9 Ways to Save by Homeschooling

Sometimes I get frustrated because I don’t feel as if I am contributing anything to my family.  (And by anything I mean money).  I am busy from before the sun comes up until well after dark trying to make everything run smoothly for my family.  I am the housekeeper, teacher, chaffeur, organizational expert, cook, mama, and entertainment coordinator.  It has been said that if a mama was paid going rate for everything that she does she would have no money problems whatsoever.  However, that is not my story.  Even though I do so much, I feel so guilty for not contributing to the financial stability of my family.  Do any of you ever feel that way?

Every time I go through this guilt and share it with my husband, he encourages me by telling me how I am actually saving not only money, but I am lessening his stress.  So I would like to share some of these ideas with you to encourage you when you are feeling this particular “mama guilt.”

 

1. I save money on clothes.

     This is probably my favorite one.  Most days I spend in my favorite jeans and t-shirts.  We could even do school in our jammies if we wanted to.  Not only that, but my local Goodwill or rummage sale allows me to get good quality clothing for not much money.  My children are also not exposed to the necessity of having the latest fashions. I probably spend less than $100 on clothing a year for each of them.  Wonderful way to save!  

 

2. I save money on school supply shopping.

     I do have to admit that I always enjoyed shopping for school supplies, and if I need some I usually buy them during the back to school season.  But it is nice to be able to ignore the multiple school supply lists at my local Walmart.  I only have to buy what I absolutely need.

 

3. I save money on after school care and daycare during the summer months.

     We are always together.  I do not need to spend money hiring someone else to watch my children.  When Super Stuffy was a baby, I finished out my school year in teaching.  We paid $90 a week for some one to watch him full time.  That was eleven years ago!  I can only imagine that the price has increased.  So even if I kept it at  $90 during the week for the two of them, I would spend $180 each week during the summer.   In addition, I save myself and my husband the worry and stress of leaving them with someone else.

 

4.  I save money on school lunches.

     When I went to school, the only school lunches available to me were every other Wednesday when we could order a meal from McDonald’s.   Nowadays, schools provide breakfast and lunch for each student if the parents desire.  Ever since the federal mandate came down telling schools what food they had to provide for the students, the tastiness of school lunches has steadily deteriorated.  I save $1260 on school lunches.  I can make lunches at home for between $1 and $2 a person most of the time.  Sometimes less than that.

 

5. I save gas money.

     I do not need to spend money on gas taking my child to and from school.  School buses are available to take my children to school, but I would choose not let them ride the school bus for the reasons of safety and time.  I took the bus to school for only three years, but those three years were enough to tell me that I didn’t want my children riding them.  They also save about an hour each way that it takes to ride the school bus to and from school.  

 

6. I save money on snacks.

     Most school classrooms ask parents to send snacks to school once a month.  Providing a snack for up to 30 students once a month can become rather expensive.  Not to mention avoiding all the possible allergens.  I save $40 to $50 per child each year by not having to provide a snack.  

 

 

7. I save money on fundraising.

    Most schools have some sort of fundraising campaign.  I am not a good salesperson.  When I was involved in my own fundraising efforts in high school, I don’t remember selling anything.  We sold M&M’s, and I ate a lot of them, and basically forced my parents to pay for the rest.  If my children had to work on selling items for fundraisers, I do not believe that it would go very well and we would pay for those fundraisers out of our own budget.  I save a couple hundred dollars by not participating in these fundraisers.

 

 

8. I save money on vacations.

     What do vacations have to do with homeschooling??  Because we are homeschooling, we can choose anytime to go on our vacations.  We can do things in the middle of the week or during the off season.  Since prices are cheaper during the week or during the off season, we save money on our vacations.

 

 

9. Priceless

     I believe that this is the most important category.  The ability to have close relationships with my children, to know them inside and out, to tailor their education to their specific needs as an individual, to know that they are safe, and most importantly, to train them in the knowledge of God and model Christlikeness to them day in and day out, makes the choice to homeschool easy.  Even if it would cost more to homeschool them, I still would make the choice to homeschool because of these reasons.  The fact that it costs less to homeschool is just icing on the cake.  How thankful I am for the freedom to homeschool my children.  

 

These are only nine reasons that came to my mind as I was writing.  I am sure that there are more.  Do you have any that I have forgotten?  Leave a comment and let me know!