, when we were finished.
No matter what your kiddo is interested in, there’s someone out there who can help them. I’ve found that most people are happy to share their talents with kids and don’t expect to be compensated.
My daughter learned to knit at a local yarn shop. We’ve had family friends teach us how to decorate cookies. We’ve held paint parties with a neighbor who is much more artsy than us. We’ve learned how to shear our goat from the lady who we purchased her from.
You certainly CAN choose to pay others to teach you, but if you ask around, you’ll find there are tons of folks who are willing to pass along their knowledge for free.
Invest in a high-quality curriculum:
I’m all for finding new homeschool hacks to save money but there’s one thing I won’t settle for: a crappy curriculum.
A good curriculum is worth its weight in gold. When I realized that I could buy Teaching Textbook’s “Large Family Discount” plan for the price I was paying for ONE of my kids’ math curriculum, I was thrilled! I already knew and loved Teaching Textbooks but the CDs were expensive and the workbooks were bulky and constantly a pain point in our homeschool.
But with Teaching Textbooks 4.0, they offer the same amazing curriculum but in an app format. That means we can do math from iPads, computers, laptops or even cell phones! (Hello, school on the go!)
What I love the very most about Teaching Textbooks is that it does everything for me: teaching, grading AND record-keeping!
The kids love the short, easy-to-digest lessons and fun animations.
Teaching Textbooks is a full curriculum for grades 3-12. In each level, students watch a short animated lesson then answer about 20 questions. If they need second-chances or hints, they offer those, as well!
The Parent Portal keeps track of your student’s progress. They can easily see which problems they got correct and incorrect. They’re also able to see if the student used their hint or second try.
You can try the first 15 lessons of Teaching Textbooks FREE!
Grab your free trial HERE!
If you’re looking for homeschool hacks to save money, these are just a few that we do each and every year! We like to save our money for the fun stuff, like field trips or educational weekend trips!
Read more about why we love Teaching Textbooks:
