<p>I usually get $500 for x-mas and $200 for b-day from parents. But I also get $200 from all my grandparents for b-day/x-mas and I get another $100 from aunts and uncles. And I had a lot of money in my wallet, but parents did put a lot into it too.</p>
<p>My sister turned 2 yesterday! :)</p>
<p>Then all the xmas money from the relatives (since parents got you a new laptop) should go to paying for your CSS profile applications.</p>
<p>The new laptop is included with all the families money. I have $50 leftover and that’s going to Thespian Conference, which is $250. I have to go because we are performing our one act. I also don’t get all that money every year, it differs. The other $200 from my b-day is going towards Thespian Conference as well. It’s in February at Columbus State.</p>
<p>Well you’d better save up your pennies to pay for the cost of the Profiles. There will always be things that come along that cost money. Learning to budget is important.</p>
<p>Happy birthday to your kids, Shrinkrap. We will be off to our annual birthday brunch of Dim Sum – DH’s favorite birthday event.</p>
<p>Happy Birthday to those celebrating!</p>
<p>Well, it clearly does not jibe with some of your concerns if parents/ grandparents/aunts and uncles are giving you hundreds of dollars for birthdays and holidays. Then you seem set for your Profile stuff. No presents, just cash?</p>
<p>EC never said that he is destitute. He has said all along that (a) he needs financial aid, and (b) because his father is self-employed with an erratic income, his dad has been unable to give him detailed specifics about what he can afford. My kids needed financial aid; they have relatives who are able to sometimes send gift checks; and my kids traveled AND worked. My d. has traveled extensively, and during the school years has held down as many as 5 different part-time jobs simultaneously; she also maintained an A average throughout. She would work during the spring to earn the money to finance internships & travel over the summer; and work during the fall to pay off credit card debt accrued during the summer travel. She paid her own expenses during college, including books and food; she took out the maximum in subsidized loans; I paid the bill that came from the bursar for whatever was still owing for tuition and housing. I am 100% sure that the internship abroad that she self-financed after her sophomore year led to the job she had on graduation, based on things said to her when she interviewed for the job. </p>
<p>I don’t know whether e_c has the energy, motivation & self-discipline that my d. has. But I don’t understand why posters here feel they have the right to badger him about his choices. It’s his business & his parents’ whether he travels or works or does both over the summer; it’s his business & his parents’ whether he takes a car to school. If the money works out for him, that is also his business; and if it doesn’t – that is his problem.</p>
<p>Ah yes…choices, choices. That is what this is all about. No advice here…just hope the right choices are made.</p>
<p>Your daughter sounds like she has an excellent work ethic, Calmom. You should be proud. And your past posts over the years clearly indicate that you know how to budget. But it is hard to put positive spin on this situation. The OP has said that his fa made 90K before he went out on his own. He has earned less since that time, though I dont recall what the op said his last year’s income was. They are currently a one-wage-earner family for a family of 6. Don’t know if mom is on sabbatical from teaching (and thus may still be able to get their health insurance through the school system-- hopefully this is the case) or whether dad has to pay for private family insurance or through his business. Either way it would be an expense to him. There are a LOT of expenses for a family of 6. A proper budget and savings plan in imperative if they dont want to live like the 3 little pigs and build their house out of straw.</p>
<p>We preach over and over and over on cc that kids and adults should, if at all possible, have about 6 mos of liquidity saved to cover the rainy days and unpredictable income. Some get it, and some don’t. For some money seems to burn a hole in their pocket.</p>
<p>If this family has had to struggle some months to buy food and the OP frets about paying a hundred dollars or so to pay CSS costs, but then turns around and justifies a $1900+ summer trip, a $500 + xmas gift , and thinks that a car as a freshman is a necessity, there is something wrong with this picture. How one can put a positive spin on this is difficult to comprehend. The dad took out credit cards in his wifes name without her knowledge. That suggests to me that help with money management may be beneficial for this family.</p>
<p>We would all love to have cars for our kids and send them on nice trips. IF it is in the budget. If a kid has been clear that they want to attend a private LAC far from home, those trips and unnecessary expenses should have been allocated elsewhere. Sometimes one has to make sacrifices. Thats life. Sure there are lots of things people want. But they may be unreasonable for budgetary reasons.</p>
<p>You can defend and justify this all you want. Some seem to think posters here are being too harsh and that they wish the OP ill will. That is not the case. Posters are trying to help prevent this possible trainwreck. Posters do want this to work out for the op. Its just not going to be a total surprise if it doesn’t. If he has extended family who will cover the costs, then it may work out. But for many here, in such precarious financial circumstances, money would have been handled differently.</p>
<p>Yes, it is all about choices. </p>
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<p>I don’t feel it is “badgering”. It is about explaining financial responsibility when somone is complaining that they are stretched so far that paying under $150 for the Profile is uncomfortable.</p>
<p>Frankly, lately I feel some sense of entitlement at the same time that E_C hears that his parents do not have a bottomless pit of funds.</p>
<p>Everyone has to make decisions that are good for themselves and their families. If one complains that money is tight, however, I see nothing wrong with explaining where one could find money and help their families/themselves.</p>
<p>My kids would not ever have asked us for a car in college. They worked for 2 summers in high school. They have worked during college too, and they are both working over their winter break. </p>
<p>I am not standing on a soapbox proclaiming that my kids do not spend any money. My younger one spends money on fraternity dues ($600 this year, and a bit more last year). He does not ask us to fund fraternity dues. This son has paid his fraternity expenses and funds college pocket money (transportation, personal expenses that come up) by working summers and on campus during the year. He is working his winter break because he feels that he needs a notebook and we are not paying for it. He has money banked for this semester’s expenses.</p>
<p>My point is that E_C and other students should be able to have wonderful experiences, but they need to have the funds to make them happen, and there are LIMITATIONS. It is all about choices, especially when funds are limited.</p>
<p>This was cross posted with jym.</p>
<p>The OP has obviously prioritized his funds. Trips win out over college. Sounds like we have nothing more to talk about on this thread.</p>
<p>Merry Christmas everyone.</p>
<p>I have no other words left for this thread, bye!</p>
<p>I think it is OK for posters to point out certain aspects of this. The OP has been obsessed with college since freshman year of high school. The kids (and parents) on this forum are a very, very small fraction of all college bound kids and parents of college bound kids. Most…the greatest percentage of kids and parents are not looking all over the country for colleges. Most kids and parents have very tight budgets. Most…the greatest percentage of kids have not been thinking about college since freshman year. All of this may work out well for the OP…the OP may leave Georgia, may end up with a college that is financially feasible for the family, there are anecdotal reports of kids for whom all has worked out. For the OPs sake I hope it does…but to point out financial realities, logistical realities, etc. I don’t find offensive or badgering. This is a kid who dreams big…a wonderful thing…but every big dreamer needs someone to bring them down to earth occasionally.</p>
<p>momofthreeboys, that’s a good note on which to close the thread.</p>
<p>Merry Christmas!!</p>