When we really break it down, in a conventional school setting, we pay too many fees that our children don’t really get to maximize, or can live without. Maintenance fees, yearbook fees, class picture fees. You are not required to pay for all of them, but you might feel pressured when most parents do. 

When homeschooling, you have an opportunity to cut down on a lot of expenses, if you plan it well enough. These savings are on top of all the benefits you get, like better teacher-to-student ratio and a more personalized education. 

If you’re doing it with an accredited homeschool provider, and we recommend you do (link of article here), homeschooling can cost at least P7,000 a year for tuition and registration fees. That’s excluding the books and other learning materials you may need for the curriculum. But if you’re resourceful enough, you can save money on those too!

Not sure if homeschooling can help you be more in control of your budget? Allow us to count the ways you can cut down on learning expenses when you homeschool:

1. Miscellaneous fees. These are extra fees you have to pay on top of the school tuition. Security, cleaning, and maintenance fees, which might’ve been making you wonder if they’re worth it at all. At home, your children feel secured within your four walls. And you can teach them to clean-up on their own, so you can get rid of that extra expense, too! 

2. Books and other learning materials. In most conventional schools, you are required to buy new books yearly, adding to the already expensive tuition and miscellaneous fees. But in homeschooling, that is not always necessary. 

If you’re resourceful enough, you can find a lot of free printable materials online from websites like Khan Academy. You can also buy much cheaper second-hand books or save your used ones for your younger kids. We recommend joining a good group of homeschooling parents as well (HG families have an exclusive online community on Facebook, called Fams of HG). Depending on the age of your children, you can almost always find someone to exchange learning materials with. 

3. Food and transportation. Instead of giving your child a daily lunch allowance, you can use it to prepare healthier meals that cost much less than the probably crappy meals sold at the school cafeteria. You can also get rid of monthly school bus fees or gas expenses spent when driving your child to and from school. 

4. Medical expenses. At school, our kids are exposed to a lot of elements, and a lot of kids. According to WebMD, their close proximity with each other and not so sanitary practices like licking their hands make them more susceptible to bacteria and viruses in schools. Most of the time, they only get minor diseases like colds and flu. But these are unnecessary exposures that they won’t have to face when studying at home. 

5. Clothes and accessories. Let’s face it, our kids grow too fast, they need new sets of uniforms almost every year. And then there is the peer pressure that would make them want to get the latest clothes, shoes, and accessories. At home, they don’t have to worry about keeping up with the trends. Aside from saving money, this also shapes their self-esteem properly and teaches your children to be more unique with their clothing choices.

6. Vacations. Yes, vacations! Just because you’re already always at home doesn’t mean you don’t need one. Actually, you will benefit from it more now. There are a lot of things a child learns when they travel, so this is also an opportunity to give them more practical lessons. 

When you’re homeschooling, you don’t have to wait for the usual season of school breaks to get a vacation. You can do it anytime, even on off peak periods. This saves a lot of money on airfares and hotel bookings. Also, you hit two birds with one stone as your child’s learning carries on even while you’re on vacation.

You’ll find that homeschooling will actually help you put your money where your mouth is—better education for your child, to help contribute to a brighter future for this generation.