Five Ways to Save on Homeschool Curriculum

One of the biggest expenses for most homeschooling families is curriculum. This is an area in which it’s easy to overspend! As I prepare for the upcoming school year, I am looking for ways to save on homeschool curriculum.

Five ways to save on homeschool curriculum
When we began homeschooling, I purchased two complete curriculums for two different subjects. As I stood in the vendor hall, they seemed liked good purchases at the time, but when they arrived on my doorstep, they were never to be used in our school. Since then, I have become more knowledgeable and savvy about determining what curriculum and school purchases are good fits for our homeschool.

As the years have progressed since we first started home educating, many of the materials we have used have become repeat items. This has eliminated the need to purchase more books and other materials. The only additional expense comes with replacing consumable items.

This year I wasn’t able to attend any homeschool conventions. It is difficult for me to resist spending money on all of those wonderful curriculums when they’re right there in front of me! I absolutely love being “stuck” in a vendor hall with homeschool curriculum and product companies. It is such a great high. Hopefully, I will be able to attend one/some next year. In future years, however, I’ll plan for what I intend to buy at each convention, will avoid making impulsive purchases, and will give myself a certain amount of money to spend (both on planned items and a few unplanned ones) and won’t go over that amount.

Besides staying home this year, I have learned others ways to make our school budget go further, so that we have plenty of money to purchase what we need and possibly some money to spare.

Your bookshelf
The bookshelves and walls along the floor in my office are full of curriculum that we have either used or plan(ned) to use or that I had the wonderful opportunity to review. So many of the items that I have reviewed in the past have become regular parts of our school. We homeschool year-around, but this summer I will be taking another look at the books that we may have started and set aside to see if they will fit into our studies for the fall.

Used curriculum sales
Used curriculum sales are happening everywhere this time of year! There are so many, but of course you can’t attend them all. If you learn of a sale prior to it happening, then see if there is a way to contact the coordinator or sellers who advertise that they will be attending. A quick e-mail or private message to either or both of them may make you privy to curriculum they have that you need. You will not only learn which sales to attend, but you may also be able to make purchases prior to the sale date.

Library
So many of us use the library, but it is often for books that we need at that moment of study. The librarians at the libraries we patronize are very accommodating when it comes to ordering books. Check your local library and its affiliates to see if the books you need are available. Inter-library loans will have a book you need delivered to a library near you. Most libraries have a budget for ordering books requested by patrons. Grab your list of needs and take it to your library. Since it may take a couple of weeks and possibly months for your book to arrive, place your order today. It will be on the library shelf by the time school begins. (NOTE: Of course it is possible that the specific book you need is not available. My library specifies that, if the book I want cannot be located within 6 weeks, the request is considered unfillable.)

Social media
I have a list of companies that I regularly use for different subjects that we cover in school. Since I know that I will make future purchases from these companies, I have joined their e-mail lists, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds and more, so that when they do special promotions and other sales, I will know about them and be able to save; sometimes really big as I recently did!

Homeschool gift registry
A few years ago, I got the idea to start a homeschool gift registry. My family members were always asking what they could purchase for our school. Although I had a long list, I was always stumped when they asked me the questions. After that, I decided to create a homeschool registry that I listed on my blog. I would add and delete as things were purchased or became needs. I also had a quick list that I could e-mail to anyone who inquired about ways to support our school. My parents, aunts, and other family members kept our school going with purchases that ranged from pencils to complete curriculums for different subjects. These were not presents for the children or me, but rather for our school.

How do you plan to save on school supplies and curriculum for the upcoming school year? We would love to hear any tips you can share!

Similar Posts