Cost of Raising a High School Freshman

Hello everyone! I am completely dressed today. Yesterday was a very long day. I woke up at 5: 30 in the morning to drive the RB40JR and his team to the debate competition in Silverton, or (about an hour). After that, Mrs. Rbb40 and I went for a four-hour walk in the silver state park. Unfortunately, I forgot my hiking poles and completely hit the trails. Afterwards, we visited the Benedictine Brewery in Mt. Angel with a flight of ALE ALE dancers, strips, and meatballs. We had a great time at the Brewery, but had to leave for seminary about an hour before I had to drive home. Those dark Ales were strong! The campus was really nice and peaceful. I rest at home for a few hours, then head back to Silverton to pick up the RB40JR at 9 PM. The team went out to DQ to celebrate, a kid with “Lactose Intolerance” tried Blizzard, and spent 20 minutes in the bathroom. The DQ staff finally let us out at 10 in the evening. We didn’t get home until 11 PM. OOOOF, it was a long day for all of us.

Hence, the reason for today’s short blog post. I’m tired and don’t have much to write about. Today, I will share the cost of raising a high school freshman. The RB40JR is a beautiful baby. He is smart, athletic, and has great energy. However, it is still very expensive to have a child at home these days. Let me share some of his expenses in the first quarter of his freshman year.

• New Glasses – $350. He broke his glasses while playing soccer at school. I tried to fix the mirrors with JB WELD, but it didn’t work. We had to get new glasses, so we went to a local store. They made the lens in a few hours and charged us $350 for good glasses. We got $100 back on insurance. This was the second pair he broke while playing football. His head is like a football magnet.
• Spare glasses – $ 95. I learned from this experience and got spare glasses from Warby Parker. It’s much cheaper when you don’t need it right away.
• Market Fee Discussion – $270. Whoa, that’s not cheap. But I think it’s worth it. Speech and debate is a great club to join. The RB40JR is a great learner, and does well in a meeting. His team went 3-1 yesterday. Good job kids! Public speaking is a good skill to have.
• A suit for adults – $0! RB40JR pulls his boys suit from the stone. I thought we should get him a new suit. Luckily, my vintage suit fits perfectly. You have a little skin in the suit, but it will fill you up enough. I’m glad we don’t have to buy him a new suit just yet. Children grow up very fast. He is wearing a suit in the provempion tournament.
• Ultimate Frisbee Fall Season – $85.
• Last team shirt – $20.
• Last gloves – $14.
• The final tournament – $ 40. Participated in the Halloween contest. Our team did well and won 3 out of 4 games.
• Adidas Cleats – $25. He wore his old cleats. These adidas fit really well, and they were cheap. I think the average price is around $50.
• Jiu Jitsu – $100/month. RB40JR gave up the mvushu and started jiu-jitsu this summer. Wushu was good, but I think Jiu-Jitsu is more useful. Wushu is primarily about form and function. There is no connection. It’s like exercise. The next step was to sign up for private lessons and compete in Wushu tournaments. However, the price was very high. I believe it costs about $600/month plus travel. That’s a lot of money and time commitment. Jiu-Jitsu is the best exercise because the kids are in the gym. It’s very effective too. RB40JR enjoys Jiu-Jitsu, so I think it was a perfect match for him.
• New GI and Belt – $125. I should probably buy a cheap Starter GI for the RB40JR. This one is really good. Good thing he loves Jiu-Jitsu. His GI is high quality and should last a long time without growing out of it…
• Racquetball team fee – $270. RB40JR high school has a good Racquetball team. I encouraged him to join because the deadline was over. He needs exercise, and racquetball seems like a good match for his college application.
• Racquetball team jersey – $37. Yikes! Official school gear is expensive.
• He’s shy – $3. I found a used racket at a local thrift store. The result! If he is good, we will get him a better racket.
• Safety Goggles – $15. The team needs eye protection.
• Show them – $12/month. First registration of Rb40jr. We made a deal with him – one subscription at a time.
• MOTO G mobile phone – $140. He dropped his old cell phone and cracked the screen. I got him a used cell phone to replace it.
• Mobile app – $14/month.
• Orthodontist – $214/month for 2 years. We are probably done with this.
• AP exam fee – $80. You will take the AP computer science exam.
• Summer school – $850. He wanted to take Geometry in the summer to continue.
• The conjuring – $55. A pair of adidas running shoes.
• Columbia boots – $50.
• Back to school shopping – about $500. This includes a new jacket, clothes, socks, calculator, notebooks and various other things. The RB40JR grew a lot this year. He is taller than me now.
• Speech Therapy – $650. This was our copay for 10 sessions of speech therapy. The full bill was around $1,000 per session. Insurance covered most of this. Health care is over in the United States.

Whoa, a teenager is calling today! Life was very cheap when I was a freshman in high school. My parents didn’t have much money, so they threw us away a lot when I was young. I did not participate in any school activities. When I was a new founder, I was busy pleading with my younger brothers. My birth parents were always working and away from home. That’s the cloudiness of the YA lifestyle. Mothers want the best for their babies. Those who can spend more will spend more.

Okay, that’s it for today. Are you spending as much money on your children as we are?

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Joe started Retired at 40 In 2010 he figured out how to retire early. After 16 years of investing and saving, he achieved financial independence and retired at 38.

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