The cost of extracurricular "stuff"

[Meenah]

Kris,

I can appreciate your dismay. Amy began dance at age 3 and last year at age 17 had her "Senior Recital". I can't believe the amount of money we spent over the years on dance. Caroline has also been dancing (she quit 2 years ago). In addition to dance they both played sccer and softball. We could probably send them to college on the $$$$ we put into sports and dance.



On a high note, kids who are into sports/dance/extracurricular activities (i.e. Chess,debate,jouinalism,etc.) tend to not have enough extra time to get into trouble. Caroline now has NO extracurricular activities and we have to stay on top of her to just have her keep up with her school work.



Good luck

Luanne

My daughter took dance classes this year at our local gymnastics/dance club. The lessons were fairly reasonable....at least they were the running rate for the area....Her recital is in two weeks, but I'm stunned by the amount of money that we are having to hemmorhage into this endeavor!!!!!!!!! Her costume was $50, and I hear that they were "cheap" this year It is nothing more than a leotard and tutu...Then there are the pictures....and though the basic package, which includes two 3x5 pics is only $14.30, I feel disappointed because I'd like to be able to order a couple of bigger pics or extras for grandparents...The next cheapest package is $30!!!!!! Then the tickets to get in are $8 for each person...so Thomas is going to stay home and let my mom and I go...we can't pay admission for three and then a babysitter too.....



Has anyone else been experiencing this with the kid's activities? When I took dance as a girl, we did our recitals in our pink stockings and leotard and put our hair up in buns....and admission to the parents and relatives was free



Kris

[houseelf]

I haven't experienced this yet, but my son is enamored with hockey and my dh is absolutely giddy about this fact. My dh played drop in Men's hockey in medschool and paid $10 a night for ice time, $25 every few games for a new stick, league fees, massive equipment expenses, etc. The little guys grow and spend even more on equipment than this! I was sort of hoping that we could put him into the more reasonably priced soccer but I seem to be outvoted in this one. I honestly don't know how we will afford it.



Kelly
Edited by: kmbsjbcgb at: 4/17/02 12:41:01 pm

This worries me as well. I have this goal: all of my children WILL learn a musical instrument (preferably the piano) and they WILL have some sort of physical activity they work on (ie gymnastics, dance, soccer, swimming, SOMETHING). So, with three children poised to be able to really get into this stuff I am cowering at the cost! One of my daughters has already demanded that she learn to ice-skate once we move up North. EEK! How much do ice-skates cost? The lessons down here run $100 for just a few weeks!!!! I don't know how to ice-skate so it's not like I can teach her. Then my son has decided he wants to really get into baseball- EEK again! My other daughter wants to go into dance. Don't get me wrong - I am thoroughly encouraging these ideas, but now I have to put my money where my mouth is - EEK! Then, we really, really need to work buying a used piano into our budget somehow and afford piano lessons for the lot of them. My family was very poor but I remember my parents sacrificing so that we could all do things like this that we wanted - I was in ballet and they somehow bought a violin for me. Anyway, somehow we will afford these things, but I'm going to try to get away with doing it all as cheaply as possible (without sacrificing quality).



Jennifer

Jennifer,



Be concerned!! Seriously, I had no idea how expensive things have gotten for children. We looked all around before deciding on this place because it has the "best" prices...and I think they are outrageous....every thing that they want to do nowadays comes with a pretty big price tag! Even school-related functions are no longer free...the schools' annual pizza dinner, etc. all costs $5/head, etc....sometimes I feel like it is just all about money grrrrrrrrrrrrrr



Kris
Time is a Dressmaker, Specializing in Alterations!

[DCJenn]

Jennifer-



Look in the want ads for used equipment. You'll find people like my mother who want to sell their pianos and all you have to do is go get it! (If you're in Maryland and want to stop by to pay her- let me know!!!)



Also, for sporting equipment there are some used equipment stores in the DC area- San Antonio doesn't seem to have any but they're called "Play it again sports" and they are fabulous! That's where to go to get all of the entry level stuff. I bought my in-line skates there, my ex-husband bought his first set of golf clubs there, his room-mate bought allof his stuff for his lacrosse mens league. They have kids stuff in a whole separate area.



Why invest in 'new' if you're not sure that they're going to like it! The stuff isn't schlocky, either. They're very particular about the stuff that they buy. (and if you have stuff to get rid of? there you go! sell, sell, sell)



Jenn



can you tell that I spent my entire twenties poverty stricken??

What do you mean San Antonio doesn't have Play it Again Sports!!!!!! What am I going to do? Seriously! I live at that place during soccer season, which is almost year round here. We have been lucky that the prices here haven't been too bad. We are paying $40 a season for soccer. My friends in San Antonio spent $100 for the same type of thing, i.e. volunteer parent coaches etc. Yikes!! My older boys are quite good and I don't want to let it slide so I will have to come up with the money somewhere.



The piano lessons thing is something I feel to be important too and money has been a big issue there. We have not been able to afford a nice piano and so many of the used ones cost a fortune to tune and fix up. Tuning is REALLY expensive so take that into consideration. We opted for a keyboard. We got it at Christmas but I haven't been able to find a teacher that I can afford. Now we will have to wait until we move. My oldest is 10 and I feel the time slipping away. That's why I let him go into band this year. It has been a great experience for him and it is costing me $25 a month. Not bad and he meets with the band instructor 2 times a week. The $25 is just to rent the instrument.



It does get expensive. I can only imagine how expensive it will be when they hit junior high and high school!



Robin