Before deciding to homeschool, one of the most important factors to consider is whether or not it is a possibility from an income perspective. While the costs to homeschool are fairly low, if it’s costing you an income then it may not be the right choice.

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We get quite a few questions from people interested about our homeschool life when they learn we aren’t taking the traditional path for Viv into public or private school.

However, I don’t really get this question because I think people are too embarrassed or scared to ask, so I usually just offer up the information because I think it is so important to be transparent about. I know it feels taboo to talk about income and finances. But this is a major life decision for a lot people and financially it can really impact your family, especially if it involves someone leaving their job.

I consider this one of the biggest factors in whether or not you are able to make it work for your family.

I’ve been primarily a stay-at-home mom now for going on four years which required me leaving my job in the finance industry. While I didn’t make hundreds of thousands of dollars, it was still income contributing to our family and it was an adjustment.

My husband and ran lots of different scenarios with our finances, multiple times, over the course of multiple discussions. We decided that, for us, it made sense for me to leave my job because after the cost of daycare, I wasn’t really contributing much else. That and having the time freedom, we would be able to make it work on just my husband’s income.

That was a few years ago now, and it’s continued to work for our family. Which is why homeschooling for us really isn’t a tough financial decision. We’re making it comfortably on my husband’s income alone, and while there are some small startup expenses for homeschooling, it’s nothing that breaks the bank for us.

I’m not naive to think that this is everyone’s situation. There are plenty of parents who would prefer to homeschool, but need the dual income of both parents working in order to sustain their lifestyle. It’s expensive to live these days.

When I say “lifestyle” I don’t mean of the rich and famous. I mean your everyday living expenses and what you and your family are used to. That could be as basic as the house you live in and the vehicles you drive, or as much as enjoying a few week long family vacations in Hawaii per year. It could mean buying a few extra fun things at Target each week. Whatever your normal looks Iike for you and your family.

If homeschooling your kids would require you to leave your job, or find something part-time, that has to be a factor and discussion. I encourage you to have several conversations about it with your partner or spouse over the course of a week or two.

Review numbers over and over. Run pretend scenarios. Talk about what would happen if there was a major expense that came up (vehicle needed replacing, furnace goes out, appliance needs replacing, etc.).

If you can make it work for your family with mild interruption, or you can all handle a reasonable lifestyle change, then you have one of the major hurdles handled, in my opinion.

The financial impact to homeschool is minimal, but there are some costs that I’m happy to share.

Our annual curriculum fee for Viv’s online platform, Time4Learning, is about $350. This covers pre-k to 5th grade, so she can work ahead if she wants and is able to without any financial penalty. For example, once she finished preschool, we didn’t have to pay again for her to start kindergarten curriculum. She could just start (and she did, in March, when she finished preschool and wanted to keep going until summer break).

We also ordered a kindergarten curriculum through The Good and the Beautiful, because their spiral bound workbook curriculum is really lovely and has both teacher and student section within, so you just follow the bouncing ball as you work through each lesson together. It’s also really pretty with fun activities. Viv loves it.

And if it’s important to you, it is a faith based curriculum. Full transparency, it was not the reason we bought it, but it truly is one of the best on the market for a non-screen option. It cost us about $100 for the kindergarten curriculum. This one you do pay per grade versus the annual subscription to Time4Learning.

If you are new to staying home, your grocery bill may go up slightly. We aren’t new to that, so it doesn’t change much for us. It could go down if you’re used to grabbing your lunch as take-out. But factor it in when you’re thinking about expenses. Especially because groceries are not cheap these days.

Something else that is small, but most people don’t think about is the tax break. In Minnesota, you do get a kickback if you homeschool your kids–$1625 for K-6 grade and $2500 7-12 grade, per kid. There are two credits you are eligible for: K-12 Education Subtraction and K-12 Education Credit. One does not have an income cap, the other one does. It’s something to look into and have your radar on while you’re planning.

On the subject of taxes, you don’t get to write off every single thing you deem is needed for homeschool, so don’t get too excited. There are rules.

I keep a spreadsheet from year to year just in case anything changes ever, but you can check out what is eligible for qualifying expenses to write off on the Minnesota Department of Revenue website.

You may also save some money in smaller ways by homeschooling. We stick pretty close to home, so my vehicle only needs gas about once a week to week and a half. Which also reduces wear and tear and how often I need oil changes.

Back to School shopping is very minimal for us. I think the only thing we needed heading into this year was pencils, and only because Viv sticks them in her workbooks and artist pads so very quickly we’re down to two available at a time.

We replenish supplies as we need them, but we don’t spend a ton up front.

We also don’t have a lunch account we need to replenish. I know that can get expensive, especially for older kids who buy À la carte items like sports drinks or chips or cookies that don’t come with the normal lunch.

Another way to save money as a homeschooling family is by creating a homeschool ID for yourself with your picture and your (made up) school name. You can get homeschool discounts at places, like Target for a 20% off back to school coupon, children’s museums, history centers, and other destination places. I made mine in Canva in about 10 minutes, and 7 of those minutes was trying to decide what to call our “school.”

There are more and more places offering homeschool families options for participation and discounting their fees, because back to school time for these places usually means a dip in business. Since homeschool families aren’t tied to school hours, we love getting out when it isn’t busy or peak season because there aren’t as many people around. And they want to get people through the door.

Finally, homeschooling can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be. Probably your biggest expense will be curriculum. It’s really helpful and a huge time saver to you (unless you are a teacher or former teacher and know what you’re doing).

You don’t have to spend a ton of money on field trips or experiences. Or you can because maybe you’re saving money by homeschooling. Everyone’s situation is different, but the important thing is that you make it work for your family without stressing everyone out, including yourself.

Until next time,