Shots Across The Bow

Boys vs Girls: Financial Impact

While driving the girls to school this morning, I was listening to Marc, Kim, and Frank on the radio, when they had a very brief discussion about whether it was more expensive to raise girls or boys. Marc, who is raising two daughters, claimed that girls were more expensive, while Kim, who's raising one boy, disagreed. They called on Frank, who has one of each, to settle the dispute, but he bowed out, claiming ignorance. Now, as most of you know, I have 6 kids, 3 boys and 3 girls, giving me tremendous insight into this issue, so I thought I'd volunteer my expertise to solve the simmering controversy.

There is really no doubt about it; girls cost far more to raise than boys. In fact, the gap is so wide it should be intuitively obvious even to those without children, but for those of you who need proof, please feel free to peruse the following table

Clothing
	Boys	Girls
Underwear	Either tighty whities or boxers	Panties: bikini, low rise, hi rise, thong, g string, grannies, or control top; bras: full cup, half cup, quarter cup, strapless, halter top, underwire, sports, padded, push up, lift and separate, or mash and magnify; not to mention slips, chemises, bustiers, and various other underpinnings and foundations.
Footwear	socks: tube socks and the occasional pair of dress socks	socks: no-show socks, bobby socks, tube socks, toe socks, ankle socks, half ankle socks; not to mention tights, pantyhose, stockings, leggings, etc
Shoes	sneakers, one pair of cleats, and one pair of dress shoes for church	sneakers, cleats, pumps, mules, wedgies, sandals, open and closed toe, boots, knee high boots, thigh high boots, calf length boots, and at least three pairs of dress shoes identical except for color
Pants	jeans and khakis, 4 pair total, and one pair of dress slacks	jeans, khakis, long skirts, short skirts, mini skirts, A line skirts, kilts, skorts, coulottes, tap pants, stirrup pants, and capris
Tops	T-shirts, sweat shirts, or dress shirts	T-shirts, crop tops, tank tops, halter tops, tube tops, cammies, blouses, peasant blouses, turtle necks, and don't forget sweaters: V-necks, crew necks, cardigans, angora,
Dresses	NO	party dress, church dress, dancing dress, cocktail dress, sun dress, prom dress, wedding dress and the little black dress
Accessories	a belt, a wallet, a watch and maybe a pocket knife	3 belts, 2 purses, 2 watches, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, rings, ankle bracelets, clutches, barrettes, etc
Makeup	NO	Foundation, blush, highlighter, glitter spray, eye liner, eye shadow, eye brow pencil, mascara, lip stick, lip gloss, lip liner, nail polish, nail file, emory board, nail polish remover
Toiletries	Brush or comb, toothbrush, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, deoderant	2 Brushes and comb, toothbrush, soap, face wash, body lotion, makeup remover, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, mouthwash, deoderant, hair curlers, curling iron, hair crimper, hair straightener, hair gel, mousse, hair spray, hair pins, hair bows, hair clips, bobby pins, eye lash curler, compact
Monthly necessities	NO	From menarche to menopause

For goodness sakes, folks, just watch a guy and a girl pack for an overnight stay. The guy will put his stuff in a backpack and have room left over for his XBox; the girl will fill three bags, and dump out his XBox to make room for the rest of her stuff. And don't even get me started on closet space.

Moving right along, lets talk about activities. To sign a boy up for football costs roughly $60 for registration, insurance, and a mouthpiece. Sign a girl up for cheerleading and you're looking at $200 plus, more if there's a camp involved. Ballet lessons are significantly more expensive than a fishing pole and a bucket of worms. A boy wants to ride a bike. $100 at WalMart and you're done. A girl wants to ride a horse. $1500 plus monthly stable fees, and riding lessons. And tack, and of course a riding wardrobe.

Let's not forget about dances. A boy rents a tux ($75), gets a haircut ($12), buys a corsage ($15), and is ready to go for just under $100. Since I'm a traditionalist, he'll also buy the dinner, provide transportation, and buy the tickets, but his total expense is still under $200. A girl buys a dress ($150-300), shoes to go with the dress ($45), matching purse ($40), gets her hair colored and styled ($75-100) her nails done ($40), buys a boutonierre ($15) and is ready to go for $365-540.

Finally, there's the wedding. The groom's father handles the honeymoon, and can do quite well for about $2000. The bride's father handles the wedding, and $2000 barely gets you started, covering flowers and possibly some catering. Dresses, cakes, the preacher, the church, the reception hall, and so on, all cost money.

There's simply no doubt about it; girls, bless their high maintenance little hearts, are more expensive than boys.

Posted by Rich at December 6, 2005 4:36 PM | TrackBack