8/05/2008

Tightwad Tuesday


 


Being Frugal with Curriculum


We are beginning our 18th year of homeschooling. When I started homeschooling I bought everything new and I bought all the teachers manuals. I soon learned I did not use the teachers manuals much. ( just the answer keys for math) We went through some financial difficulties and I had to learn how to obtain curriculum for very little money. I borrowed, bartered, used the library, and sought out used bookstores. I also go to thrift stores. I have been doing this every since and saving hundreds of dollars.


I just purchased all I need for this year and am pleased to say I spent $30.70. I borrowed a math book. ( was actually my oldest sons years ago and has come back home for a while. amazing how stuff travels around the homeschool community!) The rest of our needed items I got at our used homeschool bookstore. First I cleaned out my book shelves and turned excess in for store credit.  My credit was 41.00. My used book purchase was 56.00. ( on this trip, I have made two trips with my total cost of 30.70)


What I like about the store I use is that the receipt shows how much you saved by comparing new vs used cost.  My total savings was 112.00. Now for those of us that use coupons you know that is a great deal!

3 comments:

  1. blessedwith2angelsAugust 4, 2008 at 6:13 PM

    I agree with you 100 percent. It is easier to borrow or buy used than spend lots of money for curriculum that you won't use much anyway.

    Pam

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a great tip!


    It's our 9th year and I need to get rid of some of the curriculum we're no longer using. I'll have to check out our used bookstore to see what their requirements are!!


    Thanks for the tip!!

    Robyn

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello. I thought I would pop over to see you. The short time I was in TN, there was a store named "McKays", that I absolutely loved!! They took in used books, magazines, and videos. You can either get cash or store credit. The store credit was always higher in value than cash, of course. But, I did find many of the items I needed through there. In TN, we had to pay for every inter-loan at the Library, so needless to say, we didn't utilize the library very much!


    I, too, am beginning to believe I don't need teacher's keys, except for Math. LOL.

    ReplyDelete


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