Some practical solution and ideas to manage a large family on one income. A positive look at making things work out when there are limited funds.

If someone offered you a million dollars in exchange for not homeschooling your children, would you take them up on it? Whether you’ve been homeschooling for a while, or just started recently, you’ll miss out on a substantial amount of earnings over the time you homeschool. Economists call this an “opportunity cost,” meaning what something costs you in lost opportunities. Each time you make a choice between two or more things, you incur some opportunity costs.

When parents are considering homeschooling, they need to count the cost because there are many expenses to consider when contemplating educating their children. The costs are not just financial, but also emotional and physical.

Most parents believe educating their children is an expensive proposition. According to The Homeschooling Book of Answers, public schools spend nearly $7,000 per pupil per year. What if you were told there were families providing an excellent education for their homeschooled child for $50 per year? And even for those who splurge on a few beautiful books occasionally, they can easily manage to keep their total expenses under $200 a year. Sound impossible? Here's how.

A look at some of the reason not to buy used curriculum. What and where you purchase your curriculum (and any other homeschool-related books) will have a much greater impact on the homeschool market than it would in any other only because of how small this market is.

There seems to be a collective thought about money - that homeschoolers don't have any. Not only that, but because there is a belief that homeschoolers don't have any money, there seems to be an underlying assumption that resources, information, and services should be provided dirt cheap, if not for free. Why? What is it with homeschoolers and money?

Do the math: Home schooling is cheaper than private school, but can cost more than you think. There are ways to cut the price.

The Dollar Stretcher is a website with lots of money saving and frugal living information. They offer tips and suggestions for making the most of your budget. You can also sign up for their free money saving newsletters.

There are now so many resources available for free or very low cost that money should not be a deciding factor.

Homeschoolers can get a 15% off discount card for a fee, allowing you to receive the discount off of all your purchases.

Website full of ideas to cut costs while homeschooling without sacrificing a high quality of education. Includes information on saving money, home educator discounts, ideas for funding college, and more. They also sponsor a forum to discuss your frugal ideas.

This newsletter aims to help you provide your children with a high quality homeschooling education at the lowest possible cost.

How much are supplies for unschooling? It ranges somewhere between nothing and everything--the whole budget. Once a family starts to consider everything educational, even groceries and cleaning supplies are educational. For beginners, though, part of the trick is working on the definition of "educational."