-

Affortable Home School

Tips on How to Afford Homeschooling

You have made the leap. You are now a one-income family choosing to school your children at home. Or maybe you are still in the deciding stage. Besides all of the thinking about your children's welfare and if homeschooling is right for your child and which curriculum to use, the next thing on your mind should be FINANCES! Yep, it costs money to homeschool, especially if you were used to two incomes and are now cutting it back to one.

How do you do it? What are some ways to help you truly budget and alter your lifestyle so you can make homeschooling work for you. Here are a few of my favorite tips:

*Have a Commitment Party: Budgeting is not easy because it means there will be sacrifices. If it were, we wouldn't have so many people in dept throughout the Unites States. Homeschooling on a budget needs the commitment and teamwork of you and your partner AND your children. Make sure you are all on board and understand what living on a "budget" means!

*Two months of Investigating: Take two months, and write down every single expense. I mean everything, from the gum you bought at the gas station to the plane tickets to see grandma and grandpa. The more detailed you make these "reports" of your spending, the better you and your spouse can sit down and realistically plan the budget. Yes, even the splurge outfit you bought at your favorite store. Honesty with yourselves is the key to having success with your budgeting process.

*Work on your Creativity: Maybe your budget it still a little tight and you and your spouse are having a very hard time living without some of the creature comforts you used to. That doesn't mean that you have to stop homeschooling. It just means you have to be creative. Sell things on EBay, have a garage sale, start a home-based business, do some free-lance work for your old employer. There's plenty of ways out there to make a few extra bucks.

*Leap, don't Hop: It's just like pulling a band-aid off. Rip it quickly and never ever slowly pull it off. When you are ready to start putting your budget into action, don't look back. Don't think of the "better" days when things were easier. Also, be careful to hide some of these feelings and emotions from your kids so they don't feel like they are causing a problem or get a complex over money you spend on them.

Always remember that most good things in life take sacrifices. Some of those sacrifices are big and some are small, but they are all worth it when you do it for people whom you love!

Carol Currie

Carol Currie is highly active in the homeschooling community and is the author of several homeschool e-books that guide parents through the process of homeschooling.


Web     Home School Jewel

Disclaimer | Privacy | Contact Us