Let's Go Dutch!

So Megan came home from the D.R. and Ryan left this morning for his high school Sr. class trip to Disney World.

I read in New York Times that it would cost a middle class family $222,360 to raise a child from birth to age 18 - yikes! Maybe they should start to use that as a birth control method with teenagers.

Our youth pastor told us that if a student participated in every single activity that is offered at youth group it would cost around $800 for the year - now that to me is a bargain at any price!!

It can be expensive to raise teenagers - but there are some ways to do it without going broke. We split the cost of some activities and items with our kids. This has worked really well for our family. Take for example the high school sr. trip - we told our kids up front that if they wanted to go, we would pay half and they would pay half. This makes them think long and hard if this is something they really want to spend their money on, not just something mommy and daddy will pay for. By giving value to something it makes your kids appreciate and respect it more. We have done this with sports camps, trips, and clothes.

Yes, we do buy our kids clothes - but you all know what my favorite store is!! If they are determined to get a certain brand or fashion item I will offer to go halves with them or tell them the amount I am willing to pay and they can make up the difference. Most times after they weigh the cost they decide it isn't really worth it. It's good for all of us to do that - they say if are thinking of making a purchase and you leave the store and sleep on it, you most likely won't return to buy it.

It also helps to give kids opportunities to work for what they want - I will come up with a list of jobs they can do to put credit towards their purchase.

When we took our first family missions trip to New Orleans, we came up with jobs the kids could do around the house to contribute towards the trip - if they could work at home, they could work on a trip.

By "going Dutch" with our teens we are teaching them that money doesn't grow on trees, to treat their possessions and experiences with care and the reality of growing up. Even if we had all the money in the world, we would still do this - cents and sensibility come when you share it with your kids!