Class Rings

Last week, the Teenager brought home the paperwork to order her class ring.  My first thought was "Oh, wow, now it begins; one of the very first steps towards that cap and gown in May of 2018".  My second thought was "Holy cow, these are expensive!".  Actually there might have been some bad language tossed in there, as in "****, these ******* things are ******* expensive!". The Son of Never Stops Eating might have said something like, "MOM! Don't use bad words in front of your children!".  I had heard rumors about the cost of these milestones, but the truth revealed was still quite shocking.

I'm beginning to suspect that having a member of the graduating class of 2018 in the house is going to be like planning a wedding- everything will be overpriced and half of it will be stuff no one will care about two days after graduation is over.

I don't even know where my own class ring is.  I remember ordering one; I recall that I was told if I wanted one, I'd have to pay for it myself, so I ordered the cheapest one I could find. I've noticed that is how it works with kids and money; when it's your money, the sky is the limit, but when it's their money, they start channeling Ebenezer Scrooge prior to his Christmas Eve redemption.  I'm not sure why I wanted a class ring so badly that I was willing to fork over my own hard earned cash, but it was probably for that most adolescent of logic- I needed one since everyone else was getting one, too. 

If I'd saved that $80, or whatever I paid back in 1986, I wonder how much that money would be worth now.  I didn't even like high school that much.

After dinner, I opened up the class ring order booklet and started perusing the options.  I hate things that are overly complicated, so what I was looking for was the page that was highlighted with rainbows and neon print and that said "Dear Frugal Parents, here is the Cheapskate Option!".  This page did not exist, probably because there is no cheapskate option.  There were pages upon pages of different styles of rings, with all sorts of options and graphics and gemstones and I started getting a sensory overload headache so I put it aside for another day.

Various friends gave me class ring advice: offer her money instead of the ring, and let her decide what to do; don't buy one, no one wears their class ring after high school; buy a birthstone ring instead; it's less expensive and it's something she can wear for a long time.  This advice was all valid and good.  I decided that the Teenager would have to put some skin in the game by making a financial contribution of her own.  This news was not met with overwhelming enthusiasm, but rather stoic acceptance.

It is hard to say no to stuff like this.  I know from personal experience that once the Teenager graduates, much of this will becomes far less important to her.  Once you set foot on a college campus, no one cares that much about where you graduated or what you did.  But when you're experiencing it, it's important, exciting stuff. 

I'm now waiting with bated breath and my checkbook open to see what other surprises are in store for me.  I already know of one: I was informed during the class ring conversation that this might also be band letter jacket year.  I'm sure there won't be a Frugal Parent option for that, either.