PARENTING

Kids Are Expensive - Friday!

⏱ Estimated Read Time: 3 minutes

Yo, good morning! It’s Friday, Friday! We made it! It’s a bit chilly, and I think my chair was wet before I sat down. Should’ve wiped it. Now things are a little frosty down there, haha.

So, we registered our kid for snowboarding last night. Man, being upper-middle class… or middle-middle class, whatever… it gets you because you want to give your kids all the experiences you never had. I was like, ‘Alright, him learning how to snowboard would be awesome, because then we can possibly do snowboarding trips together in the future!’ That’d be so cool! I figure I got maybe 10 years left in my knees, so let’s get him into snowboarding. He’ll have fun.

You go to register, and it’s like, ‘Snowboard lessons, eight weeks, $500.’ That’s kinda steep! But it’s for the kids, right? Register the other kid? Nah, I think he’s too young. We’ll just do one kid for now and put him in. Then it’s like, ‘Well, are you going to buy or rent your gear?’ Buying gear is expensive! A snowboard alone for a kid costs $400! Played it against SportChek and everything is sold out. You don’t know what you’re going to get. ‘You know what? Let’s just rent it. We’re probably going to give it back at the end of the year anyway, and he’s going to outgrow it next season. Renting seems like the right move.’ Nice, good call. Another $400!

What? On top of renting, you still gotta get your own coat, snow pants, helmet, gloves, so you’re still out another $400 on like snow gear. Whatever, at least that can be a hand-me-down. Then where they really get you is you gotta buy your lift tickets. Why are lift tickets not included in the snowboard class? Like, just add it to the freaking fee! Why is that an extra fee? Just add the tickets to the class! Nope. Alright, how much are lift tickets? ‘Well, do you want to get the full season or just the lesson pass?’ Uh, let’s just do the lesson pass, man. It’s already really expensive. Alright, $200. $200 for one hour a week just to get on the lift! I swear to God, like, I didn’t get snowboard lessons. I learned how to snowboard on my own. I did the honorable thing. I went there, I watched a YouTube video, and I picked it up.

But me wanting to impress upon my kids all these things I didn’t have has me feeling a little broke right now. Now that I’ve shelled out for snowboarding, then I started thinking, I’m like, ‘Yo, how many snowboard trips are we actually going to do as a family?’ We live in Ontario. What, we’re going to go to Blue Mountain? What, once a season, twice a season? How many times am I actually going to be able to afford to take these guys to Whistler or Tremblant? That’s another five grand a season. Like, maybe twice, I don’t know, man. Gotta start saving if you want kids, man. You got to start saving! Governments need to like give us a giant ass tax break for these things!

Anywho, now that I flexed that I can afford snowboard lessons, I am out. Peace!

YouTube: Kids Are Expensive - Friday!

updated_at 31-07-2025
Ai Disclosure: The above posts were transcribed using AI tools. Some language may not have been accurately transcribed.
Ai Header Image Prompt: Abstract digital art banner. A complex and intricate composition featuring dynamic, dissolving geometric forms reminiscent of digital currency or financial data streams, subtly interwoven with ethereal, abstract representations of snow-covered mountains and icy terrains. The artwork incorporates intricate patterns resembling circuit boards and flowing digital lines, suggesting the flow and burden of high costs. Dominated by a cool color palette of deep blues, crisp whites, and muted purples, with subtle, shimmering accents that evoke a sense of cold and high value. High quality, sharp focus, highly detailed, visually striking, with a somewhat abstract and non-literal aesthetic, avoiding any overt human figures or text.