How to Save Money with Digital Homeschool Curriculum
Aren’t we always looking for the best ways to save money? As a family on one income, we have to make our dollars stretch and while I’d love to have that all in one homeschool curriculum package that includes all of the books, it just doesn’t happen for me. It means library trips and buying used homeschool curriculum.
Now factor in the fact that I’m in Canada well it’s even harder. Shipping costs a ton and the value of our dollar is horrendous. And you know most curricula companies are based in the United States. Not to mention the duties U.S. purchases incur on top of shipping and the exchange, it seriously hurts our wallet.
Well, enter my favorite type of homeschool curriculum, digital versions so that I don’t need to buy a giant book that will take up space on my shelves.
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How to Save Money on Digital Homeschool Curriculum
Well, why would you want digital files instead of books? Because I don’t have to worry about shipping and finding spaces for those books. I get them instantaneously after purchase and I can read it anywhere, from my desktop, tablet, or phone. I can even read at night since I co-sleep I like to read on my device in bed which obviously doesn’t work with a little one in there.
Saves on Shipping
This is huge for me because shipping costs in addition to duty costs really drive up the price for books because they’re so heavy. There are some curricula that I don’t need to print out and I can just read them from my device because they’re right at my fingertips.
Use what you need
It doesn’t save you money if you buy stuff you don’t need or won’t ever use. Don’t just buy it because it’s on sale. Keep an eye on things that you are in need of and it may be a subject for one child and see if there’s something available that you would actually use.
Takes up less space
You don’t need tons of shelving space for them or in my case a linen closet that could be used to hold other items. As long as you have a device, you’ll have access to it and if you use a cloud storage like Dropbox or Drive you can access it from any device which is a huge time saver for me.
Shop at the right time
The best time to shop is during the homeschool conference season so spring to August so you can hit those back to school sales. I know a lot of places offer discounts on Black Friday too but I usually save that money for gift shopping for the kids.
Take advantage of bundle sales
There are usually several each year and I love me some bundle sales. I don’t look at how much I’d be saving because if I bought one of those bundles I’d save x amount. Rather I look at what I need and what I’d use, do those items cost more than the price of the bundle? If it does then yes, I’ll buy the bundle and the rest will just be extra things that I can use or just let sit there without causing me stress.
I also look to see if there’s anything I’ve been keeping an eye on so that I know if I’m getting a deal or if I can hold off an wait. Bundle sales usually last for only a week so I always wait until the last minute to buy because I want to make sure I’ve looked over everything thoroughly.
Keep your digital files organized
Nothing wastes money like forgetting what curriculum you already had. Seriously, I once bought an eBook twice because I forgot I already had a copy. Yeah, it sucked. Make sure to download your purchases right away but also organized them by subject and by grade so it will be easy for you to find them again when you really need them.
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