Kids School Expenses

[wantoutfromunder]

I am amazed at some of the school supply lists I see people complaining about. I guess I am very lucky. My kids had no lists until they hit third grade. K-2 you were asked to donate tissues, wipes, etc if it was in your budget to do so. My kids lists are usually pretty small, a binder, a few notebooks, crayons, markers, and pencils. I usually watch all the sales and will buy when those items are on sale. I don't mind going to the store several times to wait for each item to be on sale. I can usually get all 3 kids' supplies for under $40 for the year. (I buy extras while they are on sale and replenish their desks throughout the year) DD12 needs a scientific calculator next year for accelerated math, but she has an ITouch and she is allowed to use that.

All three of my girls play soccer. Uniforms are included in the regular fee until they get to travel age. Then I have to buy them a uniform for $60 but they can wear it year after year as long as it still fits. Once my oldest outgrows hers, she'll get a new one and hers will get passed down to her sister.

[rennigade]

Its called inflation...that and public schools have very little money. Private schools are even worse. Think thats bad try homeschooling. Then you'll understand the true cost of an education.

[dawnwes]

If you currently do not have internet and can't afford it at $14/mo, I wouldn't even attempt to have my child in cheerleading. They are elementary. I don't see the point of paying $240 for uniforms when the rest of the expenses are a hardship.

Dawn

Is it me, or is school getting more expensive. Plus, I have noticed that all the teachers now assign homework that requires the internet-they just assume you have it, so that is another expense of $14 a month for us. So far this year for 3 elementry kids:
Field Trip Money $32
Display boards $24
Cheerleading Uniforms $240 (our balance after the fundraiser)
Volleyball socks $6
Special required gym shoes $60
Food ingredents to cook a food for international fair $36
money for items for auction for school $48
money for items put into operation shoe box $20
back to school supplies $75
school uniforms $0 (all were able to wear last years uniforms)
Money to get into volleyball games $12
volleyball camp $35
school pictures $60 (got cheapest package at $20 each)
school pictures (in sports/cheerleading uniforms) $60

I don't remember my parents having to chuck all this up. My school pictures were $7 for the package. Uniforms were handed down each year-they belonged to the school, not the kids.

Anyone else thing its worse than it used to be??

[sherly22]

Hi,

I agree that education and school expenses are increased but we all want our children to have the best education possible. The cash we spend on our children's training could be one of our family's greatest cost. starting to save early will enable our kids to have a superb learning knowledge.

[Gailete]

Wow! I'm stunned. I have heard of these school lists and thought it was rather dumb. I know we always had the blue cloth covered binders and then eventually I discovered spiral bound notebooks which I like better. Used them in nursing school. I still remember in my younger years, getting a box of 12 fat crayons. I loved those crayons and at the end of the year taking them home. I took really good care of mine, probably because they were mine. I was in a poor family of 5 kids. All art supplies at home were shared and there weren't that many of them. As I got older, we got new clothes for school, the blue binder, a pack of filler paper, some pencils and pens depending on the grade. I never went on a school trip until 12th grade when we went on a senior trip to a small theme park. I don't recall paying to go on that and I probably wouldn't have asked for money. I voluntarily skipped activities since I knew my mom couldn't afford it. Things were much nicer back then.

The only reason that I can think of for the long lists, besides giving to kids whose parents just didn't bother, not ones that are necessarily poor, would be kids don't value things anymore. Most of those 40 pencils will disappear although 40 pencils equals about one new one a week! Learning in schools is so different know than when most of us went. Kids don't seem to know much of anything. My boys must have just slipped by before the passion for school lists became the norm, thank goodness.

As for networking what a silly idea. We moved from CA to PA in between 10th and 11th grade. I took a bus ride out to see my friends graduate after I did and have never seen any of my friends again. My boyfriend from back then and I are in daily email contact (my husband is not jealous and knows about it). He mentored me when I started on line selling. Through FB I have bumped into two other friends. But no networking. The school I had to go to for 2 years didn't provide any friends (rural HS that was a closed society). I was the only new student in the entire school as far as I know. Bumped into one of the girls I went to school with once. Even nursing school and college, I don't think any of us thought about 'networking' in that sense.

Many years ago when it was back to school time I got a great deal on pencils, I still have almost a quarter of them and I use pencils every day here in my office. Why a kid needs 40 for one year just leaves me surprised. Even if they sharpened them a lot, that pencil still wouldn't be worn out at the end of the week.

[Like2Plan]

I'm thinking the kids mentioned by the OP have graduated from HS by now. This is a zombie thread--originally started back in 2006

[Gailete]

I didn't catch that, but I bet those buy lists are even worse now! Glad I missed out on that.