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

[burgatroyd]

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?

I'm going to go against the grain here as my experience is completely different. I have a 16yo dd, a 7yo and a 5yo - and my teenager costs me less in comparison. She has a part time job in a coffee shop on a Saturday, and does some babysitting here and there, so buys her own stuff from her pay - clothes, trainers, toiletries, etc. She plays various sports, but the kit is supplied by the clubs she plays for. She eats adult sized portions of meals, but doesn't really snack, other than a couple of bits of toast in the evening. I pay her phone contract - £10 a month, lunches at school - about £40ish a month, and I buy her 'essential' clothes - anything she wants over and above, she buys herself - but she's not label orientated at all.

Having just passed the years of crippling childcare costs for my younger two, I'm not certain why others find their teenagers so expensive. I'm sure mine doesn't get too deprived of much. Though I am aware that there will be large costs ahead in terms of Uni, setting up home etc.

Much more for all the stated reasons especially clothes and shoes as they are all adult prices

The are unbelievably expensive. My 2 teenage boys eat for England, I mean 2 breakfasts and 2 lunches, in fact they e eat constantly then they grow constantly so you have to buy them completely new wardrobes every couple of months. That's just for starters ......

I think it depends tbh.
Yes they can eat a lot more, but some don't eat that much more.
As soon as they are old enough get them working.
With clothes you spend as much or as little as you like and you don't have to give in to peer pressure. My 2 ds were not that much more expensive tbh. If they gained an expensive taste they had to fund it themselves.
We did the Family Allowance from 14, they could have this amount for everything except food and if they wanted anything else they had to work to earn money.

completely new wardrobes every couple of months Seriously?

Yup.

I have two teens aged 15 and 17. They eat and eat and eat.

Go through trainers and shoes all the time.

Holidays are a lot more expensive as we need two rooms now as they are too old to be in with us.

Driving lessons cost a fortune.

Yep, fortunately they can also get a job to pay for their own luxuries, even f it's just doing neighborhood odd jobs.

My parents got me the bare minimum. Generic clothes for school, food, and one or two extra curricular activities. The rest I had to earn money for myself.

Yep, fortunately they can also get a job to pay for their own luxuries, even f it's just doing neighborhood odd jobs.

My parents got me the bare minimum. Generic clothes for school, food, and one or two extra curricular activities. The rest I had to earn money for myself.

I have 14yo dd1 and 4yo dd2 and honestly dd1 is cheaper to run than dd2 so far. We've been paying for full time childcare though, so now dd2's starting school that bill will go down. I've been paying £150 per week just for childcare for dd2 and there is NO WAY that dd1 has cost that much as a teenager. Dd1 has been raised on the fact that we don't have much in the way of disposable cash so she doesn't ask for expensive clothes, shoes, etc. She has music lessons through school which are £7 pw, swimming is £3pw, her clothes are cheap too because she doesn't have expensive taste and can spot a bargain in charity shops.

For me the pre-school years have definitely been the most expensive so far. Dd1 will get a certain amount of driving lessons as birthday/Christmas presents but after that she'll have to fund it herself through pt work.

Yes, very much so. My grocery bills are going up and up and up, money for sport is astounding with kit and overnight trips to be paid for. Aforementioned sport rules our house and eats up so much time they don't have time to work. My parents did it for me, they'd disown me if I didn't do it for mine, lol

And my eldest isn't even a teenager till later this month!

In just the past 2 weeks I have bought my ds1 (17) a new suit and pair of 70 quid shoes (for school - he doesn't wear suits by choice). I have also paid for 3 new keys (after he lost his 3rd set of house keys this summer ) , driving lessons, exam papers, adult rate train fares to uni open days and a mountain of food. He's probably emptied my bank account for september already. I haven't dared check.

But on the up-side, he has a job and he has paid for his own gig tickets, added to his extensive vinyl collection, more train travel (to gig and parties) and for copious amounts of beer . Basically the stuff they need is expensive but they are capable people that can make their own money for the luxuries they want.

I don't think you can make a rational decision about having a child based on future cost, just like you can't make the decision based on how much childbirth might hurt. It will hurt. It will cost. But the value of having that wanted child so massively outweighs the pain and cost that it just doesn't come into the equation.

Yes they do!

I've got 2 teen boys 19 and 17.

DS1 has just moved out, about 8 weeks ago, to join the Army. Before he left he never stopped eating. He ate all the time, a 6 pint bottle of milk was drained in a day. I should have bought a cow! Cereal, toast, yoghurts, fish finger sandwiches at midnight as snacks on top of his meals. DS2 eats quite a bit, but nothing like DS1 did!

They both had part-time jobs from the age of 15/16 so they bought quite a lot of their own clothes, bit obviously we still bought some. They have been in adult sizes since they were 12. DS2 had adult size 6 feet at 9!

We paid for their driving lessons as we live rurally. When DS1 wanted to go out at night we took him and paid half of the £40 taxi fare back, because we didn't fancy a 4am trip out.

We paid to put DS1 on the car insurance for 2 years because I am disabled and DH is in the Forces,so we needed an extra driver. Now DS2 is coming up to take his test, he has saved most of his wages so is buying a car and we're helping out with the insurance. The way we see it, a bus pass for school is £499 and we'd still have to get him to work, etc so its not that much more.

This time next year he'll be off to uni hopefully. The food and electric bills will go down, because teens don't open blinds and forget to turn lights off, but we'll have to help him out there too!

My 3 teenage boys are huge ( nt obese just hugely tall), they eat constantly. they wear mens clothes and shoes. it's like having 5 adults in the family to support.

Oh god yes, hideously more expensive..... Mines just started driving lessons

Oh my god, the food - I had forgotten about the food........

My daughters driving lessons were horrendous. Having taken three times to pass. Literally hundreds of pounds!

My 17 yr old son is in a band. Drums and kit is never ending expense. Especially when he went on tour to Europe. Twice.
We are feeding four adults. Clothing four adults. My Dd works but lives at home.
My Ds is at sixth form.
Having little ones is cheap in comparison.

Teenagers cost a blinking fortune!
I have two and even with one on an apprentice wage I end up with an empty purse.

When they were young although I had child care expenses they were happy I with playing in the park and wearing clothes from George.
Now the both play ice hockey which costs £££'s a month.to go out for a meal costs an average £150 instead of two adult and 2 kiddy meals.
Men's clothes costs a fortune!
And so it goes on.......!

Oh and the shoes..... Size 11

Oh I forgot about driving lessons and car insurance!
Then there are skiing holidays at adult rate,
Then all the incidentals such s their social life, mums taxis and so on.

However I don't begrudge a penny!
I am glad that I can afford to give them what they need and also what they want( but not all the time, I'm not daft)

Don't forget the secondary school trips - £1200 for skiing and £1800 for summer US trips here..(state school). Per teenager !

Yes.

Certain labels for clothes, no more Primarni.
School trips
Out of school activities
Pocket money
Technology (for school and leisure)
Mobile phone
Adult prices for most holidays
Food
Going out - cinema, bowling etc with friends
Theme park tickets

God, mine are ridiculously expensive. They eat for England, have long, hot showers twice a day, 'need' expensive electrical gadgets and want to go on all the foreign school trips. I still luffs having them around though.