07.14.08
Posted in Kids and Money at 12:13 pm by CreditMom
My 14 year old teenager loves checking out “hot” cars. For some reason he has this idea that when he turns 16 we’ll be buying him a new car. I’m not sure where or why he would get that idea other than the fact we live in an affluent neighborhood where many people go into credit card debt to pay for cars, weddings, Bar Mitzvahs and communions.
So yesterday we were driving in my Nissan Murano and I noted the car would come off of lease in 2 years, perfect timing for when he turns16, so perhaps we buy it and he make the car payments (from the job he will be getting!). This way we wouldn’t have to buy a used car from a dealer or someone we don’t know. Plus the car is very well made, reliable and sturdy…a perfect car for a teenage boy.
Well - You would have thought I was offering him a 1975 Dodge Dart (actually that might have been better than my prized Murano). He said, “sorry, Mom but I really don’t want this car. It’s not my type, especially the color (silver). I mean can’t I just get a small Lexus like Jennifer? Come on, I’m not asking for a Rolls!” And then he had the nerve to say, “ok, maybe I’ll just get a motorcycle.”
You know those moments when you say, “where did I go wrong?” Well I had one of those. So bascially I told him what we’re going to do. Since we can’t do anything right now, we’ll wait 2 years. Then you figure out how much of YOUR money you can spend on a car including gas and insurance and we’ll see if miraculously that Murano becomes just your “type”….and by the way, if through working you have enough saved for a Lexus…go for it.
It’s not easy living in a neighborhood of entitlement, actually it’s a battle every day. Do any of you face similar issues? How do you handle them?
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07.10.08
Posted in Kids and Money at 10:00 pm by CreditMom
Gone are the days when summer camp was a luxury. In my mind, it’s now a necessity. Why? With so many dual income/working homes there aren’t that many options to keep your child busy and out of trouble over the summer, especially when a parent isn’t there to supervise.
It will cost thousands of dollars over the next 8 weeks to keep my three children socialized, exercised, safe and away from the computers and video games. WOW!!!!! So how much money does it take to send your kid to camp? Since we live in a major metropolitan area on the east coast the fees are exorbitant. The average summer day camp is between $300 and $600 a week. The average summer sleepaway camp is between $700 to $1000 per week. The more specialized the camp (i.e. baseball, music, computer science) the higher the fee.
Why do we choose to spend so much money? Well, we really don’t have that much of a choice since my husband and I both work full time. Sure we could probably hire a nanny to watch our 3 children for less money but unless she can come up with 2 months of stimulating FREE activities that cater to each of their age groups, it wouldn’t be much of a savings option.
So for 8 weeks our little bundles of mischief and joy get to romp and play in the outdoors, swim, eat tons of ice cream, socialize and make those lovely rope bracelets they insist you wear “all for free” (as my kids say) just so we have peace of mind they are off the streets and challenged by something other than electronic equipment.
When you look at the weekly cost, it’s pretty hard to justify but do we have a choice? Schools aren’t in session 12 months a year and both of us need to work. The best thing for us is we know our kids are safe and supervised. The best thing for them is they are stimulated, well rounded and building life long friendships and memories….so isn’t that worth it?
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06.21.08
Posted in Kids and Money at 9:50 pm by CreditMom
My 14 year old’s middle school graduation is this week. I don’t know about you but I don’t even remember my middle school graduation and my guess is that’s because there really wasn’t much pomp and circumstance. Well, fast forward a few materialistic decades later and much has changed.
So what does graduation cost in 2008?
- Year Book - $30 (that’s the base price. If you personalize it add $10 - $20 more)
- Cap and Gown - $40
- DVD of the exciting graduation event - $15
- Graduation dinner for family of 5 - $200 (add more if you’re inviting Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Mary and Uncle Lou etc.)
- Graduation Gift for your child – that’s pretty discretionary starting from a $25 American Express gift card a $1400 Mac Notebook (guess the sky is the limit on that one).
- Graduation party 50 – 75 kids (if you’re the sucker that ends up making one) - $1000+.
- Gifts for graduation parties your child attends – here is the real subjective one. After much research I found that 50% of bloggers out there feel your child does NOT need to bring a gift to a graduation party if he or she is graduating as well. However the other 50% feel the opposite and they suggest gifts of either $25 gift cards or a snack for the party. So on this one, let’s say average $25 per party. My son has 4 parties so that’s $100.
- Grand total – about $1400+++
Yes, roughly $1400 to celebrate that your child passed all his classes for 3 years (was there any other option???) and didn’t send you to an early grave as he gracefully glided through puberty. I’m feeling thankful already J
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05.13.08
Posted in Kids and Money at 7:23 pm by CreditMom
Yesterday, my 14 year old and I were going shopping. He “needed” new sneakers. Of course the ones he “needed” were never destined for the sale rack. In fact, the ones he “needed” were full priced at $99.99. It took less than a minute for those $100 shoes to draw him in, like an addict in search of his fix. As he embraced those sneakers like a new puppy, he looked at me and said, “$100? That’s not bad.” And my response was, “$100? Are you kidding!!???”
So where is the problem here? Well, first, my son needs a job! Second, $100 isn’t much when it doesn’t come out of your own pocket! And third, children need to start understanding financial responsibility at a young age.
Even at 2 years old, a child can be rewarded for simple chores. As children get older, give them numerous responsibilities and credit them with allowance when the chores are completed. To make them even more independent, only offer allowance when the chores are completed without prompting or nagging. This comes in handy when you’re tired of hearing your own voice over and over again.
So did he get the sneakers? Yes he did, BUT he got them on the condition that half of the money came from his allowance. To put it in perspective it took him 5 weeks to earn those sneakers but as long as my child is holding up his end of the bargain I don’t mind meeting him halfway.
What do you think? Should I have met him halfway or should I have waited until he had the $100 on his own? Or, should I have just said NO to the $100 sneakers!?
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