I live, write, and garden in the PNW with my husband of 27 years, disabled daughter, college-aged son, and my 84-year-old mother. We have paid off $250,000.00 worth of debt (if you include the interest) in the last fifteen years and as of 6/12/2020 are 100% DEBT FREE!!!!This week has been ridiculous with expenses coming out of the school. DD came home with an order form for cap and gown for graduation on Monday, saying something about an $80 deposit that had to be in the next day and that the total would be $226. I kind of went through the roof (not at her or anything), but $226 for a flimsy robe and cardboard hat? Umm, yeah, no.
Fortunately on further investigation, the $226 packet included a whole bunch of crap that had nothing whatsoever to do with what was required. Things like graduation t-shirt, graduation hoody, graduation key chain, 50 announcements with two sets of envelopes, tissues, name cards, and class ring. They were selling it as a package. Um, yeah, no.
In the very back of the order packet, was a different order sheet and on it, you could buy the actual necessities for graduation, which were the cap/gown/tassel/stole for $53.50. And you could order just 25 announcements with just one set of envelopes. No need for inner and outer envelopes, special inner and outer seals, tissues, return address labels, etc. 25 announcements and envelopes was $30. Still way too much, and we don't need 25 announcements, we only need 15, but that was the least I could go.
So a total of $83.50 plus $8.95 handling fee and 7.8% sales tax, ended up with us paying $99.66, although I'm not sure if it was actually legal for them to tax the handling fee. Still $99.66 beats $226 by a mile and we saved $126.34 just because I thoroughly read through the packet. I wonder how many parents don't? I charged it to the AMEX and will pay it off on payday.
School needs to give more than 1 day's notice though. And then yesterday DD comes home with a class t-shirt order form that was due, guess when, today. I have gotten her a class t-shirt every year of high school, so I managed to eek out the $14.50 for that, as well, from the $48 left in checking until Friday. I don't mind buying these things, I just want a week's notice so I can put it in the budget, you know?
I've also come to the conclusion that the ASB needs to change its name to BYD for bleed you dry as that is what they seem to try to do in the beginning of the school year.
Public School is Expensive
October 2nd, 2013 at 10:14 pm
October 2nd, 2013 at 11:44 pm 1380757443
The other trend here is that almost all high school classes have 'lab fees' of 10 or 20 bucks. I can understand for a photography or art class, but accounting? It's silly.
October 3rd, 2013 at 01:16 am 1380762982
October 3rd, 2013 at 04:01 am 1380772865
We donated to the senior all night party, which was well worth the money. In our school, when they start as Freshman, you have to pay a $50 deposit. You get that back at the end of senior year as long as you have no unpaid fee's.
Fee's and fundraising are one thing I don't miss about K-12.
October 3rd, 2013 at 04:12 am 1380773559
October 3rd, 2013 at 04:53 am 1380775995
October 3rd, 2013 at 08:40 am 1380789646
Thrift--I refused to join the PTA here. Wasn't going to be held hostage by fees or worse yet, be made the person out there collecting them or trying to make our kids collect them. Ugh.
PNW--That sounds like a sensible way to deal with fees.
October 3rd, 2013 at 12:32 pm 1380803546
October 3rd, 2013 at 02:55 pm 1380812147