The cost of raising kids

me kids

I was out last night with my girlfriend to do something for the next chapter of our life (which will be revealed soon enough) when we decided to do some last minute shopping. It was a school bag for Big E and it cost RM 168. (!!!)

It wasn’t a particularly expensive label – just a practical one with an Angry Birds image which Rovio certainly didn’t know about (if you catch my drift) and a set of wheels, which seem to be a necessity nowadays. She’s just 7 years old and already carries such a huge load of books. I was commenting about how expensive it is to raise a kid nowadays.

I want the kids (including my own in the future) to have a good education. I was sent overseas to Christchurch, New Zealand when I was 15 in 1996 to do my high school and completed my Bachelor’s Degree after 4 years of college and university in Melbourne, Australia. I can’t imagine how expensive that was for my parents but I can guess.

Kids nowadays are very lucky. I was talking about the sms lån with Arthur when I was in Sibu last time and both of us agreed that sms lån is a great help for anyone who needs the financial support for their tertiary education.

I want the kids and my future kids to have a good education but I was calculating how much it costs and it truly staggered me. I don’t dare to think about tertiary education, just getting by would cost a lot of money nowadays with tuition fees being as high as they are.

I like the idea of the study loan. It allows everyone to get an opportunity for a tertiary education provided they meet the academic requirements. I don’t think that’s a problem for the kids or my future kids, with liberal application of the magic wand. smirk

I’m kidding, I don’t believe in corporal punishment.

However, it does make me feel better to know that there’s the chance to go to university for all citizens up thanks to the PTPTN study loan.

I believe that a good education is necessary to survive in life. That’s what my parents taught me and what they strongly believe in. I want my kids to at least have a Bachelor’s Degree so they can have better opportunities in the future – studies have proven that a university education is not just the key to higher salaries and such but also important personal qualities like critical thinking.

I don’t think most taxpayers would agree with the abolishment of the PTPTN or allowing students to default on their loans.

No matter what your political leanings are, it’s just not fair to do that. What about the people who have already paid it back partially? PTPTN study loans allows for an affordable method of payment for new graduates.

The topic came up during a dinner recently – I strongly believe that if you take a loan which the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines as:

Something lent usually for the borrower’s temporary use (emphasis mine)

That means it should be returned. You’ve been given a chance at higher education and defaulting on it shouldn’t point north on anyone’s moral compass.

I want my children to be responsible and pay back loans which they have taken. Of course, I hope for a scholarship if they turn out to have the academic aptitude to do that, but if they can’t qualify for the cream of the crop requirements, that’s okay with me too. 🙂

My first day trip with the M&Ms

sunway hb ling

Took a day off and we all went to Sunway Lagoon. It was a really fun trip and very different from what I’ve done in the past. I can really get used to this though. 🙂

ling noodles

Ling had cooked some noodles for breakfast, which I ate in the car while she drove. She also put a little note in the carry bag, which I didn’t notice. It’s little things like this that makes her awesome! I got her an anniversary gift and she forgot, but you know what? She doesn’t need to coz every day is an anniversary for her, she gives me random surprises that makes me happy.

sunway lagoon

(or maybe she’s still guilty about the anniversary gift and she’s making up for it)

Kidding dear! smirk

porcupine

There’s a package for 2 adults and 2 children that came out to RM 275.

wristband

We went to the Wildlife Park. Feeding horses were on the agenda but we couldn’t find the horses.

tapir

Going on the Volcano – a dry park ride with the big one. It was so much fun we went twice.

volcano

We still had our bags at that point – one small backpack for me and a large gym bag for her (which I both carried) and I had to sweet talk the operator to let us on. She didn’t allow it at first coz there was a “no bags” rule and no place to put them, but with my powers of persuasion, she relented and let us all through. 😉

teacups

Next, we went on the teacups together, and spun around till we were dizzy. These are huge teacups which can fit 6 people if you squeeze.

locker

I finally got a RM 30 multiple use large locker to chuck our stuff in. Essential!

coffee

Why M&M? They’re sweet, with a candy layer! 🙂

carousel

Those are the only two rides we took – spend the rest of the time at the water park. No slides though, we didn’t do what we want – we did what the kids want and I found that very rewarding in itself. The end result (i.e. seeing them happy) is the reward. 😀

surf zone

Rented a RM 20 two-person float and dragged everyone around the canal that rings the surf pool like a moat.

souvenir photos

I also dragged everyone (since I was the only one who could swim) into the surf pool on the two-person float. There was this guy going around taking photographs with a waterproof camera and I wanted one to remember this day. 🙂

marrybrown

We ate a very late lunch at Marrybrown (fast food again ;)) and I got a very irritable server who didn’t seem like she wanted to be there. I put up her with for the big one and then got so annoyed I asked her what her problem is, and gave her a very stern lecture about front line customer server, to which she immediately backed off and started apologizing.

wristband rfid

I hate people like that – they’ll give you all sorts of body language and indicators that they don’t want to serve you, included the furrowed brow and tsks of annoyance but once you confront them, they are timid mice. She kept on apologizing to me but I bet she’ll do it after a while to the next customer.

surf pool us

Anyway, all is good, we got our (dubious) nutrients and headed off for more swimming!

multiplex 5d sunway

Oh, and the big one was tall enough to go to the new 5D Waterplexx (supposed to be the world’s first) but the little one wasn’t so I took her to watch it while the girlfriend took the other back to the surf pool. It’s quite an experience – 3D, with motion chairs and sprays of water. The big one got so scared she didn’t want to look at the screen and was pulling my hand across her eyes.

keychain

I got souvenir photos of the day out too! Bloody rip off prices but damn worth it! Everyone got a piece to bring back of our first trip out together – mine was a keychain. 🙂

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...