Do "Over the top" birthday parties bother you?

HImom
Mon, 28 Feb 2011 13:14:41 +0000

I still have not moved over to pricey haircuts and am happy to have mine in the $20 range, which is just a tad above Supercuts pricing. I am not fond on mani/pedicures, but have sat through very few of them (one for my wedding but I damaged it even tho I had just had it done the day before so I had to strip all the polish off anyway). My mom complains I get my haircuts way too infrequently & she’s probably right. :)

We do admit we spoil our kids with family dining out, memories and travel more than possessions. For the most part, we do not purchase things for our kids that we do not have or are not comfortable with them owning. H & I are happily on the same page that the kids can earn those fancy things that they may want but can admire from afar until they’re earning enough to buy it on their dimes. We do sometimes have a tough time getting the kids to splurge a bit on themselves–they are quite conscious of quality and style and won’t buy things that aren’t perfect in their eyes but would rather make do & save until they can get what they have in mind. We’re happy that this is how we think as well, so we all understand one another pretty well. :)

While I am sure it can backfire, especially if the people feel “very deprived,” for the most part, moderation seems like a good & healthy thing and generally serves those involved in good stead, especially in lean times (as many are experiencing these days).

The morning paper said that 47% of our public school students are on free or reduced lunch! This is astounding to me and a sign of how bad things are in our state with layoffs and cutbacks. It said that many families have folks with 2-3 jobs. The only upside is that we get somewhat more Title I money because so many schools have kids from such low income families.

The income to qualify for free lunch is just under $33K for a family of 4 and for reduced lunch is just under $47K for the same-sized family. Considering HI has one of the highest cost of living in the US, this is pretty scary!