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Strollerderby
Brace yourselves... Kids cost A LOT.
It’s no secret. Kids are expensive. It starts when you get that eye-popping bill from the hospital for giving birth. After that it just keeps on keepin’ on.
Each stage of childhood has its own huge costs. I’m in the formula/diapers phase. Two kids in diapers. It’s killing me. But what’re you gonna do? I guess give thanks that I don’t have two kids in college. Or two kids begging for karate or gymnastics classes.
As CNNMoney reports, just providing a child with the basics has become more than most parents can afford.
Can you guess the cost of raising a kid from birth to age 18 for a middle-income, two-parent family?
$20 a tooth?! I'm gonna need a loan to cover my daughter's mouth!
In just a few years my sweet little baby is going to start losing teeth and the tooth fairy is going to have to lay off the nighttime wine so she is coherent enough to stumble into the bedroom and exchange the tooth for some money.
The big question is: how much money are we talking about?
Stock up on supplies in the middle of the year
When I was little my mom used to dread shopping for school clothes. Now I understand why. It wasn’t the actual process of shopping, it was how much money would be spent keeping four elementary-children in clothes.
School clothes are just one of dozens of expenses parents are required to pay. Even if your kid is in public school, it all adds up.
But the Krech family put their noses to the grindstone and was able to save around $4,000 in just one year. Now, college student Rachel Krech is documenting how they did it: Continue reading »
Should kids pay to play Santa?
I have very fond memories of my childhood Christmases. When I think back on them, I recall family time spent together watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman on television. I remember the taste of egg nog and picking silver tinsel off sticky candy canes. I remember the smell of turkey roasting in the oven and playing outside with all the neighborhoods kids after we’d opened our gifts.
But somehow, amid all those fond memories, something is missing. It’s the gifts. With a few exceptions, I don’t recall the gifts I received for Christmas as a child. I do, however, remember the gifts I gave.
Whether it was a hand drawn picture framed with Popsicle sticks or a cheap bottle of perfume I purchased with my allowance, I distinctly remember the happiness I felt seeing my family open the gifts I had wrapped for them. It didn’t matter to me – or to them – whether the gifts were hand made or store-bought. I knew without a doubt that my gifts made them happy. And that made me happy.
Which is why I am a little bothered by a recent conversation that took place over at Mom Logic. Writer Michele Ashamalla wanted to know if her 8-year-old son was too young to be expected to save up and spend his own money on gifts for his family like his older sister does. Continue reading »
At a time when half of all the working adults in the U.S. say they have experienced some “work-related hardship” and more than 70% of those over the age of 40 say they’ve been somehow affected by the economic crisis, it is fair to say that the recession has left very few families untouched.
And with fewer dollars to spend on the things that pull us apart – video games, cable television, etc. – there is lots of talk about how we are once again embracing the simple joys of family life. Talking to one another, visiting the library together or just having a family game night. When you look at it like that, you might even say that the recession has been good for families. Continue reading »
In an effort to teach their daughters about personal financial responsibility, the First Family are adopting many of the strategies we’re familiar with in any middle American household.
Sasha and Malia get an allowance. They have their own savings accounts. And their dad has suggested they may be old enough soon to pick some extra money babysitting.
Salon wonders if they’re too young. I wonder if babysitting is really the right first job for the First Daughters. Should these kids be concerned about earning money at all?
Ever wonder how to separate your essentials from the extras in your family budget? CafeMom breaks down what they see as the mission critical expenses.
Included are some obvious things: housing, food, health insurance. And savings.
Which raises the question: in tight times, do you continue to save? If one spouse is unemployed, for example, or you’ve hit a bumpy patch with your business.
CafeMom’s Linda Sharps says yes. She’s right, up to a point.
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