With a library card and internet access, you can homeschool very inexpensively, and yes, even free if you don't count basic supplies like paper and pencils. When parents first start homeschooling often they are concerned about "keeping up" with the public schools or are concerned about their own skills in teaching their children, so they feel they need a complete curriculum that guides them and their children through every subject. However, this is unnecessary and new homeschoolers can miss out on some of the benefits and freedom that can be reaped from homeschooling: self-motivated learners, learning that capitlalizes on the learning style of each child, learning through real life examples, and more!

Really as homeschoolers, we can get by pretty lightly compared to other parents at "Back-to-School" time. Most parents with children in public school have a list of required materials which is very specific. A couple years ago the mother of one of my art class students told me that she spent about $80 per child just on the required school materials on the supply lists - and this doesn't include the back-to-school clothes and public school "got to have" crazes.

Several years back I bought a used Accelerated Achievement Curriculum cd on ebay. This CD contains an entire K-12 curriculum and even at retail cost of about $99, it is a great value. It includes books that are no longer under copyright restrictions, so the developer of this curriculum could include them all on the CD. You can get complete libraries of children's books on CD on ebay as well. Since that time I came across the Old Fashioned Education website. Miss Maggie has an entire K-12 curriculum on her website based on copyright-free books that is completely free. You could use just this site and your library if you are on a very tight budget.

I really recommend getting used curriculum whenever possible until you know the material suits you and your child. If you have only spent a few dollars on something and it doesn't work for your child, you can re-sell it on ebay or give it away. The curriculum should fit the child, not the other way round.

Often times other homeschoolers will have books they are not using that school year or not until later in the school year that they will let you borrow. Looking through a book is not always enough to really see how it will work for you and your child. Sometimes you may look over a book that you think your child and you will not like and it turns out to be great and vice versa.

I consider a good printer one of the necessities because it can save you a lot of money. You can save money by refilling ink cartridges and getting recycled cartridges on ebay. You should be able to cut the cost of copying or printing to 1 cent a page this way. I have an All-in-One printer that copies and have used it to copy consumable workbooks so my younger children could use the same materials later. I also got a duplex printer on Ebay about a year or two ago, which is great. It makes printing copyright-free books much easier than having to flip pages around to print on both sides.

If you are on a very tight budget, let people know you are looking for a printer. Businesses and people with home offices often upgrade and may even give you their old one for free, or at least at an inexpensive price.

CurrClick is a great site if you suddenly find you need a resource for you child and need it NOW. All the books and audios are downloadable immediately and you can access any of your purchases from the website if you forget to save them before reformating, or even worse, have a computer crash. Since the ebook can printed multiple times for your own families use, it can save you money, and having resources in Ebook form saves room on your bookshelves.

If you subscribe to CurrClick's free Newsletter , they will send you the details and link to a free resource each week, a tip, and information on current sale items.

If you are looking for more ideas to save on homeschooling cost, subscribe to my monthly Homeschooling Freedom Newsletter. Most issues have lots of resources and ideas on this very topic: Saving Money on Homeschooling: Free and Inexpensive Homeschooling Resources.

Homeschooling Freedom is a website with homeschooling resources for entrepreneurial & financial savvy homeschoolers, or for any homeschooler interested in affordable homeschooling ideas or teaching financial smarts to their children.