Parents Does anyone else feel the financial pressure?

[gopuckgo]

Thank goodness back on track, whew! Anyways as I was alluding to before, it is very pricey. But I have a niece who is a figure skater and it is also very pricey and so is hockey. Just wait until upper level optionals and a lot more out of state and sometimes out of country travel happens. It is so worth it when you get to see how happy your gymnast is and how much they enjoy it. It is truly priceless!

 

[Deleted member 18037]

We figure the money will just shift from gym fees to college tuition bills.

Yep, we went diapers and formula, daycare, gymnastics (soon adding braces), and onto college.

I still giggle when I hear folks go aren't you glad their out of diapers because that's so expensive. I think to myself, you must be new here.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

x

 

[cbifoja]

We are on our second year of options and that leo was more expensive. Rather than $150, I paid over $200. New warm up was another $150 so that was $350 just in apparel. Required summer leotards every summer add around another $50 so that takes me up to $400 just to put clothes on her.

Tuition is around $250 a month all year long of course so that's $3000 plus weekly privates during competition season is another $1500. Required summer camp is $100 so that means $4600 to teach her how to do gymnastics.

Of course we go to meets so that's another category. She has to have routines and she has had a new floor and beam routine every year including next year. That's $250 in choreo fees each year. To enter her and pay her coaches to attend the meets is about $1200. Our hotel stays this season were about $1000. I can't even estimate what I paid in gasoline and eating out. And of course the final slap in the face of having to pay entry fees to watch may daughter do this sport was about $100 for a competition total of about $2500 to go to meets.

Then the little incidentals: grips, tiger paws, practice leos, tape, grip bag, a tshirt here and there, shorts, extra healthy gym snacks, gym christmas party, open gym sleepovers, all of those little things that can nickle and dime you. Who can keep up with those??? Even without, I figure I paid a minimum of $7500 each year of optionals. That doesn't count university camps, Flip Fest, and Woodward camps over the past summers either!

So yeah, feeling the pressure. I work two jobs to help offset this. We also budget well. I minimize our bills (reasonable cell phones, no cable TV, drive a paid off car, keep rent reasonable), have very little debt (student loans only), and say no to frivolous purchases. I'm very up front with DD about all aspects of our budget so she knows what her sport costs but I don't complain about it anymore than I would my rent, utilities, or other known expenditure. I don't think I am pressuring her by having her know that. Rather I consider it part of her financial education just like I purposely pay bills in front of her and keep track of our money/budget. If she asks about it, I tell her that I don't mind sacrificing silly things to watch her do something she loves and she just smiles and goes on her merry way.

 

[MILgymFAM]

Rather I consider it part of her financial education just like I purposely pay bills in front of her and keep track of our money/budget. If she asks about it, I tell her that I don't mind sacrificing silly things to watch her do something she loves and she just smiles and goes on her merry way.

Yes, yes, yes. This 100%. You said it perfectly.

 

[Dka]

Yes! My hub and I are both teachers, both boys play travel ice hockey and our dd is the gymnast.. 600 a month year round for gym plus coaches fees meets etc... Then there is the 3500 lump sum for hockey for each kid... Ugh I work a second job to pay for most of it...we make it work and our kids are happy but it is very difficult!

 

[Flipflopz]

I estimated what I have spent already at six figures level

 

[AcroA21]

Yep, we went diapers and formula, daycare, gymnastics (soon adding braces), and onto college.

I still giggle when I hear folks go aren't you glad their out of diapers because that's so expensive. I think to myself, you must be new here.

Oh my.... Don't get me started on braces with gym, our regular bills, one income and this year we decided "hey let's take a family vacation" we then decided it would be a genius decision on our part to put braces on our son, now our daughter who is the gymnast is asking for them.... Oooohhhh nooooo honey, not this year! Yeah seems like retirement can't get here fast enough!

 

[3gymgirlsmom]

Yes, yes , yes we have 3 girls on team now . Soon it could be 2 since I'm pretty sure Dd1 will be doing HS gymnastics

 

[MILgymFAM]

Oh yes, I certainly do. Also one income here, but with a pair of student loans, and two DDs in competitive gymnastics. We track every single penny that gets spent and budget like crazy. We go without lots of things that, at the end of the day, just aren't all that important to us. I get by with the knowledge that the kids will both be grown and in college in just six short years. I will- hopefully- have many, many years to save or splurge or whatever after they are grown, but they will only get one childhood to chase their passions with abandon. It does help that my girls have managed to get scholarships for all sorts of things over the years, from dance to summer camps to academic stuff, and even gymnastics for awhile. We all do what we can. It does bite that we are very obviously the least economically advantaged in my DDs gyms. I have taught my girls that money doesn't matter past paying for the necessities and I I hope that has stuck. They are well aware that we have to be more careful with money than their friends parents and we have to say no more often, and they are ok with it.

 

[MabelSt]

I'm stressed about money and my daughter is only doing developmental. She does the developmental class and then a tumbling class and ballet and swimming so I spend about $400/month on classes. Its too much. I can't afford it, we're going to cut back to just gymnastics.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Best part of our year, we wrote our last child support check. Now if he would just get a job

 

[MabelSt]

Yeah I'm going to school on the gi bill and I'm a single mom I really can't afford much but i put her activities first because I think experiences matter more than things.

 

[NutterButter]

Yes! Especially this week as we are going into spring break and among my family's circle of friends we are among the very select few who will be home for the break (and most of those who are home have already had a winter getaway).

 

[raenndrops]

We are on our second year of options and that leo was more expensive. Rather than $150, I paid over $200. New warm up was another $150 so that was $350 just in apparel. Required summer leotards every summer add around another $50 so that takes me up to $400 just to put clothes on her.

Tuition is around $250 a month all year long of course so that's $3000 plus weekly privates during competition season is another $1500. Required summer camp is $100 so that means $4600 to teach her how to do gymnastics.

Of course we go to meets so that's another category. She has to have routines and she has had a new floor and beam routine every year including next year. That's $250 in choreo fees each year. To enter her and pay her coaches to attend the meets is about $1200. Our hotel stays this season were about $1000. I can't even estimate what I paid in gasoline and eating out. And of course the final slap in the face of having to pay entry fees to watch may daughter do this sport was about $100 for a competition total of about $2500 to go to meets.

Then the little incidentals: grips, tiger paws, practice leos, tape, grip bag, a tshirt here and there, shorts, extra healthy gym snacks, gym christmas party, open gym sleepovers, all of those little things that can nickle and dime you. Who can keep up with those??? Even without, I figure I paid a minimum of $7500 each year of optionals. That doesn't count university camps, Flip Fest, and Woodward camps over the past summers either!

So yeah, feeling the pressure. I work two jobs to help offset this. We also budget well. I minimize our bills (reasonable cell phones, no cable TV, drive a paid off car, keep rent reasonable), have very little debt (student loans only), and say no to frivolous purchases. I'm very up front with DD about all aspects of our budget so she knows what her sport costs but I don't complain about it anymore than I would my rent, utilities, or other known expenditure. I don't think I am pressuring her by having her know that. Rather I consider it part of her financial education just like I purposely pay bills in front of her and keep track of our money/budget. If she asks about it, I tell her that I don't mind sacrificing silly things to watch her do something she loves and she just smiles and goes on her merry way.

I agree completely. YG and OG are both budget-conscious. At Y Nationals in 2013, YG wanted a stuffed animal. They were asking $15 for it, so she put it back and said it wasn't worth it. The lady offered it for $10, and YG picked it up again, looked at it, and decided it STILL wasn't worth it. The lady asked HER how much SHE thought it was worth... she picked it up again and turned it over and over and decided it was worth $5. She got it.
At the same meet, OG decided to NOT buy wrist guards for $50 because she knew we could get them cheaper online once we got home (and she was right- We got a pair for $27).
They also forego leotards at the big meets (when our gym sells them, they are $25 for GK)... of course, YG prefers Snowflake GRAB BAG leotards, so she will only buy GK shorts (for $12-15 at our gym)... Of course, we also look at the GK selection online first, see how much various leotards are, and if it is a really good value ($59+ regular price), they have been known to ask me to buy them JUST to sell on eBay for $35... so they can get 2 Grab Bag leos, lol.

 

[windydays]

Yep, gym is expensive. I have a friend that USED to tease me about the cost, until she needed to lease a horse for her daughter

Now we are both broke...

 

[bogwoppit]

this board is just not all that unique as boards go, it's actually rather typical as boards go.

WTF???? I mean that in the global sense of course!!!

As to gym and it's costs, I have traveled so much more since gym has been over for my two Boglets. Do not miss it at all. It was a sport they did, that they and I love. But it was bleeping expensive.

 

[windydays]

WTF???? I mean that in the global sense of course!!!

As to gym and it's costs, I have traveled so much more since gym has been over for my two Boglets. Do not miss it at all. It was a sport they did, that they and I love. But it was bleeping expensive.

Awe, two Boglets

 

[bogwoppit]

Awe, two Boglets

The Bog Babies actually are a trio, but beloved Boglet Boy is a sofa sloth making his living playing video games.

 

[windydays]

The Bog Babies actually are a trio, but beloved Boglet Boy is a sofa sloth making his living playing video games.

Ha! Ha! And here I told my sofa sloth that he can't make a living playing Minecraft, he needs to do his school work