Keeping up with the Jones’s is a chronic disease.
Affordability is a valid economic concern. Needs like housing , food, energy, and healthcare costs continue to rise.
What about the wants?
Newsday discussed a major ingredient to the crisis. Parent’s racing to keep up with their neighbors plays a not inconsequential role for many American families inability to save.
The piece contained stories about several misguided decisions. One woman spent $1,700 for a birthday party for her son. She financed it by dipping into her retirement account.
The next year she spent $2,500 at Little Gym. This time she sold the families second car to raise the funds.
When questioned about this decision making process she responded, “I’m not going to have people talk about my kid about what they are and not able to in front of their kids.”
There’s nothing wrong with wanting the best for your children and protecting them but at what cost?
Do you really want them to have friends who judge friendships on expensive parties?
Do you think this follow the crowd behavior will help your children make responsible future financial decisions?
If you overspend to keep up, aren’t you placing a burden on your children to care for you in your old age?
It’s not easy raising kids. A 2026 study by Lending Tree found it costs an average of $303,000 nationally to raise a child up to age 18.
The survey showed 64% of parents going into debt for child related costs. The main culprit according to 61% of those asked was peer pressure to overspend.
All of the above is just a warm-up band for the ultimate Money Suck- The Industrial Youth Sports Complex.
NJ.com just ran a feature outlining the financial depravity youth sports has transformed into.
Its a virtual predators ball. Reporter, Steve Politi takes a deep dive into Dante’s kid’s sports 1oth layer of hell.
They signed up their kindergartners for a team with the best intentions, recalling the happy days of their childhood spent on town ballfields with friends. Soon, they discovered today’s youth sports reality is unrecognizable — a $40-billion industry overwhelmed by an ever-growing cadre of private trainers, independent businessmen and private equity giants all looking to make a buck preying on parents’ sincere motives.
It’s an epidemic of titanic proportions. In interviews with 100 parents, it was found families need to shell up to 20k annually just to keep pace with the competition!
You want to talk about inflation?
The price of youth sports has surged 46% since 2019 according to an Aspen Institute study.
Everything’s for sale. Some of the more egregious examples are basketball tournaments selling $20 tickets to parents to watch their own kids play. Some travel teams demand $25 to try out for squads that kids are guaranteed of making. They’re ice hockey leagues that require a $50 dollar fee for viewing highlights on an exclusive streaming service.
FOMO is an integral driver of the gravy train.
The allure of a D-1 sports scholarship and subsequent pro career is too enticing for many parents to pass up.
The reality check that kid’s sports predatory hucksters fail to mention in the fine print is about 7% of High Schoolers end up playing college sports, only 2% earn scholarships, and of those about 1.5% are drafted.
We are talking lottery ticket odds.
Unfortunately this timeline is the sad result of all the sacrifice of blood and treasure.
I’m not sure what the answer is to this madness but this question would be a good starting point.
How about parent’s setting an example that mindlessly following the crowd no matter what the financial or emotional cost is a terrible idea?
Albert Einstein once said: “The one who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The one who walks alone is likely to find themselves in places no one has ever been.”
Millions have journeyed to expensive out of state travel tournaments and pricey kid’s birthday parties.
Maybe it’s time for a new destination
