How do you set a budget for kids?

frankiegirl

Hi,

Since joining the forums I have picked up loads of money saving tips with thanks to all of you for posting them.

I have been watching my money and realise I can not set a budget for the kids, for an eg. last week I had to pay

£10 DS school swimming lessons (compulsory)
£5 DD art book
£20 DD tennis lessons
£3.50 DD2 H.E
£4 DD3 H.E (different school!)

Today i had to shell out

£5 DD2 school trip
£10 DD1, 2 & 4 school funds
£3 DS school play

£18 gone today and its only monday!

Any ideas on how i can set aside a cash budget for school things as it varies week to week.

kellywelly_2

How about setting a weekly limit say £40 or £50, looking at your list it might need to at least this with swimming £10 and tennis £20.00, then whatever you have left from that week can roll over into next weeks budget.
So you could either just top what was left the following week to make it back to original £40 or £50 or you could have a set amount each week and what was left each week could go into a seperate pot incase you get hit with an extra school trip or something. Doing it this way you may have saved quite a lot by the end of the year and Christmas could be very cheap.
Hope I made sense.

tyllwyd

I've got a daughter at school, and I agree, weeks there seems to be one thing after another.

I guess things like swimming lessons etc you know that they are coming up so you know how much they will cost over the year. Other things, can you have a guess? Then work out how much you think you need aside - maybe three pounds a week? - into a pot, and raid that when things come up. If you keep doing that even during the holidays, it should hopefully start to build up and be ready when you need it.

Poppy9

If any expenditure related to the school is compulsory then the school can not make parents obliged to pay. My DD had swimming lessons during school hours as part of the NC and there was no charge, not even for transport to the pool. We only paid for trips if they were a treat for the children. If they were part of Curriculum then school paid. They would sometimes ask for a voluntary contribution of say £1 if a theatre group was coming into school.

Senior school seems much greedier though. First day of term DD came home with a list:

£3 school fees
£2 D&T materials with a warning there is more to come.
£3 school planner
£18 school locker for year

I did tell DD as planner and D&T materials were school essentials I didn't have to pay for them and wouldn't. She said I would shame her so I coughed up. I'm not happy though at being forced to pay for things which the school is funded for (I work for LA finance so I know how they are funded).

frankiegirl

Thanks for the tip i like the idea of the pot and letting it roll on from week to week.


I agree with you Poppy about senior school being greedier, its money for books money for this and that it just never stops:mad:

black-saturn

I have to give them 20p per day each for a pizza slice at break time. It's not compulsary but they look forward to it. Then 50p each per week for swimming lessons which is compulsary.

skirt

I know, its madness isnt it. My dd2 brought a letter home that we had (!) to sign saying that children would be issued with a French textbook but that if it was lost we would have to pay £18 to replace it. Hmmmmm. And dont even get me started on the cost of school trips £750 to Italy? They don't even teach Italian there. Mad.

frankiegirl

50p for swimming that is cheap our primary school charges £2 per week and its compulsory and £5 per term for healthy break which i dont mind paying that cos it would cost me more than £5 to supply break snacks for a whole term

fabianne

It all mounts up-I had to pay for school photos last week(end of year ones-a must) and 2 school trips (1 @ £6.50, 1 @ £8.50 plus a bit of spends)and then the daughter said there was another,but told her her she had to ask her Dad for a change(it was £16!!!)
It all seems to come in the same week too-schools don't give you much advanced notice.

saubryn

skirt wrote:

I know, its madness isnt it. My dd2 brought a letter home that we had (!) to sign saying that children would be issued with a French textbook but that if it was lost we would have to pay £18 to replace it. Hmmmmm. And dont even get me started on the cost of school trips £750 to Italy? They don't even teach Italian there. Mad.

£750 to Italy? How long are they going for? That seems insanely high!

How many of the children are going?

livinginhope

The school making constant demands on our finances really annoys me!
My son came home with a letter everyday last week,Monday was the school trips for the year to be paid in ADVANCE 37 quid,one of the trips isn't until July,Tuesday was 14 for the panto,Wednesday was to say dinner money was going up to 1.95 a day,can't afford them so they don't get them.Thursday was asking for the sponsor money,didn't participate as don't agree their need is more than mine! and Friday was for swimming 12 for the term.
This lot is beside the out of school activities,cubs 2/week,swimming lessons 45/term.
We also have DD's dancing and soon to be brownies.
We don't have an endless pot of money,but schools expect us to keep forking out.Oh nearly forgot the Christmas fare will be next to try and drain my purse.
As regards budgeting,I just take it off my food budget and go without something else.