<p>So it started today. The "packets" came home for band. Program fees, uniform fees, shoe fees, meal fees, bag fees,....fees...fees...fees. They require that we write individual checks for each item. Solution. D gets to write them all. I just deposit one lump sum in her account. </p>
<p>Just curious...how many others out there just get sick of writing these checks?</p>
<p>I am just holding my breath that the trip this year is not over $2K</p>
<p>Our kids were heavily involved in music…two kids. One year, we spent over $12,000 (you read that right) on music activities…band things, childrens chorus (trips and dues), instrument lessons (each took two instruments), precollege programs including youth orchestra, and summer programs for both in music. You know…we were able to do it and our kids were very active in the music programs.</p>
<p>Thumper1, I actually didn’t even do a double take on the amount. It does not surprise me at all. Lessons for us run at least $450.00 each month, sometimes more. And she lessons 12 months out of the year. Texas is a pretty competitive music environment. When kids major in music (we have had two major in music) the expense of the college application is 10 fold especially if you go to each campus for auditions. We are still recovering from the sting of the $15K instrument purchase last year. Every time my husband sees something desirable to him, (a boat, a car, anything high dollar) he turns to D, and says, “how does my motorcycle like living in your flute case?” He laughs when he says it, and she certainly appreciates and cares for it with devotion…but I think he likes vocalizing the craziness.</p>
<p>Writing the checks didn’t bother me much – my son’s activities were cheaper and I could write one big check at the start of the year. What I hated, loathed, despised with a vengeance was filling out all the dratted insurance/emergency/waiver/release forms for every single activity or field trip. Sheesh, guys, can’t you just make a copy from one of the last 12 identical forms I’ve filled out this year? :rolleyes:</p>
<p>The deposit into the kid’s account and kid writing the checks sounds like a great idea… good experience for the kid… wish I’d thought of that.</p>
<p>That’s the “unseen” savings to sending your kid off to college. In addition to not eating, using hot water, shampoo, etc at home, you are not paying for EC’s… ;)</p>
<p>In addition to not paying for the ECs, we also are not paying for our drives there and for all the extra “stuff” we had to buy related to the ECs…dinners out, snack foods, hotels (some of our treks were overnight ones), etc.</p>