As an adult, the cost of everything is always something to consider.
You are constantly weighing your options against your budget, or measuring the cost implications of indulging in certain activities.
It doesn’t end there, especially if you have kids.
You simply become an accountant and a good one at that with the ability to easily categorize things as necessity or luxury.
For many parents, giving their children the education comes with a lot of decision making, what school to attend?
And then again, how much does it cost?
For parents who have explored the idea of homeschooling, will ask “is homeschooling expensive?”
This is probably the major concern for parents who are looking to embark on the journey of homeschooling.
It can also be a very tough question to answer because there is not a one size fits all cost attached to homeschooling.
What one family may consider expensive might be quite reasonable to another.
But the real concern isn’t exactly the price figure, it is more about the things that they might be purchasing should they decide to have their child homeschooled.
This isn’t usually something that you will worry about when you are sending your child to a school, but it will find it helpful to know that homeschooling costs will be split into three categories:
- online or offline curriculum
- books and education supplies
- extracurricular activities (including local classes, field trips, athletics, etc.)
One major reason why it can be difficult to peg an average cost for homeschooling is that every family has a peculiar homeschool situation.
For instance, if your child is dyslexic and you have decided to homeschool him because his current school has failed to give him the attention that he needs, then you will have to factor in additional costs of the reading program and even the services of a specialized instructor.
A family who resides in a city where there are many free libraries and museum programs, and a thriving homeschooling community will only spend a few hundred dollars in homeschooling per year.
This is not to make a case for traditional schooling, because they also come with a lot of additional fees for books, activities, sports, and many more.
You already have an idea of what you are getting into.
This is where it gets tricky with homeschooling, many parents are usually unaware of the many additional costs that they might incur along the way.
Many parents who are new to homeschooling may find that it adds to their monthly expenses in ways that they may have not put into consideration.
Having an idea of what costs you might be incurring while homeschooling might help you realize the many ways that homeschooling can impact your finances.
This will also help you to budget adequately and make room for those inevitable additional costs.
For example, homeschooling may attract extra costs such as:
- Additional gas money for outings, field trips, homeschool group activities, classes and so on.
- Cost of supplies for crafts, science projects, and several hands-on projects that you and your child will be doing together while at home.
- You might be spending more on groceries. Spending more time at home means more snacking.