I’m still here.  Feeling a bit queasy off and on – and still waiting on that kidney stone of hubby’s to pass (they gave him medicine that’s supposed to help dilate the ureters a bit to help it pass more readily, but it’s still been five days since that) – so I’ve been rather distracted.  But I’m still here.

Yesterday I went to a used curriculum sale.  I spent $51.50 and got over $250 worth of curriculum from our list, plus a handful of other books, and I want to share a few specifics of how I do things that someone might find helpful.

1. Buy ahead.

This is just a general principle of frugality; it works for curriculum, food, clothing – whatever.  If you are able to buy ahead, you can usually net the greatest savings.  In this case, that means that I made a list before Ariel started school of everything I thought we would probably use for her entire school career.  (I am aware that this may change some, but it’s a starting point.)

Granted, this was probably easier for me than for many people, because, having been homeschooled myself, I knew my philosophy of homeschooling better than many parents do when they’re first starting out.  But the more you are able to do this (without being so inaccurate as to be useless), the better.  This gives me lots of time to find good prices on things.  If something costs $50 new and I need it eight years from now, I can afford to wait on a really good price.  If I need it this year, then $40 may be the best deal I can find in time.

So only buy as far in advance as you reasonably can, but do buy as far in advance as you reasonably can.

2. Carry a list.

I made my list several years ago, in a green spiral notebook, and I still have that notebook.  I carry it with me every time I go to a used curriculum sale.  When I buy something, I mark it in the notebook.  That way, I always know what we still need, and (as you’ll see in #3) how much I should pay for it.

3. Include prices.

I invested some time, once, in looking up the best prices I could find on each item.  (Within reason.  I didn’t check every single price against every single retailer everywhere.  But I did check each one against each of a handful of sources I knew to be well-priced – for instance, Amazon and Rainbow Resource.)

The “best price” is written beside each item, so when I find something, I can quickly look it up to see if it’s a good deal.  If I don’t need something for eight years yet, I might not be willing to buy it for more than 50% of retail.  But if I need it for this year, or it’s really hard to find, I might pay 90% or 95%.  (By now, the prices I wrote down are probably a tad low on most items, due to inflation!)

4. Write down what you paid.

This is a totally optional step, but I like to make a note of where I bought something and how much I paid, so that I can go back and see how much I’ve saved.  It’s not necessary, but it makes me feel productive. 🙂

And for those of you are asking, “What’d you get?  What’d you get?!”  🙂  This is what I actually bought yesterday:

• Classical Conversations Foundations book and a smattering of CD’s (including the cycle 1 audio CD I was after, and the cycle 2 audio CD – we don’t do CC, but I want to make use of the memory recordings)
• Streams of Civilization, volume 2
• Learn to Write the Novel Way
• Usborne Growing Things
• Exploring Creation with Physical Science
• What in the World is Going on Here? vol. 1
• God and the History of Art
• Considering God’s Creation
• a constellation reference thingie (it rotates to show you which constellations should be visible at which times of the year)
• Sacred Marriage
• Captivating
  
• Science Arts
• Anna Banana (a book of jump rope rhymes)
• another jump rope book
• Using the Cuisenaire Rods
• You are Mine (a Max Lucado picture book)
• The Well-Trained Mind
• a guide to using Joomla!  (computer book) for my sister
• Creative Family Times
• Chemistry for Every Kid