Joy

Hi all, I don't post often but do read the forum a lot.

I am just curious, how many of you feel that being very financially secure is a necessity to homeschooling?

I'm just wondering because lately we have been meeting a lot of families (not unschoolers though as there aren't many in our area) who typically have one working parent who earns enough to support the family well, they have a stable job, benefits, etc and it seems that this working parent also has good job security.

Well, this is not our case at all. In order to unschool we had to make a lot of choices that went against the above grain.

First, when we started our family 6 years ago, we both just graduated from school and I stayed at home and hubby started to gain experience in entry level jobs. Then he decided he wants to be a bigger part of homeschooling so he has been freelancing from home and I am slowly starting to do the same (though it is much slower for me since I am still the main care giving/home educating parent).

So long story short, we by no means have any sort of solid financial stability and foundation.

Working from home has proved challenging as sometimes, in between contracts and clients we've depleted some of our savings and accumulated some debt.

And by no means can we afford right now to be picture perfect home schooling parents that provide their kids will all the little extras like the loads of extra-curricular activities we see other home schooling parents providing for their kids.

And at this point, we don't even have a basic foundation for emergencies and all of our necessities, should emergencies arise (like emergency dental work or money for a new car if we needed it, major home repairs, etc if we needed it).

So I am kind of wondering, are we in the minority - do majority of homeschooling families have that solid financial base.

Are we fooling ourselves since we are only now trying to build some sort of financial base by starting up several home businesses?

A part of me thinks that maybe experiencing these challenges is good as it is motivating us to work through these problems and build that solid foundation but I also wonder if maybe we are risking too much by not being in the space right now where we have money for emergencies. Are we just risking too much to unschool?

I totally agree with people when they say that you need to look at priorities and that the time with your kids is so much more than the material things or fancy vacations you can give them, but what about emergency money for our home, medical, dental care, food, etc.

It makes me weary that we don't have that, and I am wondering, are we the only ones in this tricky financial situation? Are the only people who end up homeschooling the ones that do have the financial bases covered for things like emergencies?

I consider us at least fortunate that we at the very least have our own house and are actually able to find the means to earn money from home but it will still take many years to get to the point where we have that solid base.

So a part of me is feeling guilty, like we are being irresponsible by pushing on with this without that base when technically we would already have that base if we both had jobs outside the home.

I don't mind that we are risk takers but there are risks you take yourself, like say, putting your own medical bills on hold and then there are risks that maybe aren't ok to take for your kids, like knowing that if your kids need emergency dental work the money is not there or the fact that we don't always know where our next pay cheque will come from.

Are we just crazy to take all this risk in order to unschool?

Or do a lot of unschooling families end up taking on a lot of risk too and they pull through it and it turns out all ok??

Kinda just wondering if we are just nuts to keep doing this now or if this is sometimes the normal (whatever normal is) process when you go against the grain and build an alternative life style?

Thanks so much for your thoughts,

Joy

Joy

Hi Linda, thanks for writing back. We fell into self-employment out of necessity.

At the time we moved to our area, hubby was commuting to a job that was about only 45 min away.

But the nearest city is about 1.5 hrs away and he has not been able to find a close job locally, and we have our house here now and we would lose money on it now if we sold it (as in, get into more debt because the house is worth less now than when we bought it since in the last couple of years housing prices have really gone down in our area).

So basically moving means getting more into debt.

And commuting 1.5 hrs one way is not doable (with traffic it would be about 2-2.5 hrs, so 3-5 hrs of commuting daily)

So basically...out of necessity it has been contract work/self-employment.


--- In [email protected], "Joy" <joy_bakker@...> wrote:
>
> Hi all, I don't post often but do read the forum a lot.
>
> I am just curious, how many of you feel that being very financially secure is a necessity to homeschooling?
>
> I'm just wondering because lately we have been meeting a lot of families (not unschoolers though as there aren't many in our area) who typically have one working parent who earns enough to support the family well, they have a stable job, benefits, etc and it seems that this working parent also has good job security.
>
> Well, this is not our case at all. In order to unschool we had to make a lot of choices that went against the above grain.
>
> First, when we started our family 6 years ago, we both just graduated from school and I stayed at home and hubby started to gain experience in entry level jobs. Then he decided he wants to be a bigger part of homeschooling so he has been freelancing from home and I am slowly starting to do the same (though it is much slower for me since I am still the main care giving/home educating parent).
>
> So long story short, we by no means have any sort of solid financial stability and foundation.
>
> Working from home has proved challenging as sometimes, in between contracts and clients we've depleted some of our savings and accumulated some debt.
>
> And by no means can we afford right now to be picture perfect home schooling parents that provide their kids will all the little extras like the loads of extra-curricular activities we see other home schooling parents providing for their kids.
>
> And at this point, we don't even have a basic foundation for emergencies and all of our necessities, should emergencies arise (like emergency dental work or money for a new car if we needed it, major home repairs, etc if we needed it).
>
> So I am kind of wondering, are we in the minority - do majority of homeschooling families have that solid financial base.
>
> Are we fooling ourselves since we are only now trying to build some sort of financial base by starting up several home businesses?
>
> A part of me thinks that maybe experiencing these challenges is good as it is motivating us to work through these problems and build that solid foundation but I also wonder if maybe we are risking too much by not being in the space right now where we have money for emergencies. Are we just risking too much to unschool?
>
> I totally agree with people when they say that you need to look at priorities and that the time with your kids is so much more than the material things or fancy vacations you can give them, but what about emergency money for our home, medical, dental care, food, etc.
>
> It makes me weary that we don't have that, and I am wondering, are we the only ones in this tricky financial situation? Are the only people who end up homeschooling the ones that do have the financial bases covered for things like emergencies?
>
> I consider us at least fortunate that we at the very least have our own house and are actually able to find the means to earn money from home but it will still take many years to get to the point where we have that solid base.
>
> So a part of me is feeling guilty, like we are being irresponsible by pushing on with this without that base when technically we would already have that base if we both had jobs outside the home.
>
> I don't mind that we are risk takers but there are risks you take yourself, like say, putting your own medical bills on hold and then there are risks that maybe aren't ok to take for your kids, like knowing that if your kids need emergency dental work the money is not there or the fact that we don't always know where our next pay cheque will come from.
>
> Are we just crazy to take all this risk in order to unschool?
>
> Or do a lot of unschooling families end up taking on a lot of risk too and they pull through it and it turns out all ok??
>
> Kinda just wondering if we are just nuts to keep doing this now or if this is sometimes the normal (whatever normal is) process when you go against the grain and build an alternative life style?
>
> Thanks so much for your thoughts,
>
> Joy
>

BRIAN POLIKOWSKY

Joy I see you posted this question at the Unschooling Basics and had some great responses. Now you are posting it here. 
Are you hoping to get  different answers? That maybe it cannot be done and you should not ?
Or  you want more ideas of how to do it with less money?
 People will give you great ideas  but they cannot tell you if you should do it or not.
I would welcome ideas myself!!
 
Alex Polikowsky

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Sandra Dodd

-=-I am just curious, how many of you feel that being very financially secure is a necessity to homeschooling?-=-

It's an interesting question, but is it an unschooling question?

This isn't a general homeschooling discussion.
Most homeschooling required buying a curriculum, and those aren't cheap.

Unschooling shouldn't be free either, though. http://sandradodd.com/unschoolingcost

Taking care of children involves providing a home, food, clothes; in some countries medical insurance is pretty important. In some polaces, a running vehicle is necessary.

The same questions would apply if you were considering private school, or buying a really expensive car, or a hot-air balloon, or a yacht. Unschooling is a luxury, and a decision that affects all other aspects of a family's life.

Good parenting and a happy marriage are more important than unschooling. Unschooling is a luxury--an add-on.


Sandra

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Sandra Dodd

Here's a quote from Colleen Prieto. I should have looked at this stuff before I made the video I made this week... :-)

"Fill your house with peace, toys, interesting things, good food, and love. Create abundance, not scarcity, even if you have very little in terms of monetary resources. Love and peace and happiness don�t cost a thing :-)"

People do need a house, for starters there, though. Or an apartment. Or something to keep rain and cold out.

http://sandradodd.com/colleenprieto
What Colleen wrote is there, and links to some other things.

Sandra

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

BRIAN POLIKOWSKY

Sandra just posted this link somewhere else and I re-read it and there is  lot of good in it that may help you with your decision:

http://sandradodd.com/colleenprieto/

 
Alex Polikowsky

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]