Let’s face it, as homeschool parents, we like to find the best deals on all things homeschool for our child and children! Today I’m going to give you my most amazing money-saving homeschool hacks that you can start doing today!
**This post contains affiliate links. I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a link, at no extra cost to you.**
Whether you’re on a tight budget, keeping massive track of your personal finances, have embraced the frugal living lifestyle, or you’re just an extreme cheapskate (like I can be!), you will love these homeschool money-saving tips to help you stay within your homeschool budget.
Now, for the sake of organization, I am going to separate these homeschool hacks into groups.
You’re welcome! Let’s dive in!
Amazing Money-Saving Homeschool Hacks
You will find many useful ways to save money on your homeschooling expenses this school year by implementing a variety of these budget-friendly tips.
School Supplies
School supplies for your child, even for a homeschooler, can rack up in cost fairly quickly each year, especially with multiple children.
Here are a few money-saving hacks for school supplies:
Stick to the Basics
Don’t let the fancy stuff pull you in!
Get some pencils, erasers, paper, glue, rulers, color crayons, markers, etc. and you’ll be set! If you do end up needing something special for an assignment, get it only when you need it!
Look for Sales!
Sometimes you can do some massive coupon stacking on school supplies, which is very helpful! Clip your coupons and utilize them when you shop for your school supplies.
Walmart has Great Deals!
I’ve noticed that Walmart typically has very good and low prices on most school supplies. Of course, you can always price check an individual homeschool supply to make sure, but I’ve noticed their prices on basic school supplies are usually some of the best!
Stick with the Plain Stuff
Instead of going for the fancier notebooks with glitter, or the fun, pre-decorated binders, choose the plain ones and have your child decorate theirs if they like.
I still remember each year before starting school, I would take my new white binders to my room, grab some of those old 90′- early 2000’s teen magazines, and cut out all the pictures of my favorite bands, and would make photo collages for my binder covers. Totally aging myself here!
Tell your child to get creative and they can decorate their most cost-effective, plain binders and notebooks, instead of buying the decorated ones.
Buy School Supplies in Bulk
Sometimes it just makes more sense to buy the pack of 10 glue sticks for $1.99, as opposed to the pack of 3 glue sticks for $0.99, or one glue stick for $0.29.
Do yourself a favor and do a little mental math to see if buying the school supplies in bulk makes more sense.
Shop Clearance AFTER school Begins
One cool hack would be to wait until AFTER school has begun when stores are discounting all the school supplies to get rid of them, and stock up then!
Stock up When You Can!
If you happen to hit an awesome deal on school supplies, whether it be a coupon, bulk discounts, or clearance items, STOCK UP! You might not need 7 boxes of pencils in one year, but I guarantee you’ll need pencils for many years to come. So when the boxes of pencils go on clearance, stock up on them and hold onto them for the next few years.
Use Rewards Points
When you accumulate rewards points at local stores that offer them, use those points to redeem some free school supplies!
Curriculum
Here are a few money-saving hacks for homeschool curriculums:
Buy the Digital Version of Curriculum
This is typically only beneficial if you have HP Instant Ink, or something similar where you have unlimited ink cartridges, as we do. (If you use my affiliate link right HERE, you will get ONE FREE month of HP Instant Ink).
Especially when you have multiple children doing the same curriculum, it is a great idea to buy the digital version (which is also cheaper). That way you can just print the needed pages as you need them.
Not to mention, this is a great idea when you want to continue using that specific curriculum for another child when they reach that particular grade level.
There are also many digital downloadable curriculums available all around the internet.
Curriculum Swaps
Homeschool Curriculum Swaps… many homeschool groups or homeschool co-ops have them.
Basically, everyone can bring homeschool curriculums they aren’t using and you can swap with each other.
If your homeschool group or homeschool co-op doesn’t have a curriculum swap, consider starting one yourself!
Better yet, if you don’t have a homeschool group, you can use the tips found in this post to start your very own homeschool group, the easy way!
Buy your Curriculum Used or Gently Used
You can buy a used curriculum for a fraction of the cost of new. And by “used”, this doesn’t always mean that the curriculum was written in or really even “used”, it’s just sold second-handed.
Places like:
- Ebay
- Craigslist
- OfferUp
- Thriftbooks.com (use this link to get a FREE book credit to your account when you spend $30 or more)
…and the such like are great places to buy used curriculums.
Borrow Some From your Friends
Do you have friends using the same History Unit study as you are? Ask your homeschooling friends if you can borrow something they’re not using at that time.
If they have older kids and your’s are younger, borrow the stuff their older child is no longer using.
**Special note: It is not permitted that you use your friends’ digital purchase download for your own use. This is against digital download policies.
Homeschool Bundles
Keep an eye out for homeschool bundles. They are heavily discounted and you can basically get close to $1,000+ worth of homeschool printables, for the inexpensive price of like $27-$39.
Don’t Write in the Books!
Don’t write in consumable books if you don’t have to, especially when you have other children who could potentially use that book.
Have your kids write all their answers in a notebook, or make copies of each page using the amazing HP Instant Ink program! (Get a free month by using this link).
Being able to re-use the curriculum you’ve already purchased will save you a ton of money each year!
Get the Teacher Card at Staples
Get the teacher card at Staples (currently applies to homeschoolers aka home educators) for great teacher discounts.
Stock up on school supplies in August when they do their AMAZING sales. Price compare with other big box stores. Pull up their flyers online, and hit those sales!
Use FREE Online Curriculums
Use free educational websites like Edheads, Khan Academy (we use Khan Math Academy all the time when we’re stuck on math concepts), and other free, educational websites!
Do a quick Google search such as:
“free kindergarten math worksheets”
“free middle school book report printable”
“free 5th-grade science experiments”
You get the idea!
Use What you Have!
When doing things like science experiments, you’d be surprised at the number of projects you can do just by using household items you have already at home.
Skip the fancy science kits and create your own!
Dollar Tree Workbooks
Who says you need to buy expensive homeschool curriculum books?
The Dollar Tree has some wonderful workbooks that work great for younger grades like preschool through upper elementary age, especially when they just need extra practice.
Homeschool Convention
It’s a great idea to go to a Homeschool Convention so you can speak to the individual brand sales reps to get information on specific curriculums.
Sometimes though, buying a curriculum at a homeschool convention isn’t the more frugal route.
Browse through the homeschool convention, make notes of the curriculums you like, and then get on the computer at home and look online for used versions. You’ll save more money this way!
Homeschool Room
Here are a few money-saving hacks for your homeschool room:
Keep things Simple
Of course, like any other homeschool parent, you want to decorate your homeschool room all fancy-like, but sometimes, simplicity is better and more frugal!
Especially if you’re schooling in a small homeschool space you’ll want to keep things as minimal as possible.
Shop the Dollar Store (Dollar Tree)
Surprisingly, the Dollar Tree has some amazing things for homeschool rooms.
Some of my favorite things to buy at the Dollar Tree for a home school room:
- Educational Posters
- Bins
- Homeschool Room Decor
- Supplies Holders
- Organization Stuff
- Arts and Crafts Stuff
Printing
Here is my favorite money-saving homeschool hack for printing:
HP Instant Ink
One of my all-time favorite homeschool money-saving hacks is to utilize the HP Instant Ink program that HP offers.
Basically, you choose your monthly page print limit (which can also be changed to lesser or more printed page options at any time).
You get to print that amount of pages per month, and they will automatically send you as many ink cartridges as you need. HP is also notified when your computer is running low on ink and they send you out ink immediately.
If you use my affiliate link right HERE, you will get ONE FREE month of HP Instant Ink
Literature Books
Here are a few money-saving hacks for literature books:
Use Libraries!
Libraries are a HUGE homeschool resource! Let your local libraries become your best friend, as a homeschooling family.
I love putting books on hold via our library’s website, that way, I can just go to the library to pick up my books when they’re being held for us. Very wonderful!
You can also browse through your local libraries for books that will work with your current homeschool studies and unit studies.
Borrow Literature From Friends and Family
Once again, you can borrow books from your friends and family to save money.
Purchase Literature Books Used
I love purchasing books via Thriftbooks.com (use my link to get a FREE book credit after you spend $30), eBay, and also browsing on local resale apps like OfferUp and Craigslist.
There you have it, folks! I hope these amazing money-saving homeschool hacks will help you stay on budget. You’re welcome, from one homeschool mom to another!
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