Hi, My son is heading for high school this year. We are on a very tight budget and have other children. What added expenses should I expect during the first weeks of school?
It always seems there are plenty of extra expenses when they start school.
1. Student Body Card These range from a few dollars to $35 depending on the school. Some schools require them for entrance to games and clubs.
2. School Pictures Usually these are arranged and need to be paid for in the first few weeks of school. Quite often there is a budget package.
3. School Supplies No matter how much you buy ahead of time, different classes and teachers require different supplies. Other than notebook paper, pens and pencils it is quite often best to wait until school starts to buy these so you only buy what you need.
4. Sports Team and Other Activity Charges Quite often there are charges to be on sports teams, drill teams, marching band and other school activities. This can range from a one time fee to uniform rentals or cleaning fees to mouth guards or special equipment.
My daughter needed to pay $75 to be in her high school musical. After the play she needed to pay for dry cleaning the costume after the production. If your child likes to be active in lots of school activities, set aside some money each month for field trips and other special activities.
Special Insurance Quite often those in sports activities offer special insurance packages for injuries on school grounds. This might be advisable if your son likes to play sports.
The only consolation is that it is much less expensive than college.
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