The Money We Spend on Our Kids

With our kids being back in school and the school year now a month or so into full swing, it bears mentioning that this last year, parents spent an average of eight-hundred and forty-three dollars per child on back-to-school shopping. That’s up nineteen percent from the average of seven-hundred-and-seven dollars per child that was spent at the start of the twenty-twenty to twenty-twenty-one school year. The top things parents splurged on were clothes, school supplies, backpacks, and electronics. While back to school shopping is a necessity, I believe we should, as followers of Christ, ask serious questions about the amount we spend, and whether or not our spending is being done to meet needs, or to meet wants. The reality is that our kids put a premium on social acceptance, fitting in, and having the latest and greatest. As Christians, we are called to live counter-cultural lives, and how we spend our money should reflect that commitment. Let your kids know that things don’t bring happiness. True joy comes only in following Jesus.