Money money money

It's just starting to dawn on me (a bit late I know!) that it takes a hefty sum to raise children. I know, I know, what an understatement right? And why did it take me so long to realise this?

It hit me just before year end when we were busy buying the school books. While the primary kids generally kept the books to less than $100, Gillian's books saw a big jump to past $270! And then you factor in uniforms at between $50 to $70 per kid - thats about $300 for all 4 kids going to school.

School shoes, school bags, water bottles, stationery, pencil cases, hair accessories etc were all bought in Malaysia at the Parkson year-end Back to School sale where managed to save quite a fair bit on forex with the ringgit. So every year when it gets to Dec you know where to find us shopping for school stuff - Malaysia!!

At Caitlin's P1 Orientation, we were asked to give a cheque for $285 for miscellaneous items - I guess this would cover the worksheets, the mugshots needed etc. All this was given upfront so that we would not be asked for money periodically through the year for school expenses. But more was to come and school hadn't even officially started yet!

The requests come in dribs and drabs - $205 for Caitlin's Chinese speech and drama class (which is a must for me because I don't want her to deepen her dislike for the language), $13 for Chinese newsletter, $85 for ballet for a term and $30 for a pair of ballet shoes, $54 for canteen catering. For Isaac, it's $60-something for worksheets, newsletter, etc, $30 for badminton CCA, $7 per session of fencing enrichment class. For Gillian, its $32 for Chinese Speech and Drama, $40 for Father-Daughter Bonding Workshop, $300 for bowling CCA (for the year) and $30 for catechism books. I'm not including the bag, the shoes etc for bowling since dad is picking up the tab for that!

There must be more that I am missing because I am beginning to feel like its a constant outflow! And the thing is, its all insidious - $4 here, $10 there, one kid asks and then another and before you know it, ka-pow you're robbed!

Oh and there's school bus fees which are not cheap - $100 for each kid except Gillian. Gillian takes public transport home so I top up her EZ Link card about $30 once a month. Then there's the phone - Isaac and Gillian now get their own mobile phones which cost me $10.90 a month in subscription fees and a $28 Hi-Card which I've asked her to make stretch for as long as possible.

On the miscellaneous activities front, its $40 per month for Caitlin's swimming class and $110 a month for Kumon for Isaac.

And now I'm about to ask KH to let Owain go for Berries class - which will be about $120 a month or $360 a term!

AND I have not even thought about Trin's evaluation and therapy if needed!

Aargh!

I agree with Barbs' famous line: children are not expensive, lifestyles are! Well, at 4 school-going kids and counting, this is starting to wear a bit thin for me! Based on just money alone, full-time work is looking increasingly attractive!