Watching pennies is a hard task to accomplish when it comes to purchasing curriculum. If any of you are like me, I just want to buy it all! I am like a kid in a candy shop and want to sample a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, and pretty soon my list of books and electronic media has reached titanic proportions. The unenviable task is to whittle my list down to a manageable amount and create a wish list. (sigh!) What can a homeschool mom do to stretch your hard-earned dollars?

Borrow I am thankful for friends who helped me along the way when I was homeschooling my children and lent me books. Remember that one good turn deserves another, so lend your books to others as well. One thing I learned was to label your books so that the person who borrowed will remember to whom it belongs. If you are really organized, keep a list of who borrowed your books so you can keep track. Sometimes I lend out homeschool books to families during portfolio reviews and forget that I lent it out. I am pleasantly surprised when the books are returned to me the next year! 🙂

Used library book sales are a treasure trove of wonderful finds that won’t break the ol’ bank. I have found great science books, biographies, and even some textbooks this way. If you live in a larger town, you may need to get there early since the selection is limited.

Thrift Stores sometimes will surprise you in what you can find there. Not only can you find books, but sometimes there are videos and computer games too.

Garage sales have been a boon for curriculum, science experiments, crafts, and trade books. I have even found a rocking chair to sit and read my books! You can get some great deals when you come upon a former teacher’s garage sale.

Used curriculum websites have been a place where I have not only purchased books, but have sold them as well. I have dealt exclusively with vegsource (Look under the Swap Board-> Items for Sale). I have had great success with this website. Caution!!  The amount of books that are for sale each day is overwhelming. If you do a find on your computer you can have the computer sort things out for you.

Homeschool Classifieds has curriculum categories so you don’t spend a lot of time perusing through curriculum.

Homeschool Trader is another site to check and see if they have what you need.