The culture will tell you that a homeschooling family is in a much worse position to whether a recession, but they are wrong. The logic in determining that a typical dual-income family today is better positioned to manage a recession is flawed. The reality is that a dual-income, over consuming, over leveraged and high debt of a typical family has much more points of potential failure and a much higher risk of financial disaster.
For example, most dual-income families buy a home based on both parents income. If one parent becomes unemployed, game over. This is also the case with car payments and credit card debt. A typical dual-income family has many bills that are based on both incomes.
The true is that a typical homeschooling family is better positioned in both good times are bad, because they live much closer to within their means and they have much more flexibility to adapt to unforeseen changes.
Living Within Your Means
The over consumption of a typical family have resulted in high debts which are now threatening a collapse of the middle class. Homeschool families are not immune to over spending, but most homeschooling families live closer to within their means because they live with a different set of convictions that has already driven them to counter the culture and homeschool their children. That same conviction to focus on the future by making the education of their children a high priority, leads them to better financial management as they look to the future and think about how much money the future will cost. Many homeschooling families use a budget to guide their financial planning.
Another myth is that homeschooled families have less money than dual-income families who choose to rely on public education. This is simply not true, as the average home school family income is very similar to the general population. Sometimes people like to think it's less because that is the typical impression. After all, how could the income of a homeschooling family, with one or both parents spending much more time at home compare to a dual-income family? But, what is always overlooked in the high costs of working outside the home verses working inside the home. When you look at all the numbers and include the long term financial considerations, the single-income homeschooling family usually comes out ahead - and that's what this blog is all about. I also have more details about this in my ebook.
Flexibility
A homeschooling family has many more options to adapt to changing economic conditions. For example; the school year can be adjusted. The parents determine when the school year starts, when to take vacations and when the school year is over. Also, the school day hours can be adjusted. If a mother and father needed to work opposite shifts or nights, they have the option to have school in the morning, afternoon or evening – whatever works best for the family.