Homeschooling on One Income

For many families, choosing to homeschool means transitioning from two incomes to one income. While this can be challenging, it is doable for many families. The transition from two full-time incomes to homeschooling on one income will likely require some changes to your family’s lifestyle, but it’s worth it!

Homeschooling on One Income

Homeschooling on one income usually requires eliminating unnecessary expenses and saving money wherever possible. Here are some ways to do this.

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Budget, budget, budget!

I can’t stress this enough! When there’s no extra money to spare, you need to budget where every dollar goes. You can create a budget in Excel, Google Sheets, or simply on a sheet of notebook paper. Record all your family’s monthly expenses (mortgage, utilities, groceries, clothing, entertainment, etc.) in the budget. You may need to estimate some costs, like groceries and gas, if you aren’t sure how much your family currently spends. Be sure not to forget small expenses like streaming services or bills you pay quarterly or annually. For example, if you pay $75 every three months for trash collection, you would budget $25 for this each month. Remember to also set aside money each month for things like home and auto maintenance. If, after adding up everything on your budget, the total is more than your family’s income, look for items to reduce or eliminate.

Throughout the month, constantly monitor the budget to ensure you stay within the amount budgeted for each item. If you reach the budgeted amount in a nonessential category like entertainment or dining out before the end of the month, stop spending on that item for the remainder of the month. If you spend more than the budgeted amount on a necessity like groceries, try to look for another area on the budget that you can reduce to make up the difference. If your family consistently goes over budget in a category, carefully examine where the money went. Sometimes you may find that you underestimated how much your family needs to spend on a category and will need to increase its budget. Other times, you may realize that you have been overspending and be able to find ways to cut back in that area.

Say no to debt!

Debt often prevents families from homeschooling on one income. Credit card debt, especially, is costly. For example, a credit card with a balance of $5,000 and an interest rate of 24% would take 22.5 years to pay off if making only the minimum payment of $25 per month. The total amount paid over time would be $15,163, which is triple the original amount! I don’t know about you, but I can’t afford to pay triple for my purchases. If your family has debt, especially high-interest credit card debt, budget as much money as possible towards paying it off.

To avoid relying on credit cards for unexpected expenses, like home and car repairs, budget to set aside money each month in an emergency fund. Also, save throughout the year for things like Christmas gifts, vacations, and anything else that can be planned for in advance. If you use credit cards to earn cash back or travel points, pay the balance in full each month to avoid interest. The interest will cost much more than you receive from those programs.

Don’t let food eat a hole in your budget!

The occasional fast food meal, coffee run, or convince store snack may not seem like very much money at the time, but if you track how much your family spends on these things over the course of a month, you’ll find that these “small” purchases can quickly add up to a lot of money. Prepare freezer meals ahead of time instead of relying on takeout. When you cook a meal that freezes well, prepare a double recipe and freeze half for when you don’t have time to cook. Also, your spouse and other employed household members should pack a lunch to take to work rather than go out to eat daily.

Reducing what your family spends at the grocery store is another way to save money. Cook food from scratch rather than relying on packaged foods. Not only is this healthier, but it’s also much cheaper. Look for sales, shop at discount stores, and choose store brands over name brands. I also recommend avoiding subscription services like Blue Apron and Hello Fresh. These services are convenient, but that convenience comes at a premium price. You can choose your own recipes and shop at the grocery store for significantly less.  

Cut the cable!

Cable television is an unnecessary expense. We cancelled our cable service years ago and have never missed it. Instead, consider a streaming service like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Paramount+, or Amazon Prime Video. These services range from about $8 to $15 per month, with ad-free versions of some services costing a little more. Look at which programs and movies each service includes and choose the one that best fits your family’s needs. Don’t sign up for too many streaming services, though, or you could end up spending as much as you were on cable or satellite. I like Amazon Prime because it also includes free two-day shipping from Amazon, which saves us a lot of money when we shop online.

Phone in more savings!

Cell phones can be quite costly, but are something few people would choose to go without. However, affordable options are available. Shop around for the lowest-priced phone service that meets your family’s needs. For us, that is currently Cricket Wireless. They have plans starting at only $30 per month. And if you sign up with our referral link, Cricket will give you a $25 credit.

After you choose a phone plan, I recommend reevaluating your choice at least once a year. A better deal may have become available, and it’s easy to port your number from one service provider to another. Also, if your phone still works, keep using it! Constantly upgrading to the latest model is costly and unnecessary. Beware of plans that offer a “free” phone. Often, these plans cost significantly more per month than plans where you purchase your own (low to mid-tier) phone.

Compare and save!

Unfortunately, many companies don’t reward loyalty and offer better deals to new customers than existing ones. Each year, shop around and see what other companies charge for things like homeowners’ insurance, auto insurance, internet service, and cell phone service. Especially with insurance, you may discover that you have been overpaying hundreds of dollars a year, even when your current company gives you a “loyalty discount.”  While comparison shopping and changing services can be time-consuming, it has the potential to save your family a significant amount of money.

Learn to DIY!

Learning to do things yourself is a great way to save money when homeschooling on one income. From haircuts to minor home and automobile repairs and landscaping, there are many things you or other household members can DIY to save money. YouTube videos and other online tutorials make learning new skills easy. Plus, when you no longer work outside the home, you will have more time to accomplish things you couldn’t get to in the past.

But it is important to know your limits. There is no shame in calling a professional, such as a plumber or an electrician, for a repair you are uncomfortable doing. If you don’t have the skills to do a repair correctly, you could make the situation worse, leading to further expense when you are forced to call a professional. Additionally, if you don’t know what you are doing, you could create an unsafe situation, especially when working with electricity.

Drive it till the wheels fall off!

Well, maybe not till the wheels fall off, but do drive your car as long as possible. Monthly car payments can significantly strain a single-income family’s budget. If you have a car loan, focus on paying it off as quickly as possible. Once you’ve paid it off, continue to drive your car until it’s no longer worth repairing. Meanwhile, deposit what you were spending on your car payment into a savings account each month. Then, when your car eventually bites the dust, you can pay cash for a “new to you” used car. Driving older cars also allows you to save money on car insurance, as it’s often only necessary to carry liability insurance rather than a pricey full coverage policy.

 Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Thrift stores, yard sales, and Facebook resale groups will be your friends. Not only does buying used save your family money, but it also reduces waste. And when you need some extra cash for an unexpected expense, look around your home for things you can sell. This will help you stay within your budget while decluttering your home. Trading hand-me-down clothing with friends is another way to save money. When something breaks, repair it instead of replacing it. Also, consider new uses for items you already have. Maybe the pants that are too short for your child could be hemmed into shorts. Or perhaps that bookcase your neighbor discarded at the curb just needs a good cleaning or a fresh coat of paint.

Don’t overspend on homeschooling!

Some homeschool programs can be quite costly, but homeschooling doesn’t have to be expensive. There’s a curriculum available for every budget. It’s even possible to homeschool for free. On the main page of FreedomHomeschooling.com, you’ll find free curriculum for every grade and all subjects. If you can’t find free curriculum that meets your family’s needs, purchasing used curriculum is a great way to save. For more ways to reduce the cost of homeschooling, read How to Save Money on Homeschooling.

What if this isn’t enough?

Perhaps you have already made all the above changes and then some, but are still coming up short. Sometimes it just isn’t possible for a family to get by on one income. If this is the case for your family, it doesn’t mean you can’t homeschool. In many homeschool families, both parents work. It’s a misconception that the homeschooling parent can’t or shouldn’t work. Working and homeschooling will be challenging, but it can be done. This could involve continuing traditional full or part-time employment outside the home or working from home. In the past, I have worked nights while my husband worked during the day. For a while, I cleaned homes and businesses a couple of days a week. Currently, I work from home on this website.

Hopefully, by making some of the changes described in this post, you can transition to being a single-income family, but it likely won’t happen overnight. It can take time to get to that point. In the meantime, don’t let that discourage you from homeschooling.