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AIBU?

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Original poster

to ask if teenagers are a lot more expensive than children?

234 replies

burgatroyd · 02/09/2014 21:43

Yesterday I asked advice on how to stop my rather irrational broody feelings. Money is a large factor for me not considering a third as I hear teenagers are a LOT more expensive than young children. So though I could possibly afford more kids now would worry I'd find it tough when they are older.

Those with teenagers or older kids, do you find it a lot more expensive?

OP posts:
Orangeanddemons · 02/09/2014 21:47

Fraid so....ours just ate such huge vast amounts. They need adult clothes and shoes < only top notch of course>, phones, computers, gallons of Tropicana. I found them much more expensive than little ones....

littlewhitebag · 02/09/2014 21:48

Yes. Not only do they eat more and have more expensive tastes in clothes etc you need to factor in the cost of uni education/driving lessons/laptops etc.

These things are not absolute necessitates of course but you need to at least think about what sort of lifestyle you like or would want to give your children.

TheGirlFromIpanema · 02/09/2014 21:49

Yup, I am about to take on a 3rd job.

What with DC2 now starting high school I decided needs must Shock

DramaAlpaca · 02/09/2014 21:49

Yes, loads more expensive.

TeaAndALemonTart · 02/09/2014 21:50

Absolutely, my teens cost me a fortune. They didn't cost much at all when they were younger.

Preciousbane · 02/09/2014 21:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
burgatroyd · 02/09/2014 21:54

Thanks guys! This is helping with the hormones!

OP posts:
Original poster
burgatroyd · 02/09/2014 21:55

How many teens do you guys have?

OP posts:
curlycat · 02/09/2014 21:55

Yep dd 14 costs a fortune but most of it is not necessity but I want to be able to give her what her friends have with phones and ipads and labelled clothes. I want her to go to concerts and days out and have fun. Luckily we can afford it but I'm definitely not adding up how much shes had even just over the summer holidays!

Frontier · 02/09/2014 21:56

Depends on you, the kind of life you want for you and your DC and what interests your Dc turn out to have.

For instance, if you have to pay for childcare while DC are small, no teenager is going to eat that much, honestly. So if you will save money on child-minders once they get to teens then you might not notice the difference.

Similarly if you do all the expensive MC extra curricular activities with your young children, teenagers who have few interests might seem cheap to run by comparison. OTOH they could have very expensive sports/music/hobbies to upkeep.

Re clothes, I haven't found it too bad so far. DS1 is now wearing small men's clothes which are undoubtedly expensive but he has no interest in having the right brands and really needs very few clothes as he spends most of his life in school uniform.

Phones, games etc are for Christmas/birthdays or paid for with money earned here. There's a difference between what they want and what you have to buy.

You do definitely notice a difference feeding 4+adults compared to feeding 2 + 2 children though.

IAmNotAPrincessIAmAKahleesi · 02/09/2014 21:57

Yes, they do

But it didn't stop us having a big family, we just staggered it so we wouldn't have too many teens at the same time Grin

LynetteScavo · 02/09/2014 21:57

Absolutely.

They eat loads, are not happy with a box of Lego for Christmas, require adult clothes, and have hobbies which need to be funded some how.

theoldtrout01876 · 02/09/2014 21:58

YES !!! :o

Ok, so you dont have day care fees but they pale into insignificance when faced with multiple teenager grocery bills.

That $10 toy you can get away with buying for their birthday Christmas or whatever becomes $200 game system or $400 phone.

The shoes,holy shit the shoes. They go through them just as fast dont let them take up skateboarding but they are now $150 a pair. Ditto the jeans.

On the brighter side you will save quite a bit on hot water,soap and personal grooming supplies in the early teenage years dirty smelly things are teenagers but bugger me they more than make up for it once they discover the opposite sex.

They will also burn electricity at an alarming rate as they are inclined to become nocturnal when left to their own devices.Said nocturnal activities include having every light in the house on,the heat or air conditioning running and every TV you own on its to help them find the fridge so they can create the afore mentioned grocery bills

I like them better as teenagers though,well some most of the time :o

Orangeanddemons · 02/09/2014 21:59

Ours have all left home now. Only one left at uni. We are more well off than we've ever been

MrsZiegler · 02/09/2014 22:00

yes. My 14yo is as expensive as my other three (7/5/3) combined. I'm quaking at the thought of university costs.

Orangeanddemons · 02/09/2014 22:01

The electricity and hot water bills. I'd forgotten those!

Original poster
burgatroyd · 02/09/2014 22:02

zeigler was this a surprise?

OP posts:
Orangeanddemons · 02/09/2014 22:07

I think depending on how much child are you pay, they can match it for food. We worked out that each of ours cost about 40 quid a week for food. They never bloody stopped eating. We had to hide it in the end.

Then you have all the tech stuff and clothes and shoes to add on. Shoes < shudder> the cost of them is horrendous.. And their feet keep growing. So you keep having to buy new ones.

Doilooklikeatourist · 02/09/2014 22:07

Yep , much more expensive

DS (19) is at Uni in London ( goes back in 2weeks ) are shopping bills come down a lot when he's not at home ( but we have to give him an allowance
DD (17) still at school , doesn't eat as much , but still costs a lot

Dancing lessons are about £100 each half term , her ballet exam alone cost over £60 and then there were the extra lessons , the exam rehersal , the CD to practise at home , new ballet tights , regulation leotard and character skirt
That all added up to over £250

Could be worse though , could be horse riding rather than dancing ...

Scholes34 · 02/09/2014 22:11

Yes, they're more expensive, but it's not a problem to balance it all out. You just need to send them out to work at John Lewis once they're old enough and they'll get you 25% off anything purchased there.

needaholidaynow · 02/09/2014 22:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MrsZiegler · 02/09/2014 22:12

errrm yes ... I've always taken the oh babies are cheap approach, and they are ... breastfeeding, cloth nappies, swimming a couple of times a week & the library. But small children are more expensive and big children are really expensive (shoes, clothes, travel to school, school lunches, music, sport, drama, books, various parties & activities with friends, phone, computer, school trip, electricity, showers! etc etc etc). We're regarded as stingy parents too! Wouldn't change it though Wink

Almostfifty · 02/09/2014 22:14

Oh they're four times as expensive as babies. My food bill is astounding. They eat constantly, there's always one of them in the kitchen and the laptop/phone/xbox eats electricity.

Original poster
burgatroyd · 02/09/2014 22:18

zeigler I suppose that you wouldn't change it now they are here but I do worry about the cost and logistics!

Went to a fair with a lone parent with five teenagers. The cost was mind boggling!

OP posts:
StillStayingClassySanDiego · 02/09/2014 22:18

Yes!

Food
School trips abroad
Electronics
Clothes
university.

Yeah ,all of that and the bits in between.