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Another membership - $210

September 3rd, 2012 at 04:24 am

We got a yearly membership to the Children's museum (it is more of a large indoor play space than a museum). It is good for LOs age.

$210 - by itself not so terrible, but we also have memberships to the Bronx zoo, New York Botanical Gardens, our pool for the season. Together it runs close to $800 per year. We do take him these places. And the zoo and the garden are worth it just so we can park there free (big deal in that area).

It is a lot on one hand, but the little one has fun and these are healthy and developing activities. And compared to the cost of classes in places like Kidville, that run by "semester" that cost $750+... it is relatively cheap. ("semester" - give me a break, it is ridiculous arrangement for a baby under two).

4 Responses to “Another membership - $210”

  1. Wino Says:
    1346647294

    The goal of living frugally is not to avoid spending. It is to get the most value out of what you do spend. You can do this by spending very little and getting something in return, or by spending more, but by getting significantly more in return.

    You have educational memberships for your child. By your figures, you're spending about $2.20 per day, or right around $66 per month. Since you're in NYC (or nearby), I'd say that $66 will buy about one half of a dinner at a decent restaurant, or maybe slightly more depending on the quality of the place you go.

    Is it money well-spent? If you take advantage of the locations, then I'd say "yes." If you go only once per year, then probably not. But whatever I say does not matter. Do you think you're getting value from the memberships? Take a few pictures of the LO, and decide for yourself in 15 years.

  2. My English Castle Says:
    1346648226

    Aren't some of them tax deductible too? Shave a couple bucks off the cost when you figure that in?

  3. littlegopher Says:
    1346681395

    Loved those sorts of memberships, especially when the kids were young (didn't feel we had to get our day's fees worth - with membership, we just enjoyed what we wanted and for how long we wanted.)

    At times when our budget was smaller, we just had fewer memberships and visited those places a lot. Then the next year, we switched to different ones.

    Great memories of our girls at the children's museum - enjoy!!

  4. North Georgia Gal Says:
    1346698981

    I think these are great memberships to have. I loved taking my children to places like this when they were younger.

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