How I Spend $0 on Curriculum Most Months

Last month I spent $0 on curriculum. The month before that, $0. The month before that, $12 on a used book from ThriftBooks.

I'm not bragging. I'm showing you it's possible. You don't need to spend $500-2,000 a year on boxed curriculum if you know where to look and how to use AI.

The Free Stack

Claude (free tier): Generates lesson plans, worksheets, writing prompts, discussion questions, and custom materials. The free tier gives you enough messages per day to plan a full week of school. I'd say 80% of my "curriculum" comes from here.

Khan Academy (free): Complete math curriculum K-12. Science and history supplements. Adaptive practice. Progress tracking. I use this for daily math practice 4 days a week.

The public library: This is the most underrated homeschool resource in existence. We check out 10-15 books per week. Living books for history and science. Read-alouds. Reference books. Audio books for car rides. All free. Our library also has a digital collection through Libby for ebooks and audiobooks.

YouTube (free): Science experiments (look up "home science experiments for kids"). History documentaries. Math tutorials. Art lessons. I screen everything first, but the quality of free educational content on YouTube is staggering.

Duolingo (free tier): For language learning. My daughter does 10 minutes of Spanish every morning. The gamification keeps her engaged. Free tier has everything you need.

What I Actually Pay For

Claude Pro ($20/month): The only thing I pay for monthly. The free tier would work, but Pro gives me more messages and better responses for detailed lesson planning. This is my biggest "curriculum expense."

Used books (~$5-15/month average): Some months I buy a few used living books from ThriftBooks or a library sale. Some months I buy nothing. The library handles most of our book needs.

Printer paper and ink (~$10/month): I print worksheets, coloring pages for my younger one, and occasional lapbook templates. A ream of paper lasts weeks.

The Math on Curriculum Spending

Average homeschool family spends $700-1,800 per child per year on curriculum and materials, according to multiple surveys. My annual spend: about $300 total for two kids. That's Claude Pro ($240/year), books ($60-100/year), and supplies ($40-60/year).

Where does the money go that I'm not spending? Into savings, field trips, enrichment activities, and a nice dinner out once a month because homeschooling is hard and we deserve it.

The Trade-Off

The honest trade-off is time and confidence. A boxed curriculum tells you exactly what to do every day. You open the book, follow the script, done. With the free stack approach, you're making more decisions. AI reduces the planning time, but you still need to review and curate.

For me, the trade-off is worth it. I get a customized education for my kids that costs almost nothing. For a family that's just starting out and feeling overwhelmed, a boxed curriculum for the first year might be the right call. You can always transition to the free stack once you're comfortable.

The point isn't that everyone should spend $0. The point is that you can if you need to. Cost should never be the barrier to homeschooling your kids well.