Visa conducted a survey of American families
with teenagers who said they would spend an average of $1,078
this year on the prom, a 33.6% boost over the $807
spent in 2011. The most interesting part was the data revealed that the higher
the family income, the less spent on prom.
o
Parents who make under $20,000 will spend an
average of $1,200
o
Parents who make $20,000-$29,999 will spend an
average of $2,635
o
Parents who make $30,000-$39,999 will spend an
average of $801
o
Parents who make $40,000-$49,999 will spend an
average of $695
o
Parents who make over $50,000 will spend an average
of $988
o
Parents who make over $75,000 will spend an average
of $842
One expert
suggested that because people are getting married later, parents are looking
for reasons to celebrate and as is customary nowadays, we overindulge in our
children. For our family—maybe because fashion, shoes, makeup, and hair are not
my forte and definitely because I am confident that my daughter’s prom will not
be the highlight of her entire life—our total prom bill will be as reasonable
as we can manage while still honouring this milestone. But I can see all around
me how tempting it is to want it all because we are surrounded with access to
seemingly unlimited choices.
On CBC
radio, I listened to a psychiatrist explain how middle-class people are pushing
their limits to have bigger houses or expensive weddings but are reporting to
be no happier than people 30 years ago were. In fact, he says we now tend to
have more mental health issues because our values are distorted. You need only
watch one episode of the TV show Say Yes to the Dress or MTV Cribs to see how our
spending has gone out of whack and how the measure of success is determined by what’s
parked in our driveway.
Thankfully,
our daughter sees the bigger picture of her graduating year. She chose to spend
a week volunteering for Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans knowing that would
reduce her prom budget and she is aware of the large price tag for university
this year. I have the getsmarteraboutmoney.ca scholarship contest to thank for
having her calculate a budget for the income and expenses she will incur over
the next year, which, truth be told, is even more than I expected when all is
said and done.
We are
looking to the government for help with student loans and I am discovering that
their calculations to determine need are just as odd as our society’s spending
habits. A student who has saved money in a bank account or has earned money
from working more hours has to claim that amount in their application and therefore
their loan is reduced dollar for dollar for having that asset (for more
info about recommendations to improve OSAP see: http://www.raereview.utoronto.ca/UTresponse_17_appendixB.html ).
The student
would be better off spending their money or working less to show greater need.
Our provincial government currently caps the amount of debt owing each year at
a little over $7000, which is good, except the student has to come up with the
remainder (OSAP estimates the cost of 8 months of university at @$17000) if
they do not qualify for other grants.
In my
simplified version of a better world, I would like to see tuition costs for any
post-secondary education be free for all those willing to do the work. So
instead of OSAP arbitrarily determining a family’s ability to pay for the
student’s education, most people would have access to local schooling opportunities
at a reduced cost, and then, if the student were to study elsewhere, they have
made the choice to incur added expenses, and should be given a full student
loan to use as needed, depending on their means, with the responsibility to pay
for those outstanding debts. That’s my two cents for today.
Education
is the best way for a country to invest in the future and uplift all of its
citizens. Then maybe we would see more value in ourselves rather than in our
possessions.
