Money-Some Ideas About Its Care and Keeping

If you're anything like me (and judging from some of my recent e-mails, I know you are!) you don't have lots of money to throw around at this homeschooling business. Well, hold on to your hats if you've not encountered this idea before, but here are a few ideas to make your dollars go farther!

Learn To Ask. I know most of us in our middle years have learned to be more patient, and to ask before we assume very much, but in this case, I mean Learn To Ask For School/Student/Teacher Discounts. Many old-hand homeschoolers learned long ago to ask about homeschool discounts, but this is a relatively new activity for me. I learned recently, for example, that I could have gotten into the Gerald Ford Birthsite for FREE if I had identified myself (ourselves?) as a homeschool group! Of course, the three dollars I paid for us to visit (my sons were identified as qualifying for the Student fee, because I didn't ASK at the time we went) was well worth the money spent, because of the many insights they gleaned from the trip, but still...

There are teacher's supplies stores locally that offer ten percent off for teachers. You must show some form of I.D., so be sure to ask what the store considers for identification. Certain magazines also offer educators' discounts, so be sure to call those 800 numbers on the mailing cards and ask about a discount.

Also, if there is a museum which attracts your attention and which does not publish it's entrance fees, be sure to call and ask. One of the museums I have been wanting to take my boys to is The Great Plains Black Museum here in Omaha, but I had never seen entrance fees published. Doing the research for this column, I happened to call them, and guess what! They run on donations, so whatever you think it's worth, that's what you pay! Now consider this-you all realize, I'm sure, that touring and offering nothing is tacky, tacky, tacky, but there is usually a happy medium between "tacky, tacky, tacky" and "these tickets better be made of solid gold!" So set your own fee, but be fair.

There are lots of places which will not give you a discount, but it doesn't hurt to ask (couldn't hoit!) and maybe, you'll give them an idea and they'll offer some sort of discount in the future. Some only offer discounts to large homeschool groups, in which case you'll either have to bite the bullet (and empty the wallet) or you'll have to join up with a larger group.

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