How do you afford the extracurriculars?

[Jean in Newcastle]

Esp. if they go over say $300/ month. Are you still able to put money away for stuff like retirement, college, household repairs, emergency fund etc.? Do you scrimp on other areas to pay for the extras? Do you and/or your dh have a particularly good job?

 

I'm realizing that part of what stressed our budget so much is that we also have to pay quite a bit for medical stuff (even with good insurance).

[jillian]

we are truly blessed that dd's grandparents and her great grandmother (i was born young so she's my grandmother and dh and i had kids young so she's only in her 60s) are willing to help us out. We usually go half on things or in the case of dd's mommy and me class gymnastics her great-grandmother pays for the whole class and annual registration fees. I don't know how it will be when she gets older but right now that's how it's working out :)

[LibraryLover]

Edited because I decided I was puttng out TMI.

Edited June 4, 2010 by LibraryLover

[jujsky]

We are extremely fortunate -- my ILs give us a stipend each month which covers a large portion of the kids' activities.

[Pink Fairy]

We use one of those "threatening" public charter schools that worry some people so much. :lol: Each child receives $1600/year funding, adding up to quite a nice sum when you are homeschooling four children. And since we've been homeschooling for a while, I already have a ton of math manipulatives, art supplies, reference books, and curriculum already on hand, which frees up a lot of the funding. So we spend around $1000 each on lessons. We've done ballet, karate, and horseback riding, and this year we're branching out into guitar and piano. Certain things, like ballet summer intensive ($450 :ack2:), come out of our own pocket, but we save enough by using a charter school that we can make it work.

 

To sum it all up, without the charter school, we'd be much, much more limited in the number of activities we could participate in.

[Allearia]

We are part of a charter school that pays for ds8's piano lessons. It doesn't cover all year though, maybe 6 months and we have to pay the rest which is $200/month.

 

Otherwise, yes we are not entirely saving money for retirement, and are paying off some debt. I am working part time now in the evenings and some of that money will go to extra curriculars. We don't do any one thing that is that expensive, but when we add in extra classes it can add up. (Latin, drama, science, writing, all of which except Latin are extras just for fun on top of what we learn at home.) Soccer is only $125 per season, 2 seasons per year, which I feel is very reasonable for what we get and is our main PE so that is essential to our homeschool.

[Guest mrsjamiesouth]

Find some cheaper extra curriculuar activities. I wanted my son to have piano lessons and I found a homeschooled high schooler who was teaching for half the price of an adult. I also found a Karate place that offers homeschoolers a rate of $40 for 6weeks, 1 hour lesson a week. We also do baseball for ds9 that costs about $120 for a season (about 9 weeks.) If you set that money aside ahead of time it is not so much.

Our budget buster is ds5 bumped up to competition level gymnastics at $215 a month plus booster club fees which are outrageously high. I prayed about it and decided we feel it is a good thing for him to do, so we rearranged our budget a little. We did the Dave Ramsey program 2 years ago and we have in our savings 3 months worth of income for emergencies. My husband has retirement taken out of his paycheck, not social security but a seperate plan his job offers. I went to college on scholarships and I figure they will have to do the same, at least partial.

[MomOfOneFunOne]

Things can certainly add up, Jean!

 

I can say that I'm sure I pay more for extra-curricular activities than I would dream of doing if I didn't have an only. My girl has fiddle lessons, orchestra, (horse) riding lessons. We also let her do the odd thing or two that catches her fancy like be in a play. We had an art tutor but he wasnt' worth the money.

 

One way we afford to do these things is find something we like for less money. In the case of riding lessons, I checked into it and the cost was really expensive not even considering equipment/clothing. So, I gave it some thought. I knew that there is a lovely young lady in our hs group who is an experienced horsewoman and a delightful sweet girl. I contacted her mom and visited about her girl giving my girl lessons. She was excited to do it for the fun, the experience, and the money. We were excited b/c my girl could have the lessons she wanted with a wonderful role model for a fraction of the cost. It was a great win for everyone!

 

Finding family to do things helps, too. We tried hiring a private art tutor but he was a dud. I complained to my (artist) mom about it and now she has stepped up to teach it for nothing. She ordered Meet the Masters and is learning that plus, so that after we complete the MtM project, she's planning more projects/techniques/et c. so we can extend a bit beyond the MtM project (we read that one complaint of MtM was that the projects aren't open-ended enough. My mom is planning to eliminate that as a problem, I guess).

 

Fiddle, well, I don't really consider music extra-curricular but still, most ppl do. That is just a cost we bear. Same with orchestra and fiddle camps and contests. Fiddle camp and most of the contests my girl goes to are during summer so they don't over lap with orchestra. We don't have to pay for both at the same time. Orchestra is pretty cheap, though, b/c they get a couple of grants from the state and an art foundation.

 

So, to answer the question, we don't pay over $300/month but it's b/c we have found family and friends able to meet our needs/desires for much less money.

[DianeW88]

We do have savings and retirement. We also have bills....unfortunately. However, extracurricular activities for our kids are important to us, so we make them a priority in our budget. My dd is training to be a professional ballerina (she's 17) and her training probably costs us $500 a month. She does pay for her own pointe shoes (about $300 a month) with the money she earns from her part-time job. She also teaches dance and uses that money to help off-set some of her other expenses.

 

Summer programs for ballet generally cost anywhere from $2000-$6000 for 4-6 weeks. These are always somewhere out of state and her grandparents contribute to the cost of those.

 

My youngest son is in martial arts and the tuition for that is $60 per month for 2 classes per week. The highest priced belt is the black belt at $100, so our costs for that are minimal. He also participates seasonally in city league sports such as baseball and basketball. He also takes swimming lessons and participates in Cub Scouts.

 

My husband and I both were involved in extra-curricular activities as children, and while I never did become the next Dorothy Hamill :lol:, I learned so much more than how to ice skate. I learned dedication, hard work, the necessity of practice in order to be good at something, patience, sacrifice and pain tolerance. LOL Even though I can see now that figure skating lessons, coaches fees, costumes, etc. were one giant sucking black hole where my father's money disappeared, I so appreciate that my parents believed in and supported my goal.....and me. I always tell them how grateful I am for that. It made me feel important that what I enjoyed was important to them. I know that participating in ice skating (and ballet) helped to make me a more rounded, better adult. And, I can still do a mean scratch spin and an axel. Impresses my kids and their friends to no end! :lol:

 

Hoping my rambling actually answered your question.

 

Diane W.

married 22 years

homeschooling 3 kiddos for 16 years

[LibraryLover]

I hear this. !!

 

We do have savings and retirement. We also have bills....unfortunately. However, extracurricular activities for our kids are important to us, so we make them a priority in our budget. My dd is training to be a professional ballerina (she's 17) and her training probably costs us $500 a month. She does pay for her own pointe shoes (about $300 a month) with the money she earns from her part-time job. She also teaches dance and uses that money to help off-set some of her other expenses.

 

Summer programs for ballet generally cost anywhere from $2000-$6000 for 4-6 weeks. These are always somewhere out of state and her grandparents contribute to the cost of those.

 

My youngest son is in martial arts and the tuition for that is $60 per month for 2 classes per week. The highest priced belt is the black belt at $100, so our costs for that are minimal. He also participates seasonally in city league sports such as baseball and basketball. He also takes swimming lessons and participates in Cub Scouts.

 

My husband and I both were involved in extra-curricular activities as children, and while I never did become the next Dorothy Hamill :lol:, I learned so much more than how to ice skate. I learned dedication, hard work, the necessity of practice in order to be good at something, patience, sacrifice and pain tolerance. LOL Even though I can see now that figure skating lessons, coaches fees, costumes, etc. were one giant sucking black hole where my father's money disappeared, I so appreciate that my parents believed in and supported my goal.....and me. I always tell them how grateful I am for that. It made me feel important that what I enjoyed was important to them. I know that participating in ice skating (and ballet) helped to make me a more rounded, better adult. And, I can still do a mean scratch spin and an axel. Impresses my kids and their friends to no end! :lol:

 

Hoping my rambling actually answered your question.

 

Diane W.

married 22 years

homeschooling 3 kiddos for 16 years

[FairProspects]

I'm with you, Jean! I have no idea how people pay for extra-curriculars and still save and/or pay off debt. One thing I think we have to consider though, is that we live in a very expensive part of the country, and our costs here just on housing, food, gas, and even health insurance are much higher than other places. I know a greater percentage of our income is spent just on necessities than would be if we lived elsewhere.

 

Not to mention, as we are younger parents, DH's employer has NO retirement plan whatsoever, no 401K match, nothing. We have to save it all ourselves. That means we must save a lot more than previous generations to have any hope of retirement.

[Ali in OR]

We are not in that situation, and I don't think we ever will be. We're fiscally conservative, frugal people. I don't think we would ever sign up for an activity that cost $300 per month. And we don't have amazingly talented kids that put us in a situation where we would have to think about it! They both take piano lessons and ballet and play little league softball in spring, but all of that is still less than $300/mo for two kids. Instead of investing in kid activities, we'll be able to retire someday, the kids will be able to go to college without (much) debt, our mortgage will be paid off before they go to college, etc. Those goals are far more important to us.

[Jean in Newcastle]

One thing I think we have to consider though, is that we live in a very expensive part of the country, and our costs here just on housing, food, gas, and even health insurance are much higher than other places. I know a greater percentage of our income is spent just on necessities than would be if we lived elsewhere.

 

 

 

That is true. When my mom visits she goes into shock just going into the grocery store!

[MorganClassicalPrep]

I spent close to 800 (I think that is what I estimated in the other post!) on my daughter this year for extras. Not too much, but when you are living on less than 12K a year, it is a significant amount.

 

My DD does dance and soccer, both things she adores, and I'm not willing to give them up. I do what I can to get by. I sell outgrown clothes and toys when I can and use the income from that. Some months my parents help out. Sometimes I've been down to turning in change at coinstar to pay monthly tuition for dance or sign up for soccer.

 

Pretty rough, but this is the life I committed to when I decided to go back to school to *eventually* make our life better. I don't want my daughter to give up her activities for it though, especially since she only does two and I feel like they are very beneficial for her.

[ElizabethB]

That is true. When my mom visits she goes into shock just going into the grocery store!

 

She should shop in the LA area, that would give her a heart attack!

 

Things do go on sale, though--but normal prices are so high here that even my husband noticed!! If you stock up when things are on sale, it is more reasonable.

 

We will have a much different budget next year in the cornfields than we had this year in Los Angeles. I am waiting to do swimming lessons until we move, they are 5 or 6 times cheaper there. We did piano twice a month here, in Little Rock where it was more reasonably priced, we had a weekly piano lesson.

[Liz CA]

Jean, we would never have considered something so pricey as an EXTRAcurricular activity. But I have to say we live in a rural area so there was and is always plenty of other activities that qualify for extracurricular that cost very little or nothing at all.

I cannot imagine paying $300 for one child's activity. What if you had more children and each one wanted to pick something so expensive? Yikes. I am afraid I am not in that tax bracket. :)

[Amber in AUS]

We budget carefully. We are fortunate with DH's job but we have lots of things to cover with that money. No one helps us at all so we make sure we can really afford it before we begin, including weighing up the long term costs and potential length of commitment. It is hard to balance everything but we work it out.

[Rosy]

We use one of those "threatening" public charter schools that worry some people so much. :lol: Each child receives $1600/year funding, adding up to quite a nice sum when you are homeschooling four children. And since we've been homeschooling for a while, I already have a ton of math manipulatives, art supplies, reference books, and curriculum already on hand, which frees up a lot of the funding. So we spend around $1000 each on lessons. We've done ballet, karate, and horseback riding, and this year we're branching out into guitar and piano. Certain things, like ballet summer intensive ($450 :ack2:), come out of our own pocket, but we save enough by using a charter school that we can make it work.

 

To sum it all up, without the charter school, we'd be much, much more limited in the number of activities we could participate in.

 

Us too.

[Night Elf]

Well, yes, I must admit DH has a good job. He makes a good salary and has excellent benefits. We've made some good financial decisions like having a mortgage that is only 15% of his take-home pay, and one car is paid off. We keep track of our money on what others would call a budget form, but I don't keep to those numbers strictly. If I run over our grocery budget, it just seems to balance out with other categories. Overspending happens occasionally but we have a backup account for those times.

 

The most expensive extra we have is dd12's homeschool classes. Technically they are academic, but they aren't really necessary because I could cover the same material at home. Yet the class environment is crucial for her, so it's worth the cost. We're lucky to have the money to pay for the way we want to homeschool our children and still be able to live comfortably and contribute to our retirement fund. We're paying cash for my college classes; however, we do not believe in paying college expenses for the children, so that isn't something we have to worry about coming out of our retirement money.

[jld]

We had our house paid for before the kids got into classes. That was a big help, because once they started taking outside classes (ballet, art, music, etc.), I just couldn't say no. I remember spending $3000 one semester.

 

We moved to India and there is nothing to do here, so that has helped our savings. But we found mold in our house two weeks before we left, so every dollar we've saved has gone into remodeling the place. Money just goes, I guess.

 

I really am glad the kids did the activities in America that they did. They went to a pre-pro ballet school and took great art classes. That art teacher was just amazing. It was all money well spent.

[Peela]

Dh and I have different areas of financial responsibility. He does the big stuff, but I do all kids' stuff including extra curriculas and all personal things for myself. So, its up to me. We have health and life insurance, we live well, we rent but have 2 investment properties, and we love buying things 2nd hand (we adore a bargain!), which saves us a lot.

 

Over the years, homeschooling has been my focus and obsession and spending a lot on extra curriculas has felt absolutely fine- even if I didnt have much left over for anything else.

Our rental properties are our retirement fund- and we are not saving for the kids' college, although we have enough for dd16 to go to a type of college next year, for the year. After that, it will be let's see.

 

So....we don't put money aside the way others might because we have a priority to focus on the kids in these years. The years rush past and they are teens already. It doesn't feel right to focus on us just yet- we are both happy to make sure they have everything they need. The thing is, the extra curriculas have dropped off in the last year, as we get more specific about what they want to do.

[battlemaiden]

We pay 300/mo for the oldest kids to take piano, and 300/mo for Tae Kwon Do for the oldest 5 kids. That is it for regular extracurriculars. I wish I could give them formal art instruction, but we just can't. I'm not even sure I call Piano and TKD extracurricular. I think they are essential components in our education plan. So it is like buying "curriculum" in a way.

 

We hope to expose them to as many of the blessings of this area of the country as we can for free or relatively inexpensively- surfing, hiking, military tours, etc.

 

We save for each of our kids college accounts through automatic withdrawls each month, we also max out our IRAs, and we buy used cars that we drive into the dust no matter how dingy they look. :D:D Despite relatively frugal living, we are going to need to cut back on the monthly costs so we can get the kids through college with as little, to no, debt. It has been on our minds a lot lately.

 

Jo

 

I wanted to add that we are going to start SeaCadets in the fall. This is an awesome place for our kids to be involved in this program. -USS Arizona, USS Missouri, etc....

Edited June 4, 2010 by battlemaiden

[Carrie12345]

We usually stagger our kids' activities (for financial AND time constraints), and we tend to avoid the pricier ones. Focusing on town/community sports and classes helps with that!

 

In the past few years, my kids have done piano, Spanish class, dance, baseball, gymnastics and cheer. Baseball was $65 for the whole season plus Fall Clinic (including uniform, and they do provide bats, balls and helmets even though ds has his own). I think gymnastics was around $300 bi-monthly for BOTH dd's together.

 

My kids have NOT ventured into private, competitive activities, which is where I think the cost difference comes into play. They're not interested in that right now, which is good, b/c I honestly don't know what I would do if they were. Of course I would want to encourage them. But I have four (five) kids to think about.

 

It would take a lot of serious thought about the level of their passion and the level of their talent for me to commit to a very high-cost (and time consuming) activity. And we'd have to find a way to cut down on household expenses, because I'm not about to dip into other funds for that purpose.

[Donna]

We pay more than our mortgage on the kids' extra-curricular activities (can't even come up with a total because it varies from month to month depending on events and tournaments but lessons alone are over $850) plus still sock away for retirement and savings. We have been able to do this by cutting back on the things we do for ourselves. We downsized on our home last year, drive old vehicles with many, many miles (because of the activities), don't have the latest in gadgetry, and are frugal with other purchases. I work 2 days a week and my pay goes to pay for the kids' school supplies and extracurricular activities.

 

The kids have talent in their areas of interest and we feel the need to allow them the opportunities to build on the talents they have. Believe me, we would not be so involved were it not for the apparent talent. When I thought about my life, I never imagined it here. I thought my kids would be doing different sports throughout the year with some weekly music lessons all at a minimal cost but sometimes things just work out differently. The cost/benefit ratio seems to be in our favor at this point though so hopefully we are simply paying for college early. :001_unsure:

[Pippen]

We are not in that situation, and I don't think we ever will be. We're fiscally conservative, frugal people. I don't think we would ever sign up for an activity that cost $300 per month. And we don't have amazingly talented kids that put us in a situation where we would have to think about it! .

 

I would never sign up my kids for any activity that cost $300 per month, either. What happened is that the oldest signed up for band...as did the next...as did the next...and here we are 6 years later with music costs alone for three kids at +$300 per month. It's been a hugely positive influence on their lives that I consider it worth the inventment and have made budget adjustments I didn't realize were possible until this year to make it happen.

[Rebecca VA]

Grandparents, specifically my dad. He set up a trust to pay for my kids' educational and medical expenses. We have been able to pay for anything the kids need or want to do because of my dad's hard work and generosity.

[TravelingChris]

We are, after 23 years, in the second top quartile in income. We don't spend that much a month on any single activity. Music lessons normally cost between 100 and 120 a month. I don't really count it up since the money goes here and there but I think all money we spend on all extracurriculars, including a summer program for my upcoming senior, is less than 3600 a year

[Wheres Toto]

For my oldest, her father (not dh) pays 1/2 her dance expenses while DH and I pay the other half. Her stuff probably averages $400-500/month but it comes in spurts - some months are more/some less.

 

My younger two are too young to have done much yet. They did a couple classes at the YMCA - usually $75 for a 10 week session. DS is going to do our town rec soccer this fall but that's only $75 for the season, although he will need his own ball (and then he'll probably do t-ball in the Spring). Both kids are going to do a homeschool gymnastic class that is $75 for a 10 week session, although I'm kind of scared where that can lead - I learned my lesson with dance. :glare: They don't have competitive for boys so I'd only have to worry about that with younger dd and she's still very young.

 

DH makes a very good salary so we have no problem paying for classes, retirement, college funds, etc. We are rebuilding our house so are watching money a little closer right now but its still not a problem.

[Dmmetler]

Well, since we came to HSing from parochial school with 6K a year in tuition (plus other expenses), I've got a pretty big HS budget ;).

[mysticamethyst]

For us I would pick something for them to do that I could afford. I would make them all do the same thing so I can get the multi-kid discount. Most times it was little league, also would get scholarships for this. We did soccer, gymnastics for fun. Now they are doing drama and guitar which is $100 each a month, that is the most I would ever spend on each childs activity. There have been many long periods that we didnt do anything because it just wasn't in the budget.

[rafiki]

.

[gingersmom]

I have no debt so that helps.

 

I rarely buy new clothes/shoes.

 

I love our house but put money that could go into renovations towards my daughters skating instead.

 

We rarely eat dinner out (and when we do its a budget friendly restaurant).

 

Lots of other sacrifices I make.

 

For me it is all worth it.

[MamaT]

As I posted in the other thread, we are only now having to really think about whether we can continue with our extras. In the past, my dh has made more than enough money to cover the cost. My dc have been involved in gym, dance, baseball, track, classical guitar, with gym being the most expensive and dance close behind.

 

We have had to tighten our belt in the last year in order to keep up. We have put other things on the back burner (not necessities), mostly upgrading our car and renovations to our house. We are taking a camping trip instead of an expensive trip like we have taken in the past.

 

I never intended to be spending this much money on extra-curriculars, but I didn't know how fast things can snowball when your child is really talented. Our 10yo gymnast has so much potential in gymnastics. She won 2nd in all-around at Regionals (all of the Southeastern states), and placed first on beam. If she was just so-so, I may not be so determined to keep her in gymnastics. My 13yo is just as talented as a dancer, so we will do everything we can to keep it going.

 

We still save and don't really have much debt other than our business. So far we have been able to manage it okay.

Edited June 4, 2010 by MamaT

[Mejane]

We consider our children's dance expenses, which average almost $1000/month for two, like paying for college. They are in a very good school and we've been told they both have great potential, so we're hoping it leads to careers for them. Due to the financial and time considerations, that's been their only extra, so it's been doable for us. We pinch in other areas, but not retirement.

[KS_]

We don't. We are working the DR plan and just past the pay off debt portion. In this economy having a savings account might be the difference between eating and not eating, so we are saving. If the kids do activities it will be because the grandparents gifted it to them.

 

We're in this camp, also. The kids have been involved in 4-H this last year (ds was in the Lego League and dd has been in the horse club). It's $10 a year for 4-H, $20 a year for the horse club (but they could be involved with as many groups in 4-H that they wanted to for this fee).